4 Strategies for an Impactful Executive Recruiting Process

Executive recruiting is both an art and a science. Your goal is to land the best talent, regardless of whether or not they are currently looking for an opportunity. View it as a buyer’s market with the candidate as the buyer. Learn four strategies for an effective executive recruiting process. Follow these tips to achieve the greatest success:

Streamline your process.

Executive-level talent has neither the time nor the desire to be mired down in a clunky, disorganized hiring process. From first contact to sealing the deal and onboarding, be sure your strategy, systems and methods are timely and efficient. You can – and will – lose your best prospects if your competition outruns you.

Walk through the process as though you were the candidate. Where are the bottlenecks and how can you eliminate them? If your executive hiring process is less than 100 percent smooth at any point, fix it.

Keep candidates in the loop. Move as quickly as you effectively can and communicate with candidates throughout. This applies to those who are eliminated along the way as well as top contenders. Your reputation as an employer – as well as the success of this particular hire – is at stake.

Use personal contacts and reference checks.

In this age of social media, solid personal reference checking is more important than ever. Do not rely solely on what is published online – or on references hand-picked by candidates.

Contact past managers, colleagues, direct reports and others who have worked with a prospect in the past.

Check out articles candidates have written and speaking engagements they have completed. How did they do? What was the response from their audiences?

Rely upon your search firm’s expertise to ensure that each and every candidate is properly vetted and their references support their resume. Your recruiter’s knowledge allows them to ask the right questions during the hiring process to be sure you have all details necessary to help you make a sound hiring decision.

Get to know your talent as individuals.

It becomes very personal when you bring on a new senior executive. There needs to be a strong connection based on mutual understanding between your new team member and their supervisor and colleagues.

Continuously communicate your company’s core values, mission and vision to ensure that they align with those of your candidate. Different executives can and should do things their own way; however, that base alignment can never be compromised. Creativity and out-of-the-box thinking are excellent as long as they keep everyone driving in the same direction.

Focus on the candidate’s needs.

Your candidate is your customer. When you think of a brand, you naturally think of a product or service. When hiring, your product is your organization – and candidate’s expectations are direct reflections of that brand. Create a positive experience that will set you apart from your competition, who are likely wooing the same high-performing talent.

• Find their pain points and provide relief. This is especially critical when recruiting passive talent. Dig deep and determine what is missing in their current situation; then figure out how to fill that gap. Work/life balance has always been important and today is more of a deal breaker than ever before. Chances are it is about more than just a compensation package.

The executive recruitment process can be difficult and time-consuming. The right search firm knows your company, your industry, your market and your challenges. Consider partnering with BrainWorks to effectively and efficiently address your ongoing needs. Read our related posts or contact us today to hear more.