Why C-Level Recruiters Are Crucial for Identifying and Retaining Top Talent

There’s no shortage of articles, tips, and advice regarding how to attract the top talent to your business. Less common is practical information on how to best identify, bring on, and retain top talent—particularly at the executive level.

It’s an unfortunate oversight, particularly since the stakes for hiring and retaining the best possible candidates are even higher for C-level, managerial, and executive hiring. They’re hiring decisions and strategies that can literally dictate the future of a business for better or for worse. So, if you’re thinking about or actively seeking an executive hire, consider the following.

Partner with an Experienced, C-Level Recruiting Firm

First and foremost, the name of the game is “executive recruiting firm.” It’s a truism that applies across industries and scale—a small consumer goods company should be looking for the best C-level CPG recruiters just like a Fortune 500 corporation with a successful online presence should be seeking out the best executive ecommerce recruitment partner.

An experienced recruiting firm with skilled recruiters will do a number of things to source and place the STAR talent needed for an executive role. They’ll ask the right questions of both client and candidates, refine the hiring strategy, identify the strongest applicants, and aid in the interview process. But the very best recruiting firms, the ones that stand out from the rest, won’t be finished after proposing the best fit for the C-level position. A truly top-notch executive recruiting firm, such as BrainWorks, will also then assist with the offer, negotiations, and onboarding process. And that’s in addition to checking in periodically after the hire, and remaining a resource both the employer and their new hire can access. A talented executive recruiting firm is every employer’s best partner and a worthwhile investment in the future of any business.

Identifying What Makes the Best the Best

To find the best talent, it’s necessary to be able to source and identify the best talent among the industry. Here too a C-level recruiting firm is invaluable. Since the top executive recruiters are working closely with the employer to establish a hiring strategy, they’re going to have insight into and understanding of the company’s culture, the client’s priorities, the specific details of the position, and the responsibilities accompanying it.

By leveraging their fine-tuned talent identification, vetting, and analysis processes, an experienced executive recruiting firm will source and identify quality candidates. They’ll also draw candidates from their considerable networks in order to present STAR applicants that they recognize as not only the best, but also the best top talent and the right fit for that specific position. A skilled executive recruiter will consider those with the perfect culture fit as well as the talent, experience, and skill set needed to really thrive.

Communication and Collaboration with the Recruiter

Even companies needing data science recruiters to identify experts in big data and analytics can overlook the importance of effectively collecting, outlining, and communicating the data relevant to the position they’re hiring for. Or they may simply need a little help to ensure what they need and want in the person filling the executive position is clear. Fortunately, the best executive recruiting firms should specialize in forming true partnerships with clients and help fill any gaps in the recruitment plan or strategy.

The key to an effective partnership is communication and collaboration between both parties. Incomplete job descriptions and priorities that are not fully flushed out, as well as preferences, concerns, and doubts not communicated are very likely not going to be addressed or resolved. Anything left unsaid to a recruiting firm by the company could be helpful and sometimes even critical information that’s not going to be incorporated into the hiring process if it’s not shared. And that can prove detrimental to what could otherwise be a mutually beneficial hire.