The AESC and BlueSteps attended the Regional Breakfast & America's Council meeting in Chicago yesterday to discuss the current retained executive search environment. Below is an introduction to what was covered during the meeting.

Many casual observers of the retained executive search industry have been quick to sound its death knell, often citing two key factors: LinkedIn and in-house recruiting. LinkedIn, they say, makes recruiting—even at the executive level—a “do it yourself” activity and significantly devalues search firms.

At the same time, mid-size and Fortune 500 companies are establishing and beefing up their internal recruiting teams (even hiring experienced consultants from search firms). “We know ourselves and our needs better than anyone else,” they say, “so why not make our own decisions . . . and get the most value for the dollars we spend?”

Witt/Kieffer wrote an excellent recap expanding on the stand-out points made during the event. Read the full post on Witt/Kieffer's blog.

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About Witt/Kieffer
Witt/Kieffer is among the nation’s top ten executive search firms and the single largest specializing in health care, education and not-for-profit organizations. Witt/Kieffer’s mission is to identify outstanding leadership solutions for organizations committed to improving the quality of life. The firm serves hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers and other health-related organizations; life sciences companies including pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics and medical device corporations; colleges and universities and not-for-profit community service organizations and foundations. Specialties include healthcare, hospitals, higher education, executive search, life sciences, board services and sports leadership.  www.wittkieffer.com

About the Association of Executive Search Consultants
The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) is the worldwide professional association for the retained executive search and leadership consulting industry. The AESC promotes the highest professional standards in retained executive search and leadership consulting through its industry recognized Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Guidelines. The AESC also serves to broaden public understanding of the retained executive search and leadership consulting process and acts as an advocate for the interests of its member firms.

About BlueSteps
BlueSteps is the exclusive service of the AESC that puts senior executives on the radar screen of over 8,000 executive search professionals in more than 75 countries, including China. Be visible, and be considered for up to 75,000 opportunities handled by AESC search firms every year. Find out more at www.BlueSteps.com.