In today's competitive talent landscape, finding the right people to run your organization can be more challenging than ever, especially when you're searching for high-quality C-suite candidates. Whether a company leader is stepping down or jumping ship, you don't want to be caught dead in the water without a replacement. That's why 77% of organizations say that the ability to hire and retain top talent is the most critical factor in long-term growth, according to research from PwC.
To help you find and secure the best executive talent for your organization, we've put together this guide on C-suite recruitment.
Be proactive, not reactive
As the saying goes, you need to expect the unexpected. You never know when an executive may need to leave, but you don't want to be caught off guard when it happens. One way to be proactive about finding a replacement is to create a succession plan.
Collaborate with your leadership team, recruiting managers and other key stakeholders to outline the qualities, skills and values you're looking for in a new executive. You'll also want to develop a defined process to follow after a leader leaves, as this will prevent confusion while you look for a replacement.
Assign an interim executive
Finding someone who can keep your ship sailing after an executive departs is an essential aspect of a proactive executive replacement plan. Think of this interim executive as an understudy. They should know all the ins and outs of your business like lines in a play to keep operations running smoothly.
It may be just one person you assign as the temporary executive, or it could be a few people sharing responsibilities. Whatever the case may be, having a plan in place will help your organization while you search for a replacement.
Consider current employees
It's possible that you won't need to search far at all for a new leader. The right person could already be an employee in the organization. Perhaps they directly report to the C-suite role, or they're looking to change career paths from another executive position.
When you hire from within your organization, the talent you select will have been molded into the leader you're looking for. Plus, their internal knowledge and experience offers unmatched consistency to smooth the transition.
Take your time searching for the right match
By combining a proactive strategy with an assigned interim executive, you can buy yourself valuable time to find the best fit for your C-level position. Whether it's an internal team member or an external candidate, you'll need to perform a thorough evaluation, assessing hard and soft skills, experience and cultural fit. It's crucial that a new leader not only mesh with your company, but add to its values and overall environment.
If you're looking for top global executive talent, YES Partners is here to help. Click here to see some of the roles we have already placed successfully.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries.
