The current operating baseline

Every step, every hour,
every opportunity to improve.

A full breakdown of the manual executive search process from first client signal to aftercare. Time estimates are grounded in industry research. Each step includes a specific technology recommendation to reduce time spent — together these small gains compound into a dramatically faster operating system.

Total manual hours
~120 hrs
Per search, single role
Calendar time
60–120 days
Industry average
Recoverable hours
~95 hrs
With full AI implementation
Steps in the process
22 steps
Across 6 phases
Show:
Phase 1 — Client Signal & Qualification 4–6 hrs
01
Inbound signal received 0.5 hrs
Client reaches out — referral, website, LinkedIn, event follow-up. Someone on the team picks it up, qualifies the conversation, and decides whether to invest time.
▾
What actually happens
  • Email or LinkedIn message received, often vague — 'we need a new CTO'
  • Team member reads it, decides if it's worth a reply
  • Quick check on who the company is and whether they're a fit
  • Response drafted manually, meeting link shared
Where time is lost
  • Signals landing in personal inboxes, not a shared CRM
  • No qualification template — every reply starts from scratch
  • Research on the company done manually each time
Force recommendation Save ~20 min
Routing agent captures inbound signals across email and LinkedIn, auto-enriches the sender's company, and generates a pre-qualified summary before a human even reads it. Response templates triggered by role type. Calendly link embedded automatically.
02
Discovery call — understanding the need 1.5 hrs
First real conversation with the hiring executive and key stakeholders. Understanding the role, the company, the culture, what failure looks like, and why the role is open.
▾
What actually happens
  • 60–90 min call with founder, CEO, or CHRO
  • Recruiter takes notes manually while trying to listen and guide
  • Questions about team structure, reporting lines, current challenges
  • Compensation discussed — often vague at this stage
  • Timeline expectations set (usually too aggressive)
Where time is lost
  • Post-call write-up takes 30–45 min from memory
  • Key details missed or imprecisely captured
  • No structured question framework means inconsistent intake quality
  • Scheduling itself costs 20–30 min of back and forth
Force recommendation Save ~40 min
Metaview or Granola transcribes and summarises the call automatically. AI generates a structured intake brief post-call, pre-filled from the transcript. Calendly removes scheduling friction. The human still leads the conversation — but the admin work disappears.
03
Proposal, terms & contract 2 hrs
Scope defined. Fee structure agreed. Retainer terms sent. Contract signed. Often involves multiple rounds of back and forth on scope, guarantees, and exclusivity.
▾
What actually happens
  • Proposal written from scratch or from a template
  • Fee calculated — typically 25–33% of first year comp
  • Rule of thirds payment schedule agreed
  • Guarantee period negotiated (6–12 months typical)
  • DocuSign or PDF sent, chased for signature
Where time is lost
  • Proposals rebuilt manually each time
  • Legal review on both sides adds days of calendar time
  • Chasing signatures is a recurring task
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Standardised proposal templates auto-filled from intake data. Fee calculator built into CRM. DocuSign integrated with automated reminders. Proposals go out in minutes, not hours.
Phase 2 — Search Strategy & Briefing 8–12 hrs
04
Position specification document 3 hrs
The blueprint for the search. Defines role, responsibilities, reporting lines, competencies, culture, success criteria, and deal-breakers. Must be signed off by the client.
▾
What actually happens
  • Recruiter synthesises call notes into a written spec
  • Multiple stakeholders review — often with conflicting views
  • 2–3 revision rounds before sign-off
  • Compensation benchmarking done manually via Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary
  • Client approves — sometimes verbally, sometimes in writing
Where time is lost
  • Writing the spec from scratch from call notes
  • Stakeholder alignment is a political process, not just a writing task
  • Comp benchmarking is fragmented and time-consuming
  • Revisions loop endlessly without a structured sign-off process
Force recommendation Save ~2 hrs
AI drafts the position spec directly from the Metaview transcript. Comp benchmarking pulled automatically from aggregated market data. Client signs off via the client portal — no email chains. One revision round becomes the norm instead of three.
