Everything about executive search
The Volta Executive method
The Volta method in four stages
A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard, a map of the search ecosystem, a shortlist within 10 days, a hire within 3 weeks. The 3 weeks run from scoping to the chosen candidate accepting the offer, when all five key success factors are in place. The candidate's notice period, often three months for an employed manager, comes on top.
- 01Day 1
A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard
One hour with the future manager, not just HR. We come out with the three results expected at twelve months, the real budget including variable pay, and a scorecard ranking each skill: essential, necessary, useful, bonus.
Deliverable: Scorecard approved by the manager
- 02Days 1 to 3
Map the search ecosystem
The companies, sites and roles where the profile really exists: competitors, suppliers, customers, neighbouring sectors doing the same job under another name. We know how many people fit the scorecard before writing the first message.
Deliverable: A quantified talent map
- 03Within 10 days
A shortlist within 10 days
Three to five candidates approached directly, met, assessed against the scorecard by an engineer, presented with their motivations and real salary expectations. Not a pile of CVs.
Deliverable: 3 to 5 reasoned profiles
- 04Within 3 weeks
A hire within 3 weeks by direct search
Two interview rounds at most, with the direct manager. The package and the counter-offer are prepared before the final interview: the offer goes out within 24 hours and the chosen candidate says yes.
Deliverable: Offer accepted, start date set
What makes a hire succeed, and what makes it fail
Each success factor has an exact opposite. When a hire goes off track, it is almost always enough to find which of the five was let slip.
Key success factors
Failure factors, opposite
Success
An answer within 48 hours at most
The client answers on each candidate presented within 48 hours; the firm gets back to each candidate within 24 hours. The rule is set at scoping, not along the way.
Failures
Slowness
Ten days without news between two interviews: the employed candidate concludes they are not a priority, and accepts elsewhere. The very best profiles stay available for about ten days.
Success
Exclusivity given to a single firm
One firm fully committed to the role, one message to the market, one salary announced. That is the condition for the 3-week timeline.
Failures
Several competing firms
Three or four firms on the same role: three half-efforts, the same candidate called four times with four different salaries, and an employer brand that pays the price.
Success
A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard
One hour is enough when it is well run: what is at stake, expected results, skills ranked by priority. The scorecard separates the essential from the desirable.
Failures
The five-legged sheep
A job description that piles up everything nice to have describes a candidate who does not exist. The search goes round for months after an unfindable profile.
Success
Talking directly to the future manager
The firm talks to the direct manager from the scoping stage, and the candidate meets them in the first round. They know what the role must deliver in twelve months.
Failures
No dialogue with the direct manager
A brief relayed by a go-between, a mismatch discovered at the third interview, and an assignment back to square one.
Success
A defined search ecosystem
The list of companies and roles where the profile exists, agreed with the client before the first approach. Direct search starts on day three.
Failures
Job ads without search
An ad posted while waiting for applications. For a management role or a skills-shortage job, the people able to do it are employed and do not read ads.
Fees and terms
How much does an executive search firm cost?
Most often 15% to 25% of annual pay on a success basis, 25% to 33% in executive search (most frequent ranges in published terms, no public statistic). Volta Executive: 25% of the annual gross package for one role, 23% per role from two similar roles, assigned together (same function and same level); a deposit of one third at launch, deducted from the final invoice, balance on signature of the job offer; exclusive mandate.
How are the fees paid?
In two stages: a deposit of one third of the fees at launch, deducted from the final invoice, then the balance on signature of the job offer. For a site director on a €120,000 package: €30,000 excl. VAT, i.e. €10,000 at launch and €20,000 on signature. Replacement guarantee and 90-day integration follow-up included.
Why assign the mandate exclusively?
Because an executive called by three firms hears three pitches and three salaries, and your approach stops being discreet. With exclusivity, a single firm carries your role to the market, reports on its search and approaches each executive only once.
Are there hidden fees?
No. 25% of the annual gross package for one role, 23% per role from two similar roles, assigned together, with a deposit of one third at launch, and nothing else: no travel expenses, no reporting fees. 3-month replacement guarantee, extendable to 6 months, included.
Confidentiality
How is the confidentiality of an assignment protected?
Direct and discreet search, exclusive mandate, non-disclosure agreement (NDA) on request. No executive approached and no confidential mandate is ever cited on social media or on this site.
Florian Beurtey is very present on social media: will my hire appear there?
No. No executive approached and no confidential mandate is ever cited on social media or on this site. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) can be signed on request.
Can you sign an NDA?
Yes, on request, notably for an executive committee role, a strategic role or a sensitive context: confidential replacement, unannounced project.
Timelines & process
How long does it take to hire an industrial director?
At Volta Executive, the shortlist arrives within 10 days and the hire is concluded within 3 weeks by direct search, provided you reply within 48 h and the mandate is exclusive. The candidate's notice period is added afterwards.
How long for a maintenance manager?
Volta Executive: shortlist of 3 to 5 profiles within 10 days, hire within 3 weeks by direct search.
How does the process work?
