If you’re considering hiring an Integrator, you know you need someone who can bring structure, accountability, and efficiency to your vision. Now you’re stuck on a big decision: Do you go the traditional route with a recruiter, or is there a better way?
Most companies assume a recruiter is the easiest way to find the right Integrator. However, our clients have found recruiters often miss the mark when it comes to key steps in the Integrator hiring process.
At The Metiss Group, we offer the industry’s best Integrator hiring services through The Hiring Process Coach™. We have decades of experience teaching our clients a proven hiring process and ensuring a perfect Visionary-Integrator fit.
In this article, we’ll cover some key differences between our service and that of a traditional recruiter when it comes to Integrator hiring:
- Differences in the definition stage
- Differences in how you’ll source candidates
- Differences in the first year after hiring Integrator
- Differences in pricing
Differences in the definition stage
When working with a recruiter, the process typically starts with a job description. If you already have one, they might help you tweak it. If not, they’ll work with different members of your hiring team to piece one together.
This could work if all key executives are on the same page; however, we’ve found everyone has different expectations. The CEO might want an Integrator who’s focused on execution. The CFO might want someone who keeps a tight grip on budgets. The Sales leader might want someone who will support rapid growth.
The recruiter must then either combine all these needs into one messy job description or prioritize the loudest voices in the room. When we, at The Metiss Group, assemble the stakeholders of the job - those who have been reporting to the Visionary, but who will report to the Integrator - we facilitate debate and actually achieve support for the agreed focus of each role.
The next huge difference in our approach is at The Metiss Group, we don’t start with the Integrator’s role — we start with the Visionary’s role.
The number one reason Integrators fail isn’t because they lack skill, it's because the Visionary isn't clear about what they must do when the Integrator arrives. This creates duplication of effort, undermining authority of the Integrator, and stalling on any potential progress.
When you begin with The Job Scorecard™ for the Visionary, you’ll help them define what they’re ready to hand off, where the organization really needs them to focus, and what success will look like in this partnership.
Once the Visionary has clarity on their own role (and can look forward to unburdening themselves with the other work they don't need to be doing), the next step is to create a job scorecard for the Integrator.
Instead of letting individual voices dictate priorities, our process brings key stakeholders together in a meeting to align everyone on what matters most. This creates buy-in across the leadership team, so everyone is excited for the Integrator to come on board, supportive of their onboarding, and contributing to success.
Differences in sourcing candidates
Let’s give credit where it’s due: Recruiters are great at sourcing candidates. That’s their job. If you work with a recruiter, you won’t have to reach out to anyone yourself; they’ll bring resumes to you. That can be a huge time-saver, especially if you don’t know where to start.
Here’s the tradeoff: you’re outsourcing one of the most critical decisions in your business.
Recruiters will send you candidates based on the job description, which based on the information from the previous section, could be muddled information. Without The Job Scorecard™, it’s hard for either of you to know exactly what hard and soft skills you need in the Integrator.
At The Metiss Group, we teach you how to find and attract top candidates yourself.
Through The Hiring Process Coach™, you’ll learn how to:
- Write a compelling job posting focused on the type of person best suited for the Integrator role in YOUR culture.
- Tap into your center of influence — your network of business contacts, industry peers, and trusted connections — to get high-quality referrals.
- Screen candidates efficiently so you don’t waste too much time interviewing duds.
The real advantage: You become an expert in hiring.
When you work with a recruiter, you’re reliant on them to “get it right,” but when you go through our process, you develop a repeatable hiring system you can use for every key leadership role moving forward.
Instead of making a one-time hire, you’re building a skill set that will serve your business for years to come. Think of it like learning how to fish instead of us giving you a fish.
Differences In The First Year After Hiring Your Integrator
Most of the better recruiting firms will offer a guarantee after you hire an Integrator through them. These can vary from firm to firm, but generally, for whatever time period they identify, it means if the new Integrator didn’t work out, they will present new candidates to you until you hire a new one for no additional fee.
At The Metiss Group, we imbed The Accountability System™ into The Visionary-Integrator Catalyst™ so we are by your side throughout the first year.
Launch - The Integrator and Visionary will have a joint session with their Sr. Advisor to review their joint report on behaviors and motivators. They’ll learn how best to communicate with each other, leverage each other’s strengths, and avoid landmines. This shortens the learning curve, eliminates that walking-on-eggshells stage, and establishes a foundation of trust early.
The Job Scorecard™ is converted into The Performance Acceleration Tracker™ to track on-going performance for each of their roles, and modifications are made to align expectations for the first month/quarter. By narrowing the focus to the first quarter, both the Visionary and Integrator will have clarity on what the short term focus must be for long term success.
Monthly - The Sr. Advisor will schedule individual calls with each person separately. The Visionary will be asked how well everything is going with the Integrator, opportunities for improvement, and a similar call will be scheduled with the Integrator. Each will be coached by the Sr. Advisor how to address the other based on their profiles to ensure issues and opportunities are addressed at the earliest opportunities. The Sr. Advisor is also available for ad hoc coaching. The Sr. Advisor is never the intermediary; it’s all about creating reliable meeting rhythms with healthy communication.
Quarterly - The Sr. Advisor will facilitate the Performance Acceleration Tracker™ (PAT) for both roles with both the Visionary and the Integrator. It’s like the same page meeting on steroids! Any changes to the PAT are updated for next quarter’s expectation alignment and every success factor on both PAT’s are reviewed for on or off track notations.
Guarantee - If the Visionary and Leadership Team follow all the steps of the selection process, and the Visionary and Integrator attend all the meetings as scheduled during the first year of the Integrator’s employment, we guarantee it will be a successful engagement. If for some reason it is not successful, we will provide guidance through the hiring and first year of employment for the next Integrator at no additional investment.
Differences in pricing
Hiring an Integrator is a big investment, no matter how you do it. However, the cost structure varies dramatically depending on whether you use a recruiter or The Hiring Process Coach.
If you work with a recruiter, the cost is typically tied to the Integrator’s salary. Most search firms charge up to 30% of the new hire’s first-year TOTAL compensation - including anticipated incentives. That means if your Integrator is making $200,000, with an extra potential of $50 in incentives, you’re looking at a $75,000 recruiter fee for the placement.
On the other hand, The Metiss Group’s Hiring Process Coach charges a flat fee of $30,000-$35,000. There are no hidden costs or ongoing payments. And most importantly, you increase your own skill in selecting the best candidate for any role.
With a recruiter, you’re paying for convenience. They’ll run the search, bring you candidates, and handle most of the upfront work. But you’re also giving up control and clarity.
With our process, you’re investing in the ability to confidently find and hire the right person, not just for this role, but for any key leadership position in the future.
Which Integrator Hiring Approach is Right for You?
If you’re hiring an Integrator, then you’re about to make one of the most important hires in your company’s history. If you get it wrong, the entire business is going to feel the pain — misalignment at the top trickles down fast, leading to frustration, stalled growth, and costly turnover.
If you want to be completely hands-off and let someone else handle the search, then a recruiter might be the better fit. However, if you want more clarity for both Visionary and Integrator, and you want to develop the skills to confidently make high-stakes leadership hires in the future, then The Metiss Group’s The Hiring Process Coach™ is the smarter choice.
Here at The Metiss Group, we have guided hundreds of businesses through our proven hiring processes. Let us help you make the best Integrator hiring decision.
If you’re serious about hiring an Integrator who will truly move your business forward, the next step is to download our complimentary ebook, “Are You Ready for an Integrator?” This will answer any other questions you may have around Integrator hiring and help you decide if The Metiss Group’s solutions would be a good fit for your organization. Just click the button below to get started.
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