05
Market mapping & target list 4 hrs
Building the universe of companies and people to target. Mapping competitors, adjacent firms, feeder organisations. Identifying the 100–200 people who could conceivably do this job.
▾
What actually happens
  • Research analyst builds a list of target companies
  • LinkedIn boolean searches run across 5–10 databases
  • 20–30 companies mapped for org structure and talent density
  • Names added to a spreadsheet or CRM manually
  • Duplicates removed by hand
  • Board capacity checked per candidate (using BoardEx or similar)
Where time is lost
  • Findem research puts this at ~130 hrs for full market research before outreach even starts — most of that is manual cross-referencing
  • 70% of time spent on candidates who turn out to be unfit
  • Data spread across LinkedIn, databases, email, spreadsheets
Force recommendation Save ~3 hrs
Sourcing Agent runs this autonomously. Takes the position spec as input, queries Juicebox, LinkedIn, Findem, and internal talent pool simultaneously, deduplicates, and returns a ranked long-list in under an hour. One firm using Findem cut this phase by 59%. Force's agent should match or beat that.
06
Search strategy presentation to client 2 hrs
Presenting the go-to-market plan to the client. Sharing the target universe, outreach approach, and timeline. Aligning on what good looks like before sourcing begins.
▾
What actually happens
  • Slide deck or document prepared showing target landscape
  • Meeting scheduled with client stakeholders
  • Feedback incorporated — often changes the spec retroactively
Where time is lost
  • Deck preparation is manual and bespoke
  • This meeting often causes spec changes that delay sourcing by days
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Client portal shows the long-list and search strategy in real time. No separate presentation needed — client reviews async and leaves comments. Search consultant reviews feedback and adjusts without a synchronous meeting.
Phase 3 — Sourcing, Outreach & Initial Screening 35–45 hrs
07
Initial outreach to long-list 5 hrs
Reaching out to 100–200 potential candidates across LinkedIn, email, and WhatsApp. Personalised messages, multi-touch sequences. Goal is to generate conversations, not fill in forms.
▾
What actually happens
  • Each message manually personalised — 3–5 min per candidate
  • LinkedIn connection requests sent in batches (LinkedIn limits apply)
  • Email addresses researched separately (Hunter.io, Apollo)
  • Follow-up sequences tracked in spreadsheets
  • WhatsApp messages sent one by one for warm contacts
  • Industry norm: 3 touches, 3–4 days apart. 30–40% conversion to conversation
Where time is lost
  • Personalisation at scale is a contradiction — either slow or generic
  • No centralised tracking means follow-ups fall through gaps
  • Responses come in at random times, breaking focus
  • Referrals generated by sourcing calls are manually tracked
Force recommendation Save ~4 hrs
Engagement Agent generates personalised outreach per candidate using profile data — not a template blast. Sequences managed automatically across WhatsApp and email. Responses routed to a unified inbox. Referrals auto-logged. A human reviews edge cases only. SourceWhale or Leonar can handle sequencing at the infrastructure level.
08
Sourcing calls — interest generation 6 hrs
Phone conversations with 30–50 potential candidates. Goal is not to vet — it is to get a 'yes, I am open to a conversation.' Referrals gathered from candidates who are not interested.
▾
What actually happens
  • 100+ calls made, 30–50 connect (industry average)
  • 5–10 min per conversation, mostly gatekeeping and elevator pitch
  • Not interested candidates asked for referrals
  • Notes taken manually after each call
  • Interested candidates added to a qualified list
Where time is lost
  • Dialling and no-answers waste huge amounts of calendar time
  • Post-call admin is repetitive and low-value
  • Referral tracking is inconsistent
Force recommendation Save ~4 hrs
Pre-Vetting Agent handles the light-touch interest-gauging conversations over WhatsApp. No phone tag. Candidates respond in their own time. Agent collects initial data points and escalates interested candidates to a human only when they have expressed genuine openness. Referrals auto-logged and added to sourcing queue.
09
Resume review & initial scoring 4 hrs
Reviewing CVs from interested candidates against the position spec. Scoring on function, seniority, domain relevance, red flags. Shortlisting who goes into deep-dive interviews.