4 stages: day 1, 1 h of scoping and a scorecard with the future manager; days 1-3, mapping of the search ecosystem; shortlist of 3 to 5 profiles within 10 days; hire within 3 weeks by direct search. Then days 30-90, support for the executive hired and their manager.
How many profiles do you present?
A shortlist of 3 to 5 executives assessed against the role's scorecard, references checked, each with their own presentation file.
What is direct search recruitment?
Direct search, or headhunting, consists of identifying and then personally contacting professionals in post who do not respond to job ads. The firm first maps the search ecosystem (companies, sites, roles where the profile exists), then approaches each person by LinkedIn, email and phone.
What are the key success factors in hiring a manager?
Five conditions: a response within 48 hours at most; exclusivity given to a single firm; 1 hour of scoping and a scorecard; speaking directly to the future manager; a defined search ecosystem. Together, they make a shortlist within 10 days and a hire within 3 weeks possible.
Why does a manager hire fail?
Five causes keep coming back: slowness; multi-firm competition; the five-legged sheep; no dialogue with the direct manager; the job ad without the search. Each is the exact opposite of a success factor: slowness versus the 48-hour response, multi-firm competition versus exclusivity, the five-legged sheep versus scoping.
Why give a hire exclusively to a single firm?
Because several firms on the same role approach the same candidates with different pitches and different salaries, and none can commit 100%. Exclusivity allows the firm to hold to a timeline (shortlist within 10 days, hire within 3 weeks) and the market to hear a single message.
What is a “five-legged sheep” in recruitment?
An ideal profile that does not exist: a job description that adds up every desirable skill without ranking them. The answer is the scorecard, built during the scoping hour, which separates the essential skills from those that decide between two finalists.
Expertise & roles
Which positions do you recruit for?
Leadership roles first: general management, executive committee members, site and plant directors, operations directors, technical directors, QHSE and supply chain. Then the key managers a site depends on: production, maintenance and operations managers.
In which sectors?
The energy industry, in five areas of expertise: energy recovery (EfW, SRF, biomass, district heating), industry and manufacturing, power electronics, BESS and HV/LV, decarbonisation, energy efficiency.
Do you have real technical expertise?
Yes. Every assignment is led by the founder, Florian Beurtey, an engineer from Mines Saint-Étienne and AgroParisTech, with ten years in plants at EDF and Safran. He personally assesses the technical and managerial level of the executives approached.
Executive Search
What is executive search?
The recruitment of executives by direct search, on an exclusive mandate: market mapping, confidential approach to executives in post, in-depth assessment, shortlist, then integration follow-up.
What is the difference between executive search and conventional recruitment?
Executive search: no advert, direct approach to executives in post, exclusive mandate, confidentiality and NDA on request, leadership assessment, 90-day support. Conventional recruitment: public adverts, active candidates, often several firms on a success-only basis.
Which roles in executive search?
Managing director, executive committee member, industrial director, operations director, site director. At least five confidential international executive search assignments, on packages of €150 to 200k, detailed under NDA.
How long to hire a managing director?
At Volta Executive, the timeline is the same as for any role: shortlist within 10 days, hire within 3 weeks by direct search, plus the candidate's notice period. For a managing director, the discretion required widens the mapping of the search ecosystem, not the timeline.
Support & guarantees
Why 90 days of support?
Because the first months decide an executive's integration. Check-ins at D7, D30, D60 and D90 with the executive hired and their manager. 96% success at 6 months, over 120 assignments analysed between 2023 and 2025, Volta Executive and previous firms.
What replacement guarantee?
3 months, extendable to 6 months: if the executive hired leaves the role or the probationary period is terminated within that time, the search is relaunched at no new fees. The exclusions are set out in our terms and conditions.
What is your success rate?
96% success at 6 months, over 120 assignments analysed between 2023 and 2025, Volta Executive and previous firms, with 90-day integration follow-up. Method: 1 h of scoping and a scorecard, direct search, shortlist within 10 days, follow-up after the signature.
Geography
Where are you based?
Volta Executive is a Parisian executive search boutique, at 58 rue de Monceau, Paris 8th. Assignments cover the whole of France, on the same terms everywhere.
Do you hire candidates who relocate?
Yes. Mobility is addressed from the scoping stage: relocation package, partial remote working, spouse support.
Costs & ROI
How much does a bad hire cost?
According to the SHRM Foundation, the total cost of a departure is between 90% and 200% of annual salary. The site's simulator prices it with your own assumptions.
How much does an open role cost?
In 2024, 54% of companies that hired a manager ran into difficulties, and hiring a manager took 12 weeks on average (Apec, 2025). The site's simulator prices the cost of one month of vacancy with your assumptions.
What ROI for a firm vs DIY?
In-house: no fees, but your teams' time and a role that stays empty while applications are lacking. With Volta Executive: a hire within 3 weeks by direct search and 96% success at 6 months, over 120 assignments analysed between 2023 and 2025, Volta Executive and previous firms. The site's simulator prices the cost of an open role with your assumptions.