In a market crowded with “who-you-know” head-hunters, there’s a fundamental question every client should ask before choosing a search partner:

💡 Do you want access to a consultant’s personal network, or access to the entire market?

At Wyman Bain, we’re proudly research-led, not network-led. We don’t recycle shortlists or rely on the same familiar names. Instead, we build each search from first principles, mapping the market and approaching every relevant candidate with rigour, discretion, and transparency. Here’s why that approach delivers better results.

1️⃣ Market Coverage vs. Network Reach

• Network-led: Taps existing contacts, alumni groups and recycled databases. It’s quick, but limited. Ideal if your perfect candidate is already “known”, risky if they’re not.
• Research-led (our way): We map the entire market, competitors, adjacent sectors and emerging players, then proactively identify, assess and engage the full talent universe.
  
  

✅ Outcome: Wider, fresher, higher-quality shortlists, especially for niche, complex or evolving roles.

2️⃣ Evidence Over Anecdote

• Network-led: Heavy on “we know this person” stories, light on data.
• Research-led: Structured evidence at every stage, role scoping, target-company mapping, skills and competency alignment, compensation data and candidate-motivation analysis.
  
  

✅ Outcome: Decisions backed by verifiable data, not opinion.

3️⃣ Transparency You Can Audit

• Network-led: A black box, names appear, but the process is unclear.
• Research-led: Open, auditable reporting. You see who was considered, who engaged, who declined and why.

✅ Outcome: Confidence in both the process and the result.

4️⃣ Fresh Talent, Not Familiar Faces

• Network-led: Often presents “safe” profiles, well-known and frequently approached.
• Research-led: Uncovers overlooked pockets of talent, rising leaders, cross-sector movers and under-the-radar operators.

✅ Outcome: Competitive advantage through differentiated hires.

5️⃣ Speed Without Shortcuts

• Network-led: Fast lists from a small pool, speedy but shallow.
• Research-led: Disciplined timelines with depth, early market intelligence within weeks, structured longlist-to-shortlist progression, and continuous feedback.
  
  

✅ Outcome: Velocity with substance.

6️⃣ Real Market Intelligence—Before You Commit

• Network-led: Market insight is incidental and anecdotal.
• Research-led: We offer standalone Executive Market Intelligence engagements, salary benchmarking, competitor mapping, and candidate openness, so you can validate role design before launching a full search.
  
  

✅ Outcome: Better-defined briefs and higher first-time-right placements.

7️⃣ Assessment That Predicts Performance

• Network-led: Relies on reputation and tenure as proxies for fit.
• Research-led: Structured interviews, competency mapping and optional psychometrics aligned to your culture and success profile.
  
  

✅ Outcome: Reduced mis-hires and stronger long-term performance.

8️⃣ Partnership Beyond Placement

• Network-led: Engagement often ends at offer acceptance.
• Research-led: Defined post-placement touchpoints plus market maps, salary data and competitor intelligence you can reuse.
  
  

✅ Outcome: Institutional knowledge that compounds over time.

When Network-Led Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)

✔️ Makes sense: Urgent interim needs, repeat hires in commoditised roles, or when the exact candidate is already identified.
❌ Doesn’t: Transformational hires, confidential replacements, emerging disciplines, constrained geographies, or when you’ve already “seen the usual suspects”.

What Clients Value Most

• Certainty that the whole market has been explored
• Clear evidence behind each recommendation
• Candid feedback from candidates, why they would or wouldn’t move
• A shortlist that surprises in the best possible way

Our Promise 🤝

• Full-market coverage, not recycled networks
• Open, auditable process from brief to shortlist
• Research depth that stands up at board level
• Senior-led delivery with consistent communication
  

Ready to See the Difference? 🚀

If you’re considering a critical hire, or simply exploring the market, ask us about a Rapid Executive Market Intelligence Snapshot. We’ll validate role scope, salary and target companies, so you can decide with confidence whether to launch a full search.

💡 Before you commit, ask any search partner this simple question:
“How can you prove we’ve seen the best available talent, not just the best-known?”

At Wyman Bain, we’re ready to show you.