▾
What actually happens
  • CVs received in different formats — PDF, Word, LinkedIn exports
  • Each reviewed manually for 10–15 min
  • Scored against a mental model of the spec, not a structured rubric
  • Decisions inconsistent across reviewers
  • Candidates parked, rejected, or advanced — often without documentation
Where time is lost
  • Manual review is slow and susceptible to bias and fatigue
  • No structured scoring means decisions are hard to explain to clients
  • Rejected candidates not stored in a usable way for future searches
Force recommendation Save ~3 hrs
Matching Agent scores every candidate against the position spec with a confidence score. Top tier auto-advances. Mid tier flagged for human review. Bottom tier parked with a reason. All decisions logged and auditable. Categorization Agent normalises profiles before scoring — function, seniority, domain all extracted automatically.
10
Pre-vetting interviews 8 hrs
Deep-dive conversations with 10–15 qualified candidates. Validating salary expectations, motivation, tenure explanations, skills, cultural fit, and availability. The most information-dense step in the process.
▾
What actually happens
  • 60–90 min structured interview per candidate
  • Career history walked through chronologically
  • Motivation, comp expectations, timeline explored
  • Cultural fit assessed — subjective and inconsistent
  • Interview notes written up manually after each call
  • Decision made on who makes the shortlist
Where time is lost
  • Scheduling 10–15 interviews across busy executive calendars is a project in itself
  • Notes written from memory — quality varies
  • No structured scoring rubric means shortlist logic hard to defend to clients
  • Candidates kept waiting while others are interviewed — some disengage
Force recommendation Save ~5 hrs
Pre-Vetting Agent conducts the structured data-collection conversation autonomously over WhatsApp — salary, availability, tenure, motivation. It escalates to a human only when data is complete or when a nuanced conversation is needed. Metaview transcribes all human-led calls. Structured candidate profiles auto-generated. A human interview becomes a quality check, not a data collection exercise.
Phase 4 — Assessment, Shortlisting & Client Presentation 25–35 hrs
11
Candidate profile write-ups 6 hrs
Writing a detailed narrative profile for each shortlisted candidate. Career history, strengths, weaknesses, key motivators, compensation, and a recommendation on fit. Sent to the client with the shortlist.
▾
What actually happens
  • 1–2 hrs per candidate to write a narrative profile from notes
  • Profiles need to be compelling — they sell the candidate to the client
  • Often rewritten several times to get tone and balance right
  • Formatted and packaged for presentation
Where time is lost
  • Writing from scratch is the single biggest time sink in the post-interview phase
  • Quality inconsistent across consultants
  • The thinking is valuable — the formatting and writing is not
Force recommendation Save ~4 hrs
Assessment Summariser tool generates a first-draft candidate profile from the structured vetting data and transcript. Consultant reviews, edits tone, and adds subjective observations. Time drops from 90 min to 20 min per candidate. Quality goes up because the structure is always consistent.
12
Internal debrief & shortlist selection 2 hrs
Internal team alignment on which 3–6 candidates make the client shortlist. Comparing candidates against each other and the spec. Building consensus on the recommendation.
▾
What actually happens
  • Team meeting to review all candidates in parallel
  • Discussion on trade-offs — the 'best' candidate is rarely obvious
  • Partner or senior consultant makes the final call
Where time is lost
  • Without structured scoring, discussions are circular
  • Harder to present a clear recommendation to the client if the team is not aligned
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Matching Agent produces a ranked shortlist with confidence scores and rationale for each decision. Debrief becomes a 30-min review of the agent's output rather than a 2-hour freeform discussion. Decisions are documented automatically.
13
Shortlist presentation to client 3 hrs
Presenting 3–6 shortlisted candidates to the client with profiles and a recommendation. Walking through strengths, trade-offs, and fit rationale. Collecting initial feedback.
