Your First 90 Days as Head of Executive Talent Acquisition: A Practical Playbook
Taking on a new role as Head of Executive Talent Acquisition is no small feat—especially if you’ve inherited a patchy internal function or been hired to build one from the ground up. Maybe there’s still heavy reliance on executive search firms. Maybe the business knows it needs a better succession pipeline but hasn’t yet invested in the capability. Either way, those first 90 days are pivotal.
At MapX, we’ve seen this story play out time and again. We work with organisations at this very stage—either setting the foundations or reshaping what’s already there. This blog distils that experience into an actionable roadmap for leaders who want to establish a high-impact, self-sufficient executive hiring function.
Whether you’re walking into a blank canvas or looking to make an existing setup more cost-effective and strategic, this one’s for you.
Align with the Business—Fast
Before building anything, you need context. Lots of it. The most common mistake new leaders make is rushing to implement tools and processes before deeply understanding the business.
Key moves in your first 30 days:
Meet your executive stakeholders. Understand how they view executive hiring today—what works, what’s broken, and what success looks like.
Clarify hiring priorities. Which roles are on the horizon? What skills or experiences will the business need over the next 6–12 months?
Assess the talent landscape. Review recent exec hires, use of search firms, costs, time-to-hire, and candidate quality.
Understand internal capability. Are there team members who can be upskilled into executive search? What systems are in place (or missing)?
This is also the point where succession planning strategy should enter the conversation. Are you hiring reactively, or are you building for the future?
Build or Rebuild the Operating Model
With insights in hand, you can begin shaping an operating model that blends in-house ownership with strategic outsourcing—rather than defaulting to the latter.
Core decisions to make:
What can you take in-house? Some roles will still require partners, but many can be run internally with the right sourcing capability.
Where should you invest in tools? Map your tech stack. Do you have an ATS or CRM that supports executive search workflows? What’s missing?
What’s your process? Define a consistent process for executive hiring—from briefing to onboarding. This is crucial for credibility with senior stakeholders.
Do you have the right talent? You may need to bring in one or two senior recruiters who know the exec market—or lean on interim support while building.
At MapX, we've helped clients map out recruitment processes that enable their teams to lead executive search confidently, reducing time-to-hire and increasing quality.
Introduce Talent Mapping and Market Intelligence
If you’re not already running talent mapping or using market mapping in recruitment, now is the time. This is what shifts executive TA teams from reactive to proactive.
What this looks like in practice:
Build and maintain candidate maps for key leadership roles.
Research competitors and track their leadership teams—this is crucial for benchmarking and leadership succession planning.
Use talent intelligence platforms (like ours!) to track movement and identify rising stars.
Start succession conversations early—who’s ready now, who could be ready soon, and who do we need to go and find?
This kind of forward-thinking talent and succession planning doesn’t just reduce search fees—it strengthens your position at the strategy table.
Shift the Mindset Around Search Firm Spend
It’s not about cutting search partners entirely—it’s about spending more wisely. The first 90 days are your chance to shift the narrative.
How to reframe it:
Use data to show the real cost of outsourcing a large amount of exec hires.
Highlight wins where you’ve sourced or pipelined talent internally.
Position external partners as value-add extensions, not crutches.
Set up clear criteria for when to use external firms (e.g. stealth hires, specialist geographies, or confidential replacements).
We’ve worked with businesses that reduced external search spend by over 60% within their first year of implementing structured executive candidate sourcing processes. The key was proving ROI early and often.
Build Your Brand Internally
Success in this role isn’t just about finding candidates—it’s about winning hearts and minds. If execs don’t trust the internal function, they’ll go elsewhere.
To build credibility:
Share early insights from market mapping and talent sourcing activity.
Communicate clearly and consistently with senior stakeholders.
Celebrate quick wins—internal hires, stronger shortlists, better feedback.
Ask for feedback—and act on it.
Being seen as a strategic enabler, rather than a transactional recruiter, is what will give you long-term influence.
Quick Wins to Deliver in 90 Days
If you're building from scratch or turning around a struggling team, these are the quick wins that will earn you trust fast:
Create a live talent map for at least one critical exec role.
Present a review of past search spend with recommendations to reduce cost.
Launch a consistent executive hiring process document or playbook.
Conduct a succession planning audit with one business unit.
Identify one external partner to phase out—or renegotiate more favourable terms.
Final Thought: Own the Function, Don’t Rent It
Your first 90 days are about laying the groundwork for a function that’s not just operational—but essential. One that’s proactive, data-led, and deeply connected to the business.
At MapX, we believe executive hiring should be a core strategic function, not something you outsource by default. We’ve helped businesses build that capability using talent intelligence, candidate mapping, and smarter sourcing strategies—and you can too.
We’ve worked with large listed businesses, investor backed businesses and PE funds directly and if you're at the start of that journey, we’d love to share more of what we’ve learned.
👉 Want to make your executive hiring function more self-sufficient?
Drop us a line to see how MapX can help you reduce search spend, build better pipelines, and make smarter leadership hires.