Our principles
ExecSearches has been placing nonprofit and public sector leadership since 1999. How it treats the people it works for was not invented in a strategy session. It came from John LaDouceur, and it is still the standard.
The customer comes first. Not the system, not the process, not what is convenient at this end. If a choice has to be made between what is easier for us and what is right for the customer, it is not a choice.
When we get it wrong, we say so first. Fast, and in plain words, before anyone has to chase us. Silence after a mistake does more damage than the mistake. We say we are embarrassed, because we are.
We fix it with more than you paid for. A refund gives you your money back and leaves you where you started. We would rather give you more product: the posting extended, featured, carried further. The point is that you end up ahead.
We come out of it stronger, or we did it wrong. This is what John called the heroic save. Anyone can look good when nothing breaks. What a company is actually worth shows in the hour after it fails.
A person reads it, and a person answers. Every posting is reviewed by a person before it goes live. Every email reaches a person. No algorithm screens a candidate out, and no ticket system stands between you and an answer.
We serve the sector, not just sell to it. The organizations on this board are hospitals, schools, city agencies, foundations and the nonprofits that hold communities together. Helping them hire well is the whole reason this company exists.
Why this is written down
John's principles were never a list on a wall. They were in the way the site was worded and the way customers were answered, year after year. Writing them out is how they survive a rebuild. If we ever stop doing one of them, this page is what you hold us to.
The two pledges
- This page is what we promise the organizations that post with us.
- The candidate pledge is what we promise the people applying: no algorithm screens you out, we never sell your information, and everything is free to read.
More
- About ExecSearches
- How we build postings
- Our principles
- Trust and privacy
- Contact us, which reaches a person
Common questions
What does ExecSearches do when it makes a mistake on a paid posting?
We write to you the same day, say plainly that it was our fault, and fix it before you have to ask. Then we give you more than you paid for. We would rather be out of pocket than have you wondering whether we noticed.
Who was John LaDouceur?
John LaDouceur worked at ExecSearches and taught the two rules this company still runs on: the customer comes first, and when something goes wrong you make a heroic save. ExecSearches 6.0 is dedicated to him.
What is a heroic save?
John's phrase. The goal when you have let a customer down is not to limit the damage. It is to come out of it with their trust stronger than before it happened. A customer who has watched you handle a mistake well trusts you more than one who has never seen you tested.
Will a person answer if I email ExecSearches?
Yes. [email protected] reaches a person, not a ticket queue, and there is no phone tree. The company has been run this way since 1999.
What happens if my posting does not get the response I expected?
Tell us. We will look at the posting with you, and where the fault is ours we will extend it, feature it, or both, at no charge. We do not argue with a customer about whether they got what they paid for.