Finding and attracting competent executive talent who will be responsible for driving the organisation towards success still remains a significant challenge considering stakes of the position. In the foreseeable future, it is imperative that the demand for top executives will rise as organisations are rapidly growing and expanding. Considering such a daunting task at stake, qualified executive talent has become harder to find.

Daunting tasks can be tackled by breaking down problems into small fractions and addressing them diligently. Here are five key executive search tips for navigating through these recruitment challenges.

Identifying the Right Executive Search Firm

Executive Search firm acts as a bridge between the talent pool and the organisation. The major advantage of a search firm is their ability to uncover new candidates—including potential passive candidates that are not actively looking for a new opportunity.

The right questions lead to competent evaluations and essentially help you understand the candidate holistically. Considering that you’re leaving the onus on the Executive Search firm, certain questions mentioned below can help you identify the correct search firm for your needs.

• Can the executive search firm tap into talent pools that are inaccessible to you?
• Do their consultants specialize in your organization’s industry and sector?
• Who are the consultants who will execute your search?
• Can they wield the proper resources and geographical reach?
• What methodology does the firm employ to ensure a long-term, successful hire?
• How much will the search firm keep your organization involved in the process?

Bring in all the stakeholders

The executive search process cannot be handled singularly by one person, it requires insights and briefs from all the stakeholders including the board of directors/senior management, external stakeholders at times and especially the hiring manager.. It is quite essential that stakeholders are briefed and are continuously updated as they can contribute to the process in a timely and meaningful manner.

Clear and Definite Job roles and Job Description

The job description is a highly crucial part of the recruitment process. Having clear cut goals and responsibilities discussed and defined with the inputs from all the stakeholders is very important. These documents bring in clarity into the recruitment process, both from the candidate side as well as from the recruiter side. Furthermore, meet with the executive search firm, discuss your expectations and then come to a mutual agreement.

Set Clear Goals

Considering how tedious the executive search process is, it does have its complexities. A simpler way to tackle these complexities is to define and set realistically achievable goals. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities for those who will be actively involved in the executive search process to keep the communications transparent and fluidic.

Keep Clarity in Communication
Establish a communication protocol. This essentially ensures streamlining of the process along with the transparency of the stages that are followed. Clarity in communication between the organisation and the executive search firm leads to more engagement. On the other hand, if the communication breaks down, the search process can come to a halt, and a highly qualified candidate might be missed as a result. Even with the most effective strategies, the search process requires large investments of time and resources. Hence, it is quite important that the candidate selection process must be straightforward and transparent backed with resources from the search firm to facilitate the recruitment process comprehensively.

The Taplow Group has worked with several clients globally, to headhunt for a wide range of positions in various industries. We understand how important it is to find the “right fit” to fill your position and are well versed with handling a search process with the utmost clarity and precision. If you need assistance with finding a professional, qualified individual that matches well with your company culture, please get in touch with us. We’d love to learn more about the position you need to fill in and discuss how we can best partner in  your search.