FIT3®

The executive search firm with a process to ensure the best fit.

Finding the right leader can't be accomplished by mere chance. It is a discipline that requires the right plan by the right executive search firm.

Developed and perfected over years of success in placing hundreds of executives and board members, Howard & O'Brien Executive Search’s FIT3® is a rigorous and proprietary plan we use for every search with every client.

The FIT3® formula =

  • F (Formulate the Strategy) +
  • I (Investigate the Candidate) +
  • T (Transition the Executive)

Howard & O'Brien Executive Search is the only executive search firm that focuses entirely on finding the right fit for you, resulting in Excellence in Executive Search®.

Three steps in each phase ensure FIT3® adds up to the right executive for you, now and for the future.
Executive Search Firm Howard & O'Brien

F

Formulate the Strategy

This in-depth, comprehensive step in our service focuses on your company, its culture, and its needs.

This in-depth, comprehensive step in our service focuses on your company, its culture, and its needs. By defining your essence, the experienced executive recruiting team at Howard & O’Brien can then formulate a strategy to identify the right fit.

  • Develop a detailed overall Search Strategy document that profiles the right candidate and how to find that person.
  • Create an Assessment Target that codifies the key characteristics that then shapes our assessment.
  • Formulate the Position Specification, an overview of the organization, position, responsibilities, and candidate traits.

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I

Investigate the Candidate

The right executive recruiting firm embarks on a meticulous and purposeful investigation that develops the best potential candidates by setting parameters, studying possibilities, and dialing in toward a more discerning[...]

The right executive recruiting firm embarks on a meticulous and purposeful investigation that develops the best potential candidates by setting parameters, studying possibilities, and dialing in toward a more discerning viewpoint.

  • Exhaustive Confidential Candidate Review, based on multiple assessments.
  • Our “Best Fit” Questionnaire, a proprietary instrument unique to Howard & O’Brien customized for each search.
  • Compare Assessment Results against the target to assure the best fit.

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T

Transition the Executive

The last element of our FIT³® service is partnering to transition the executive.

The last element of our FIT³® service is partnering to transition the executive. This is the fit behind the fit, an exhaustive and expert evaluation of the most relevant candidates as prelude to an alignment of person to company. When the right executive search firm identifies the right fit, a negotiated transaction formalizes this relationship. Yet our contribution is in no way over, with continued support making a sizable difference.

  • Dig deeper with References from three disparate groups — direct reports, peers, and subordinates.
  • Finalize the Agreement and manage all aspects with meticulous attention and independent oversight.
  • During Subsequent Touches, connect with the successful candidate and that person’s direct hiring leader at regular intervals.

Let the executive recruiting firm with the most comprehensive process, FIT³®, put it to work for you. Contact us to find out how.

If you're an executive level candidate, please review a selection of our current searches and send us your qualifications.

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Benefits from our

compensation insights

Competitive Compensation & Market Research

With more than 30 years of executive search expertise, Howard & O’Brien provides insights into the market — using competitive compensation research to help clients make the right decisions for their business needs.

Competing with the market for the best candidate requires understanding the compensation options from a valid national and local perspective. Howard & O’Brien provides insights into base pay, variable pay, total cash compensation, market analysis, and industry-specific surveys.
Executive Search Firm Bullseye Howard & O'Brien