PERSONNEL

By Cole Jackson

Whether you ’ re a founder who wants to build a leadership team to scale your company quickly , or you need to backfill a position on the executive team , recruiting “ A ” players is crucial to a company ’ s success .

The following recruiting best practices are key to running a successful search and hiring the best candidates . While this process is typically used for executive-level roles , you can adapt many of these steps to help fill entry-level roles at your company .

Getting started

You ’ ve identified the need to create a new leadership position . Now what ? Keep in mind that A players are often happily employed and may not necessarily be looking to make a move . We often begin by engaging a sector-focused recruiter with a base of personal relationships in a specific industry . In this network , we are more likely to find those candidates who would be a great fit but aren ’ t actively searching for a new role . Interview two to three recruiters before deciding which one is the best fit to lead your search .

Meanwhile , don ’ t discount your own network or that of your other employees . High performers generally know other high performers ; this can be a great way to access quality candidates without solely relying on an online job platform or recruiter .

Create an external position profile and internal scorecard

Rather than a quick list of duties and basic requirements , create a more thoughtful position profile and share it with both recruiters and candidates . A complete position profile should capture key facts about your company , objectives for the role , education , experience or competencies needed for success , as well as key personality characteristics for a successful candidate . Additionally , it should give both recruiters and candidates a sense of your company ’ s culture so candidates can begin to self-select as to whether your culture could be a good fit .

In addition to the external position profile , create an internal scorecard to help you evaluate candidates . This document should define success for a candidate , and it can be used throughout the interview process to objectively score candidates . To develop this scorecard , define both the mission of the position and the outcomes expected from the hired candidate . Make the mission specific ; it shouldn ’ t sound like it could apply to any position within your company . Similarly , the list of key outcomes isn ’ t meant to capture everything in this employee ’ s responsibility , but rather a shorter list of outcomes critical to success in the role . These should be measurable and preferably timebound .

Build a robust candidate pool

To increase the likelihood of reaching the best candidates and to position yourself to be highly selective later in the process , build a large candidate pool . Even if you ’ ve hired a recruiter , you can take additional steps to create this list . Ask for referrals from employees , others in your personal or professional network , or recruiters who may work on a non-exclusive , success fee basis . Consider platforms such as LinkedIn , Indeed or Handshake , including any industry-specific sites or pages within these sites .

Also keep in mind the timeline for the search . Some positions or industries have well-defined recruitment cycles , so recruiting outside of these times can limit the first candidate pool and may result in fewer top-quality candidates .

The interviews

For most executive roles , take your time to understand candidates and assess fit — that means the interview process might be long . Start with a four-step process : ( 1 ) screening interview , ( 2 ) longer second-round interview , ( 3 ) case study or technical interview , and ( 4 ) interviews with team members who can address cultural fit .

Keep the first screening interviews brief ; around 30 minutes is a good target . To allow for easier comparability across candidates , use a consistent , structured interview format and set of questions . Even in the screening interview , create a two-way dialogue so you begin to learn about the goals of each candidate and what drew them to the role ( rather than you just presenting what you ’ re looking for and having candidates try to explain how they fit ). Allow time for candidates to ask questions during this interview so those who don ’ t see a good two-way fit can self-select out . Following the initial interview , be selective with who you invite to the second round . From this point on , both you and the candidate will be investing significant time in the process , so you want to avoid wasting anyone ’ s time .

Second-round interviews should be longer to allow you to understand a candidate ’ s prior experiences , career goals , patterns of

20 OPE + July 2024 www . OPE-Plus . com