Delivering Excellence - just not to employees - Associate Search Consultant Thurn Partners Employee Review

I would like to expand on, and clarify, some points made in recent reviews by former Thurn Partners employees, as well as introduce some of my own. Firstly, it is vital to acknowledge that Thurn Partners is NOT an executive search firm, as was stated in the interview process and in responses by the company here. Executive search focuses on headhunting high-level executives for senior and leadership roles – Thurn Partners is largely a contingent recruitment firm where consultants are given junior and even entry-level mandates to fill, for which the business is not retained by their clients. This is an important distinction to make when considering business expectations, and speaks to the high-pressure nature of Thurn Partners. Many of my points have been noted extensively in previous reviews: lack of adequate training; long hours with no flexibility or payoff; high turnover (a ‘hire to fire’ mentality which should be left in the past – no successful business should be doubling headcount with grads who have zero recruitment experience). Thurn Partners has attempted to address these points in their responses, so I will not discuss these further, though I feel they deserve to be mentioned. Now, regarding associate expectations: all new hires are acutely aware of the metrics required of them (largely due to the KPI ‘leaderboard’ used as a motivation tactic, though in reality this encourages unnecessary competition between consultants – yet another blow to Thurn’s company culture, or lack thereof). Where Thurn Partners falls short is setting realistic expectations and fostering an environment in which these can be achieved. It has been said many times that adequate training is not given, regular feedback is lacking, and expectations are unrealistic and rigid from a very early stage. I don’t agree that Thurn’s current L&D is a ‘real strength’, as has been stated, given the hour-by-hour micromanagement and aggressive methods which make consultants uncomfortable making mistakes. Remuneration. While starting salary is below the London living wage, this does increase to just above this figure upon passing probation. The primary issue, however, is with the commission scheme. Given the nature of the roles, it can take up to two years to receive commission for a placement. Despite comments from Thurn Partners arguing otherwise, this is NOT usual for executive search, where researchers are remunerated regularly for their efforts. Thurn Partners’ most worrying concern is the office environment and company culture. Female associates were privy to uncomfortable comments and conversations from consultant to director level, both directly and indirectly, with little consequence. I would particularly like to address comments made in responses by Thurn Partners that matters such as these were taken seriously and led to the removal of an employee. Without going into specifics, comments were raised about this person months before they were let go on the basis of performance, while their actions were left largely without punishment, so to speak. I understand I may be recollecting a different incident, but regardless, it is extremely disappointing that this situation was not considered as serious as it should have been, particularly given the all-female People Team. Finally, the responses to recent reviews are very telling, and speak to the company culture at Thurn Partners. Comments such as ‘if [the turnover numbers] were as high as you suggest, the office would be empty by now’ are not only untrue – headcount can easily be tracked on LinkedIn – but come across as immature and show a lack of accountability that is apparent throughout the organisation. This is ironic given accountability is listed as a core value on the website. Overall, I appreciate it is not impossible to succeed at Thurn Partners, but I believe this is through a combination of luck and favouritism from management, and very little to do with skill or hard work.