It’s becoming more and more challenging to hire executives in today’s workplace. There is a small talent pool, yet high demand. Baby boomers are exiting the workforce, widening the skills gap. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2030, talent shortages and skills gaps in the U.S. alone could lead to a loss of $8.5 trillion in revenue, while 90 percent of HR leaders believe that reskilling will be crucial to keep pace with changing job requirements and tech advancements.¹
Here, we’ll discuss some tips and techniques on filling your open executive roles.
Your Ingredients to a Successful Executive Hire
Finding an excellent executive requires a unique blend of strategies, tools, and practices. If a candidate is qualified for your open executive job, then they’re most likely needed by other businesses as well.
Because of the high demand for executives, it’s also likely that a single benefit or perk can set you apart from your competitors – or give them the upper hand.
To help you improve your search, here are some tips and suggestions you can use during your next executive search:
1. Consider Succession Planning
Before you begin scouring your network for the right professional, take the time to look internally among your workforce. An internal hire means the new executive is already familiar with your work environment, long-term goals, and company culture. It also lessens costs associated with external hiring.
Develop a Succession Plan
Succession planning is key to any organization for business continuity. Identify the key roles in your organization and have a formal documented process in place for your potential leaders to fill those critical roles if and when needed.
Identify Internal Talent
Identify future leaders in your organization that have the potential to fill your open executive positions.
- Regularly assess high-potential employees. Be observant and note the professionals who have the skills needed for leadership roles.
- Provide identified professionals with targeted developmental opportunities to further assess their capabilities.
Create a Clear Career Path
With a succession plan and potential leaders identified, there has to be a clear definition of the development pathway. Make sure your key leaders and potential leaders know about the plans and pathways, and what is expected of them.
Plan for Upskilling
To address the widening skills gap, it would be wise to begin planning ways to upskill your current workforce. Identify areas in your organization that have rapidly changing job descriptions or are quickly being taken over by automation and technological advancements. Plan for training or modules to upskill or reskill your existing people.
Read more: Right Hire, Right Now: How Skills-Based Hiring Gets You the Perfect Fit
2. Nurture a Strong Employer Brand
From entry-level employees to top-tier executives, your employer brand is crucial for successful talent acquisition. It represents your organization’s reputation as an employer. It’s also what candidates first consider when trying to understand your values, culture, and unique value proposition.
To nurture a strong employer brand, pay attention to your work environment. Do your employees have positive experiences while working for your business? Consider the following categories:
- Company Culture: Find out how your employees feel about their day-to-day responsibilities. Ask about their levels of motivation and comfort to collaborate with others and accomplish the tasks assigned to them. This can help you identify if there are aspects of your culture or environment that need improvement.
- Health and Well-Being: One’s well-being can greatly affect their productivity at work. Employees who feel isolated or burnt out are least likely to contribute to a positive employer brand. This is why it’s crucial to perpetuate a culture of well-being.
- Physical Environment: Assess whether your office layout and amenities contribute to a good work experience. This should include proper desk space, a good amount of natural lighting, and improved air quality.
3. Launch In-Depth Market Research
An effective executive job search is only possible when you understand the current talent landscape. This includes knowing about the latest salary benchmarks and emerging skills executives should have. Do this by staying up to date with the latest on the market.
Work with your HR teams to gather and analyze data on executive compensation packages and perks offered by your competitors. This can help you craft competitive offers that can attract top-tier professionals.
Other than salary and benefits, in-depth research of your target market may provide insights into potential talent pools outside of your usual networks.
Read more: Administrative Job Title Hierarchy: Most Popular Roles
4. Develop Compelling Job Descriptions
Create detailed and compelling job descriptions based on the information you learned during market research. These descriptions should go beyond listing the basic responsibilities of the executive role. It should also include the strategic importance of the job to the organization. Be intentional in all the information you include.
- Highlight your business’s culture and values.
- List unique selling points and benefits you can offer, including work hours and salaries, that can convince applicants to choose your company over your competitors.
- Add the teams the executive will most likely be working with.
- Include exciting projects the chosen candidate will tackle once onboarded to the team.
5. Leverage Different Networks
It’s a powerful strategy to diversify your networks. Instead of relying on a single talent pool, you can tap into various sources. This can help you reach executives who aren’t actively on the job market.
For example, you can begin by going beyond traditional recruitment channels. Expand your reach by contacting different industry associations and alumni groups. Take the time to search LinkedIn profiles and use other social media platforms. You can also leverage your own professional networks to find qualified executives to join your organization.
When leveraging any networks, it’s important to clearly communicate the executive role requirements and qualifications to ensure that referrals and recommendations are well-targeted. Implement a structured process for managing and following up on network-sourced leads to maximize the effectiveness of this approach.
6. Conduct Thorough Assessments
An executive job search doesn’t end with one correspondence. Finding qualified professionals is just the beginning of your next step, which is conducting thorough assessments.
Prepare executive interview questions that can assess their leadership competencies. It’s also wise to ask behavioral questions since it can give you insights about their fit with your organization’s culture.
These are some examples of effective interview questions:
- How would you respond if you want to implement a new process and your team is resisting it?
- How have you handled unproductive employees in the past?
- How would you respond if the task presented to you clashes with another project deadline?
By using different assessments, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of an executive’s strengths and points of improvement. Whether you need someone with high emotional intelligence or a leader with top-notch conflict-resolution skills, you’ll be able to choose the best among your job seekers.
Read more: Navigating Talent Challenges: Executive Search Insights for Quality Recruitment
7. Use Executive Search Firms
Executive jobs are difficult to fill due to their importance in an organization’s structure and operations. Sometimes an executive search can fail even after using the best strategies and methods. If so, you may want to consider partnering with executive recruiters and firms to fill your open executive role.
As the name suggests, these firms specialize in finding top-tier executives. They practice refined strategies for identifying and attracting the right candidates for your important positions. From expertise to extensive networks, working with search firms like Masis can make it easier for you to find qualified executives who align with your business’s mission and vision.
Read more: Accelerating Time-to-Fill: How CJB Redefines Recruitment Speed
Acquire Top-Tier Executives through Masis Staffing
Equipped with the determination to make connections, push innovation, and provide excellent services, Masis is the best partner to meet your staffing needs.
We believe in the power of people. We make it our mission to build remarkable partnerships. With excellence as our main standard, you can rest assured that we can deliver the best solutions for your challenges. Contact us today to begin our partnership!
References
- Akessler. “New Research: Time Is Running Out to Close Widening Skills Gaps.” PeopleScout RPO – Recruitment Process Outsourcing, 23 Jan 2024, www.peoplescout.com/insights/new-research-from-peoplescout-spotted-zebra-reveals-widening-skills-gaps