▾
What actually happens
  • Presentation deck or PDF prepared
  • Meeting scheduled — often multiple stakeholders
  • 1–1.5 hr meeting to walk through each profile
  • Client feedback collected — often 'we want to see more candidates'
  • Process occasionally resets from here if no one lands
Where time is lost
  • Deck preparation for a meeting that could have been async
  • Stakeholder scheduling friction
  • Feedback collected verbally — hard to act on precisely
Force recommendation Save ~2 hrs
Shortlist lives in the client portal — shareable link, async review, structured feedback form per candidate. Stakeholders review in their own time. Consultant receives consolidated feedback and responds with a recommendation. One focused sync replaces a long presentation meeting.
14
Client interviews — first round 4 hrs
Client meets shortlisted candidates. Search firm coordinates scheduling, prepares both sides, and collects structured feedback after each meeting. Human process — the consultant's role is facilitation.
▾
What actually happens
  • Scheduling 3–6 interviews across 3–5 people per interview
  • Pre-brief of both client and candidate before each meeting
  • Debrief call with client after each interview
  • Feedback compiled and compared across candidates
  • Candidates kept warm and updated throughout
Where time is lost
  • Scheduling multi-stakeholder interviews is extraordinarily time-consuming
  • Debrief calls take 30 min each and generate unstructured feedback
  • Candidate comms drop off between rounds — risk of disengagement
Force recommendation Save ~1.5 hrs
Calendly or similar eliminates scheduling friction. Nurture Agent keeps candidates warm with timely, personalised updates between rounds — no manual candidate management. Structured feedback forms replace verbal debriefs. Consultant focuses on guiding the process, not administering it.
15
Second round interviews & assessment 4 hrs
Top 2–3 candidates go deeper. Panel interviews, case studies, presentations, psychometric testing. Both sides investing serious time. The search firm managing the process and keeping momentum.
▾
What actually happens
  • 2–3 hr deep-dive interviews with executive team
  • Psychometric or leadership assessments arranged
  • Case study or presentation brief set and reviewed
  • Informal dinners or site visits for culture assessment
  • Recruiter actively manages candidate anxiety and client indecision
Where time is lost
  • Process averages 24 days in the US, 39 days in France — most of that is scheduling and decision delay, not assessment time
  • Assessment coordination is manual — vendor engagement, scoring, reporting
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Assessment integrations (Predictive Index, Hogan) plugged directly into the workflow — results auto-appended to the candidate profile. Scheduling automation removes 80% of coordinator time. Consultant spends time on judgment, not logistics.
Phase 5 — Reference Checks, Offer & Close 18–24 hrs
16
Reference checks 6 hrs
Comprehensive reference checking on the preferred candidate. Formal references plus informal back-channel checks via the firm's network. Verifying performance, leadership style, and any concerns.
▾
What actually happens
  • 4–6 formal references called — 30–45 min each
  • Former supervisors, peers, and direct reports
  • Back-channel calls to network contacts who know the candidate
  • Academic and employment verification
  • Reference report written up and shared with client
Where time is lost
  • Scheduling reference calls is slow — busy executives don't return calls quickly
  • Back-channel calls require relationship capital and are hard to systematise
  • Write-up from notes takes 60–90 min
Force recommendation Save ~2 hrs
Structured reference questionnaire sent digitally to references — async, easier to respond to. Metaview transcribes phone-based references. AI generates reference summary from transcripts. Back-channel calls remain human — this is relationship work. Total time saved is in admin and write-up, not the calls themselves.
17
Offer structuring & negotiation 4 hrs
Triangulating between what the client wants to pay and what the candidate needs to say yes. Structuring base, bonus, equity, and benefits. Managing the emotional dynamics on both sides.
▾
What actually happens
  • Multiple calls with both client and candidate — separately
  • Comp benchmarking revisited to justify the number
  • Equity and vesting structures discussed and explained
  • Counter-offer risk assessed and pre-empted
  • Formal offer letter drafted and reviewed
Where time is lost
  • Multiple back-and-forth calls between parties
  • Comp benchmarking repeated from scratch if not done at brief stage
  • Drafting and reviewing the offer letter
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Live comp benchmarking in the CRM — updated market data pulled in real time. Offer letter templates auto-filled from agreed terms. The negotiation itself is human relationship work and cannot be automated. The admin around it can be eliminated almost entirely.
