The Brookfield Village Board on April 23 is expected to approve hiring Slavin Management Consultants to recruit candidates for village manager, a job opening created when Keith Sbiral resigned the post in March.
Michelle Robbins, the village’s human resources director recommended hiring the Norcross, Georgia-based firm over six others who submitted proposals for the job of finding the village’s next manager.
“We want somebody that’s going to [find us] the best candidate for the best price,” Robbins said.
While Slavin’s maximum fee was not the lowest of the seven proposals submitted, village trustees were impressed by the firm’s offer that its president would conduct the Brookfield search and that Slavin capped expenses at 55 percent of the base fee, which is $14,980. That means Slavin’s maximum fee could amount to $23,219.
Of the top three firms recommended by Robbins, Slavin’s cost was in the middle. The fee for the No. 2 candidate, Springsted/Waters Executive Recruitment, was a flat $24,500. The third top candidate, Northbrook-based GovHR proposed a base fee of $13,000 with expenses at $6,000 for a total of $19,000.
However, GovHR did not put a cap on their fees and both Robbins and Jay Dalicandro, the consultant hired by the board to manage staff and projects while the search was taking place, agreed on Slavin as the top firm.
“I would suggest at the next meeting [on April 23] we bring you the contract that we’re working with Slavin and it just gets approved,” Dalicandro said.
Slavin also gave a timeline of between 60 and 90 days to find, interview and identify finalists for the job. No other firm suggested the search could be done in less than 90 days.
The time frame for hiring, said Robbins, would also be driven by the village board’s determination to move things along more quickly. Making decisions more quickly could also serve to lower expenses and keep the search cost under $23,000.
“The faster the board moves and makes decision, the shorter the time frame,” Robbins said. “You guys have the ability to control that.”
The company also came with a track record of finding municipal employee candidates for a number of suburban Chicago communities, including Oak Park, Evanston, Glen Ellyn, Arlington Heights, Highland Park, Glenview and Park Ridge.
Trustee Michael Garvey asked if it might be possible for the village to conduct its own search, but Dalicandro encouraged using an outside consultant in order to attract better quality candidates from a wider pool.
“I think it makes the town look a little more professional in their selection criteria,” Dalicandro said.
