Over many years as a CEO and consulting to Boards and fellow CEO’s across a diverse range of industries, I know how difficult it is to find high performing senior executives that meet your needs and match the culture of your organisation.
Thousands of case studies plus surveys of Global 100 companies show that most companies hire high performers only 25% of the time! CEOs and many managers say “picking the right people” is their biggest headache, most pressing problem, their most frustrating challenge.
It is also incredibly expensive, with estimates of the cost of mis-hires ranging from 50% to 500% of nnual salary, depending on how long it is before the mistake is recognised!
Hiring the right executive can quite often be a ‘hit and miss’ exercise… but it doesn’t need to be. The good news is, that this can be avoided by following some very basic principles which are easy to apply.
Unfortunately, they are rarely followed by HR Managers or even by many Recruitment firms being engaged to find people. These principles are easy to follow and highly logical, which is perhaps why they so often get overlooked!
At WillowExec we have developed a proprietary process based upon my 30 years’ experience as a CEO and consultant in Organisational Design, People and Cultural Development, that enables us to better match candidates with companies.
This starts with the way in which we take a brief. Incomplete and woolly Position Descriptions are a major cause of hiring failure. We spend quality time with you defining the role, including the key accountabilities and responsibilities and the measurable key performance indicators
We also consider how the position fits into your current senior management team, and with his/her direct reports. Only then do we determine the profile of the ideal candidate – their qualifications, skills, experience, attributes and values.
How and where to attract and search for candidates is a critical part of the process. Many ads posted on job boards are very poorly crafted, posted in the wrong way in the wrong categories, and deter rather than attract good candidates.
Often the best candidates need to be sought out by an innovative and creative search process, or sourced from a database of excellent candidates (including LinkedIn).
The interviewing process itself is also conducted very poorly across industries. Good interviewing requires not only having the right questions, but having the ability to probe candidates more deeply in follow up. This comes from experience and insight, being able to read people well, and is not the result of a pre-ordained list of rote questions.
Correctly used, reference checking and aptitude/personality testing enhance the final selection decision.
Sadly, hiring the wrong person can be very costly, frustrating and a time-consuming process for you.
Let us help you find your next star executive!
And who better to do this than a CEO/Chairman/Director with over 30 years’ experience which includes extensive Executive Search?