18
Resignation coaching & counter-offer management 3 hrs
The search firm coaches the candidate through resigning from their current role. Preparing them for counter-offers, managing their anxiety, and keeping momentum toward the start date.
▾
What actually happens
  • Pre-resignation call — walking through what to expect
  • Candidate often receives counter-offer from current employer
  • Search firm mediates — keeping candidate focused on their original decision
  • Notice period managed — typically 1–3 months for senior hires
  • Daily or weekly check-ins with candidate during notice period
Where time is lost
  • High-anxiety period — candidate can flip even after signing
  • Manual check-ins rely on consultant memory and discipline
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Nurture Agent handles regular, personalised check-in messages to the candidate during notice. Human consultant available for critical moments. Automated sequence handles the routine — 'how are you doing, anything we can help with' — freeing the consultant for genuinely difficult conversations.
Phase 6 — Onboarding Support & Aftercare 6–10 hrs
19
Start date preparation 2 hrs
Coordinating between client and candidate to ensure smooth onboarding. Confirming logistics, introductions, first-week plan. The search firm acting as relationship holder between the two parties.
▾
What actually happens
  • Pre-start call with candidate — expectations and first week plan
  • Pre-start call with client — any last logistics or prep needed
  • Candidate briefed on team dynamics, first priorities
Where time is lost
  • Often deprioritised under time pressure — leads to poor onboarding outcomes
  • Manual coordination between three parties
Force recommendation Save ~30 min
Automated onboarding checklist for both sides. Nurture Agent sends timed check-ins to candidate in the lead-up to start date. Client receives a structured onboarding brief auto-generated from the search file.
20
30/60/90 day check-ins 2 hrs
Post-placement follow-up at 30, 60, and 90 days with both the placed executive and the client. Identifying any early integration issues before they become serious problems.
▾
What actually happens
  • Phone call or email to placed executive — how is it going?
  • Separate call to client — is the executive settling in well?
  • Any misalignment identified and addressed early
  • Consultant flags risks to the placement and intervenes if needed
Where time is lost
  • Relied on consultant memory and calendar reminders
  • Often skipped under workload pressure — risk to guarantee period
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Nurture Agent triggers automated 30/60/90 day outreach sequences to both parties. Structured check-in questions generate data on integration quality. If a risk signal is detected, escalated to the consultant for a human conversation. Nothing falls through the cracks.
21
Unsuccessful candidate closure 1.5 hrs
Closing out candidates who were not selected. Giving feedback, maintaining the relationship for future searches. The professional obligation that most firms handle poorly.
▾
What actually happens
  • Call or message to each unsuccessful shortlisted candidate
  • Feedback given — often vague to protect client
  • Relationship maintained for future searches
  • Longer-list candidates often simply not contacted again — damaging brand
Where time is lost
  • Deprioritised — not revenue-generating activity
  • Manual per-candidate outreach at the end of a long process
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Nurture Agent sends personalised closure messages to all candidates at each stage — longlist, shortlist, final. Tone calibrated by stage. Candidates enter the Force talent pool automatically. Future-relevant opportunities matched to them by the Matching Agent. This turns a liability into a competitive advantage.
22
Search file close-out & data capture 1.5 hrs
Closing the search in the CRM. Logging placement outcome, candidate decisions, compensation data, client feedback. This data is the raw material the system learns from.
▾
What actually happens
  • CRM updated with placement details
  • Invoice triggered for final fee instalment
  • Client satisfaction checked informally
  • Search summary written for internal reference
Where time is lost
  • Data entry is manual and often incomplete under time pressure
  • Incomplete data reduces quality of future matching
  • Invoice often delayed — cash flow impact
Force recommendation Save ~1 hr
Placement outcome auto-logged when offer accepted in the portal. Invoice triggered automatically via CRM milestone. Search summary generated by AI from the full search record. Client satisfaction survey sent via Nurture Agent. This close-out data trains every future matching decision.
Phase 1: Client signal
Phase 2: Strategy
Phase 3: Sourcing
Phase 4: Assessment
Phase 5: Offer & close
Phase 6: Aftercare