Frequently Asked Questions

We are a company with 25 years of experience in the art of attracting extraordinary senior executives from across the globe, to our valued clients.

Additionally, we are dedicated towards matching the needs of our clients, with the aspirations of our candidates. These candidates tend to be individuals who have achieved success and become senior executives and global business leaders, and who bring with them a wealth of knowledge and extensive experience gained over many years. 

Specialists in executive search, our consultants meet with company leaders to understand their culture and vision, business strategy and, of course, the role they wish to recruit for. We help to identify, entice, and engage with a specific group of desirable target candidates, in order to successfully recruit for the role at hand.

It is a highly specialised and structured service, that involves headhunting highly-qualified candidates at Board, executive and senior levels, across a variety of sectors.

We have a wealth of knowledge in four main segments – executive search in South Africa, executive search on the African Continent, non-executive directors, and interim management; and we pride ourselves on assisting company leaders in a skilled manner to find the candidates they most need, while keeping each application process highly confidential.

We have helped our clients find highly skilled, culturally aligned, and high-performing employees for more than two decades. In turn, these senior hires have enabled our clients to improve, strengthen, and ultimately add value to their companies. Further, we strive to place skilled indviduals in roles that they are likely to remain in, for many years to come.

Our specialist team is dedicated towards aiding our clients not just in hiring the best individual that market data can uncover, but also in defining those senior leadership roles and the way their teams should ideally operate.

Executive search firms provide headhunting and advisory services by identifying, assessing, and selecting the best possible senior candidate for a sought-after role; and operate in a highly professional and confidential manner.

Contingent recruiting agencies, on the other hand, gather as many CVs as they can of qualified candidates in a particular industry or niche, and leave the assessment and selection process up to the client. They often make use of online databases of candidates who are active in the market and looking for a new role.

An outline of the typical steps that we follow appears below:

• Establish search requirements;
• Determine search strategy;
• Attract and evaluate candidates;
• Present the most qualified candidates for client interviews;
and
• Complete the search to client satisfaction.

Executive search involves much more than seeking out and providing candidates. It is about filling talent gaps that will, in turn, immensely benefit a company. For this reason, it is crucial to us that we not only provide a candidate who is qualified, but also one who will fit seamlessly into the new company’s culture.

Here are seven of the key benefits you can expect:

• Cost-effective;
• Decreases time to fill the position;
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion;
• Access to an extensive database of candidates;
• Time efficient;
• Able to recruit passive candidates;
and
• Utmost confidentiality.

The difference between contingency and retained search is another important distinction that we like to point out, which can be detected in both the pricing model, and the service level agreement. In a retained search, the recruiter is paid an upfront or scheduled fee to work on an exclusive basis – meaning they, and they alone, will be commissioned to carry out a specific search. In contrast, the contingent recruitment process works on what could best be described as a ‘no win, no fee basis’. So, while multiple contingent recruiters may be invited to look for an applicable talent, only the firm that finds and places the final candidate is paid for their work.

Although BossJansen Executive Search does consider assisting with senior level roles in all major economic sectors, we specialise in candidate placements that take place within the following industries and sectors:

• banking/financial services;
• insurance;
• ICT;
• digital;
• mining;
• education;
• FMCG;
• retail;
• manufacturing;
• pharmaceuticals and healthcare;
• hospitality;
• automotive;
• government;
• utilities;
• industrial;
and
• agriculture.

The expertise we offer, gleaned over more than two decades, enables us to add extensive value to our clients – because we live and breath their industries, and are able to provide bespoke advice on talent, based on factual marketplace data and technical analyses.

Appointments vary depending on the role that needs to be filled, and how niche the skill set and/or experience required. Other factors which could impact on the length of the recruitment process, include salary and office location.

However, all our recruitment assignments are project mile-stoned for between four and eight weeks, in the delivery of a candidate shortlist. When a hire is urgent, we strive to take a more flexible approach to our work – which means introducing key candidates as and when we find them.

Important to our timescales, is the initial groundwork completed by our consultants as they collaborate with a client – i.e. we strive to gain a solid understanding of a clients’ business, the role they need filled, and the ideal candidate requirements in as much detail as possible.

Collaboration with our clients over time, has proven the most important factor in ensuring the successful delivery of an executive search candidate.

Because we are a boutique executive search firm, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits all fee structure. Therefore, what we charge is tailored towards the requirements of each specific assignment, and that company’s unique specifications when it comes to the role that needs to be filled.

Please sit down with us, and we will run through our billing structure: from research fee (payable at the start of an assignment); to working fee (payable on submission of a candidate shortlist); to appointment fee (payable on acceptance of the offer from a suitable candidate) – meaning no hidden costs or surprises, and a highly transparent approach to pricing.

Established in 2008, BossJansen Executive Search holds a proud and successful track record, which is underpinned by unsurpassed service levels and long-standing relationships built on sincerity and honesty, together with an understanding of each client or candidate’s unique requirements.

At BossJansen Executive Search, integrity lies at the core of our service offering. Building trust and rapport with both clients and candidates is key to our success. We are vested in ensuring that there is a meeting of the minds for both parties, leading to a successful high-calibre placement. This can only occur when there is a real understanding of our clients’ requirements and culture, which means we strive to get to know their business environments in intimate detail.

Similarly, we align the aspirations, skills, and abilities of potential candidates to the incoming opportunities, only by truly getting to know them face to face and having the necessary open and honest conversations and in-depth discussions to ascertain the best possible fit.

The top-performing executives in the market are highly valued existing employees, and are not actively pursuing new career opportunities. They are well rewarded, and their employers wish to retain them at all costs.

Procuring such candidates requires diligence and a skill set that is derived from a significant number of years of experience in carefully approaching them and winning their trust, in order to establish interest and the disposition towards a potentially dynamic career move.

Additionally, we strive to partner with our clients to assist them in building strong leadership teams to ensure the continued success of their businesses. As brand ambassadors for our clients, we skilfully procure the best talent in the market with the utmost of diligence; and with the aim that the candidates we place will remain in place for many years to come.

Our team at BossJansen Executive Search is made up of professionals from diverse industry backgrounds, who have weighty local and international experience. Our business prowess rests on our relationships and, as such, our network of skilled senior professionals in the South African and African marketplaces remains unsurpassed.

Best practice in executive search is candidate centered, follows a streamlined hiring process, shows continued interest in the candidates, and is proactive in tapping into a passive pool of talent with an exceptional client sales pitch.

BossJansen Executive Search is conveniently located in the heart of Sandton, Johannesburg. Although we strive to operate remotely for the benefit of our clients’ and candidates’ busy schedules, we are also available to meet face to face at a time and place that suits those with whom we do business.

Please give us a call on 011 783 8455, or send us an email enquiry, here.