Beyond placement rate — what the full outcome distribution of VP and C-suite searches tells us about how to run them.
The headline outcome of an executive search is placement or no-placement. But that binary obscures a richer picture. Some searches close cleanly. Some close with a hire who leaves within a year. Some are abandoned mid-search, restart with a new firm, or result in internal promotions that weren't the original intent.
| Outcome Type | Estimated Frequency | Primary Cause |
|---|---|---|
| Successful placement, hire stays 18+ months | ~55–60% | Strong intake + retained search discipline |
| Placement, hire exits within 18 months | ~20–25% | Role drift, cultural misfit, or comp mismatch |
| Search abandoned before placement | ~8–12% | Budget change, role redefinition, or M&A |
| Search restarted with new firm | ~6–10% | Poor shortlist quality or process breakdown |
| Internal promotion after failed search | ~4–6% | External bar not met, internal candidate surfaced |
The role defined at intake is not the role being evaluated at offer stage. Scope changes, reporting structure shifts, or revised compensation bands introduced mid-search create candidates who accepted one brief and are now assessed against a different one.
Standard screening processes optimize for competency, not cultural operating style. A candidate who can do the job but operates in a fundamentally different mode from the founding team becomes a cultural failure within 12 months — even if they produced early results.
When the final offer doesn't reflect the candidate's current expectations — which evolved through the process — the most common response is decline, not negotiation. A well-managed search builds continuous compensation alignment throughout.
When a search runs long, hiring managers compress evaluation criteria. The hire becomes "the best we've seen" rather than "the right fit." This is the mechanism behind most of the 40% failure rate.
References are typically collected as a formality after an offer is decided. A structured reference process — called before the offer is made, with specific behavioral questions — routinely surfaces information that changes the hiring decision.
The 90-day period after a VP joins is as high-risk as the search itself. Majhi Group's 90-day replacement guarantee reflects this — engagement continues through the at-risk window, not just through signature.
A $275K executive search closed in 41 days after two prior firms each failed in 60+ days apiece. The prior failures weren't sourcing failures — both firms produced shortlists. They failed at qualification depth and offer management. The Majhi Group engagement started with a rebuilt intake brief, pre-qualification calls with every candidate before the formal process, and active counter-offer management in the final two weeks.
Approximately 55–60% result in a placement where the hire stays past 18 months. Majhi Group's placement hold rate is 90%+ as of June 2026.
Three causes account for over 70% of failures: role definition drift between intake and offer, cultural misalignment not caught at screening, and compensation mismatch at the offer stage.
Majhi Group replaces any placement that doesn't work within the first 90 days at no additional charge, keeping the firm engaged through the highest-risk post-hire window.
By pre-qualifying candidates on compensation structure before they enter the formal process, actively managing competing offers, and beginning the closing process at first interview rather than at offer stage.
Retained search is appropriate for VP and C-suite roles where the cost of a failed hire exceeds the retained fee, where role confidentiality matters, and where the hiring leader needs a structured process.
Every Majhi Group engagement starts with a 20-minute confidential search assessment — using your actual role as context, not a generic demo.
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