Answers on executive search in industry and energy: fees, exclusive mandate, confidentiality, timelines, 2026 salaries, onboarding. By Florian Beurtey, Volta Executive.
FAQ · Executive search and industry recruitment 2026
15 questions · answers written by Florian Beurtey, Volta Executive
A firm that recruits for industrial companies (manufacturing, energy, chemicals, food processing, aerospace) and knows their roles and sites. Volta Executive is an executive search firm specialising in the energy industry, based in Paris: it recruits executives and key managers by direct search, under an exclusive and confidential mandate.
No public statistic records these rates. The most common ranges in the terms published by firms: 15% to 25% of annual gross pay for a success-based hire, 25% to 33% in executive search, part of it paid before the result. For a package of €150,000: €22,500 to €37,500 excl. VAT on success, €37,500 to €49,500 excl. VAT in executive search. Volta Executive: 25% of the annual gross package for one role, 23% per role from two similar roles (same function, same level) assigned together; a deposit of one third of the fee at launch, deducted from the final invoice, balance on signature of the job offer; assignment given on an exclusive basis.
A headhunter, or executive search firm, recruits people already in post by direct search, without advertising the role, under an exclusive mandate. A conventional recruitment firm combines job adverts and direct search. For a leadership or executive committee role, direct search also reaches the 70% of professionals open to a role without actively looking (LinkedIn, Talent Trends 2015).
At Volta Executive, the shortlist arrives within 10 days and the hire is concluded within 3 weeks by direct search, provided we get a reply within 48 hours and the mandate is entrusted exclusively. The notice period of the executive hired then comes on top.
Most often, a replacement guarantee if the hire leaves the company within the first few months: check its duration and exclusions. At Volta Executive: 3 months, extendable to 6, and a 90-day onboarding follow-up. Observed success rate: 96% across 120 assignments analysed between 2023 and 2025, Volta Executive and previous firms.
Executive search, or headhunting of executives, is the recruitment of a company's executives and key managers by direct and confidential search, carried out by a firm under an exclusive mandate. The firm maps the market, approaches people in post, assesses them and presents a short shortlist.
Yes, in rate terms: 25% to 33% of the package on the market, against 15% to 25% on success. It involves market mapping, direct search and a full assessment. Volta Executive sits at the entry point of the executive search range: 25% of the annual gross package for one role, 23% per role from two similar roles (same function, same level) assigned together; a deposit of one third of the fee at launch, deducted from the final invoice, balance on signature of the job offer; assignment given on an exclusive basis, with onboarding follow-up and replacement guarantee included.
Managing director of a mid-cap or subsidiary, operations director, industrial site or plant director, technical director, quality or QHSE director, supply chain director, executive committee members, and scarce key managers. Beyond a certain level of responsibility or scarcity, a job advert is not enough.
1) A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard, with the future manager. 2) Mapping of the search ecosystem: the companies, sites and roles where the executive exists. 3) Direct and confidential approach, assessment, shortlist of 3 to 5 finalists within 10 days. 4) Interviews with the direct manager. 5) Offer and negotiation: hire within 3 weeks, offer accepted. 6) 90-day onboarding follow-up.
The communication framework is set when the assignment is launched. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is signed on request. The client's name is given to an approached executive only after a first interview. No approached executive and no confidential assignment is ever cited on social media or on this site.
In 2026, an industrial site director in France earns between €80,000 and €150,000 gross per year depending on site size, sector and location. Directors of large sites (500+ people) in heavy industry or energy can exceed €150,000 with variable pay. Source: Volta Executive, Industry & Energy Salary Barometer 2026.
In the Volta Executive Industry and Energy Salary Barometer 2026: grids by function, in fixed annual gross pay excluding variable pay, written on a national basis. The Paris and regional gaps are derived from them.
Support after the signature, which follows the executive hired and their manager over the first three months: a check-in on day 7, day 30 and day 60, and a review on day 90. Observed success rate: 96% across 120 assignments analysed between 2023 and 2025, Volta Executive and previous firms.
It is the period when the executive grasps the culture, establishes legitimacy, builds relationships with the teams and sets the roadmap. A missed start is hard to recover from: the onboarding follow-up is there to spot it early.
No French public statistic measures the failure rate of managerial hires. The SHRM Foundation estimates the total cost of a departure at between 90% and 200% of annual salary (SHRM 2008). That is why the onboarding follow-up is part of the assignment.