When you find your ideal candidate, their attraction to your company won’t be based solely on cash.  Tying compensation plans to performance is crucial.  This requires your ESP to understand the candidate’s “hot buttons” and the limitation and permutations of your compensation program.  They need to understand what drives the candidate’s performance to achieve your corporate goals and what’s possible financially and structurally inside your company.  This is a more vital question the higher up in the organization the new hire will be. The ESP should be able to provide you with the most up-to-date information for the discipline and/or geographic area.