The Howard Group, Inc. ("The Howard Group," "we," "our," or "us") is an executive search firm. We work with clients to fill positions and with candidates exploring those opportunities. Our work is built on trust — both clients and candidates share information with us that they would not share casually, and we treat that trust as central to our practice.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, with whom we share it, and the rights you have regarding your information. It applies to our website, our search work, and any related communications.
1. Information We Collect
We collect information in three primary contexts: from website visitors, from candidates engaged in our search practice, and from clients engaging our services.
Website visitors. When you visit our website, we may collect information you voluntarily provide through contact forms, email, or direct inquiry. We also collect technical information automatically, including your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring website, pages visited, time spent on the site, and approximate geographic location. This information is collected through standard web server logs and through analytics tools described in Section 8.
Candidates. When you engage with us as a candidate — whether you contacted us, we contacted you, or you were referred to us — we may collect and maintain the following: your name, contact information, current and prior employment history, resume and cover letter, education, professional credentials and licenses, compensation history and expectations, geographic preferences, references and the information they share with us, intake conversation notes, motivator and decision-criteria analysis, public-record screening results, and any other information relevant to evaluating your fit for opportunities.
Clients. When you engage us to conduct a search, we collect and maintain the following: your name and title, contact information, organizational details, position descriptions, search criteria and weighting, intake conversation notes, internal stakeholder context you share with us, candidate evaluation feedback, hiring decisions, and any other information relevant to the execution of the search.
2. How We Use Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To execute search engagements — matching candidates to client opportunities, preparing written candidate evaluations, conducting research, and managing the search process from intake through placement.
- To communicate with candidates and clients about active opportunities, ongoing searches, and follow-up matters.
- To maintain ongoing relationships — candidates we have placed, candidates we have engaged in prior searches, and clients with whom we maintain ongoing search work.
- To respond to inquiries received through our website, email, or other contact channels.
- To improve our website and our practice — including analytics about how visitors use our website (described in Section 8) and internal review of our search methodology and outcomes.
- To meet legal, regulatory, or contractual obligations.
3. AI-Assisted Research and Document Preparation
The Howard Group uses artificial intelligence tools to assist with candidate research, evaluation, and document preparation. AI is used to deepen our research capabilities, sharpen the rigor of our written work, and produce the comprehensive documentation that is delivered to clients and candidates.
We want to be clear about what AI does and does not do in our practice:
- AI assists our work; it does not replace the judgment of the firm. Search strategy, candidate evaluation, scoring, and presentation decisions are made by the firm's recruiters, not by AI.
- Confidential candidate and client information is handled in accordance with the firm's data security practices and the terms of our agreements with the AI service providers we use.
- AI tools used in our work are operated under enterprise terms that do not permit the use of confidential information for training third-party AI models.
4. How We Share Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your information to third parties for their marketing purposes. We share information only as described below.
Candidate information shared with clients. The core of our practice is presenting candidates to clients for specific search engagements. With your knowledge as a candidate, we share your professional information — including your resume and our written evaluation of your fit — with the specific client we are presenting you to. We do not share candidate information with clients outside of an active search engagement, and we do not share candidate information with other candidates.
Service providers. We use third-party service providers to support our practice, including email and communication services, document storage and preparation tools, AI service providers (described in Section 3), and website analytics providers (described in Section 8). These providers have access to information only as needed to perform their services and are bound by their own privacy and security obligations.
Legal and regulatory obligations. We may disclose information when required by law, regulation, court order, or other legal process; when necessary to establish or defend the firm's legal rights; or when necessary to protect the safety of any person.
Business transitions. If The Howard Group is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale, or other business transition, information about candidates and clients may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to the same privacy commitments described in this policy.
5. Data Retention
Executive search relationships are long-term by nature. We may stay in touch with candidates across multiple opportunities over many years, and we may continue to work with clients across multiple searches. Accordingly:
- We retain candidate information for the duration of our relationship with you and for a period of time thereafter, to support future opportunities and ongoing relationships. You may request deletion at any time (see Section 7).
- We retain client information for the duration of our engagement and for a period of time thereafter for record-keeping, dispute resolution, and ongoing business purposes.
- Website visitor information collected automatically is retained according to standard analytics retention schedules described by our analytics providers.
6. Information Security
We take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold, including secure storage, access controls limiting who within the firm can access candidate and client information, and use of reputable service providers with their own security practices. No system can be guaranteed against all unauthorized access, but we have designed our practice to keep candidate and client information as protected as reasonably possible.
7. Your Rights and Choices
You have the following rights regarding the information we hold about you:
- See what information we have. You may request a summary of the information we hold about you.
- Correct information. You may request that we correct inaccurate or outdated information.
- Request deletion. You may request that we delete information we hold about you. Some information may be retained where required by law or for legitimate business reasons (e.g., records of completed search engagements).
- Opt out of future contact. You may ask us to stop contacting you about new opportunities at any time. Note that opt-out applies to general business development outreach; it does not affect communications related to a search you are actively engaged in.
- Express concerns. You may raise any concern about how we handle your information, and we will respond.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email address in Section 10.
8. Cookies, Analytics, and Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to support site functionality and to understand how visitors use the site.
Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand traffic patterns on our website — how visitors arrive, which pages they visit, and how long they stay. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect this information. Aggregated analytics data helps us improve the website. We do not share, sell, or rent Google Analytics data with anyone. Google's use of this data is governed by Google's own privacy practices, available at policies.google.com/privacy.
Cookies generally. Cookies are small data files placed on your device when you visit a website. We use cookies to support site functionality, remember your preferences, and analyze site usage. You can control cookies through your browser settings — most browsers allow you to refuse cookies, delete existing cookies, or alert you when cookies are being sent. Disabling cookies may limit some site functionality.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practice, technology, or legal requirements. When we update the policy, we will revise the Effective Date at the top of the policy. Material changes will be communicated to candidates and clients with active engagements. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how The Howard Group handles your information, please contact us:
The Howard Group, Inc.
Email: info@thehowardgroup.com