Recent executive hires in the city of Grand Rapids have prompted eye rolls on social media: Why pay a search firm only to hire the internal candidate?
In five of 11 recent executive hiring searches, Grand Rapids hired the internal candidate. Contracts obtained via Freedom of Information request show the city approved as much as $189,250 in search firm fees in the six most recent executive searches.
It’s an expense city officials say is necessary to ensure access to top talent and a fair process.
“Search firms bring specialized expertise for every role: they have established networks and market knowledge specific to each field, they can reach passive candidates who aren’t actively job-searching but may be the strongest fit, and they provide an added layer of vetting and reference-checking rigor for roles where the cost of hiring a poor fit is high,” said the spokesperson via email.
The city contracted with Public Sector Search & Consulting for $28,500, ultimately to hire Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Joe Trigg, the interim chief. Likewise, Philip Strom was named city attorney after serving as interim in April. Grand Rapids paid $32,500 to Mosaic Public Partners for the attorney search.
The search for a city engineer resulted in naming Cindy Irving, who served as interim. Grand Rapids hired CPS HR Consulting, with costs not to exceed $32,000.
In a joint search contract, the city hired National Career for costs not to exceed $68,250 for the roles of Parks & Recreation director and community development director. Out of that search, Laura Cleypool was named Parks & Recreation director, having served in the interim role, but the hire for community development director, Selma Tucker, was external.
Wayne Jernberg was named utilities director, after serving as interim director. The city had approved costs not to exceed $28,000 with the search firm Management Business Solutions.
A city spokesperson pointed out recent external hires: former Police Chief Eric Winstrom, hired from the Chicago Police Department; economic directors Sarah Rainero and Jeremiah Garcia, from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the city of Dublin, Ohio, respectively; former Engineering Director Tim Burkman, from the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council, and Deputy City Manager Kate Berens, from the city of Bellevue, Wash.
All were external hires, recruited by hiring search firms.
The city spokesperson says using search firms allows Grand Rapids to recruit candidates quietly, who might experience pushback if their interest in leaving their current role were to become public.
“Beyond expertise, a search does a few other important things: it market-tests the role, giving us confidence that the candidate we select, whether internal or external, is genuinely the strongest available option rather than simply the most convenient one,” a spokesperson said via email. “It also protects the integrity and fairness of the process for highly scrutinized public-sector leadership positions. Additionally, it helps identify strong external candidates in the cases where the interim isn’t the right long-term fit, which does happen.”
Write to juliana@grherald.com