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Archive for the ‘Executive Search’ Category

The Future of Executive Search

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Having the right talent at the top is critical today if a company is to be ready for the challenges of tomorrow.  To be truly effective in finding and attracting well-qualified executives for senior management openings, I think of it as a formula consisting of matching the right candidate, location, culture fit and the right position, all at the right time.  Although tools and technology methods may change the way we conduct an Executive Search, properly understanding the company’s needs and the responsibilities associated with the position along with the needs of the candidate remain constant elements.

We’ve come a long way with recruitment in general.  In the past, we had to rely on newspaper ads, cold calling and company directories to build our network.  One of the biggest changes in Executive Recruitment has been the evolution of social media.  While online job boards help connect with active job seekers, until recently, there wasn’t a great resource available to reach the passive job seeker.  Employers are seeking candidates for Executive Level roles who fit the passive job seeker profile.  The passive job seeker is mid to senior level, with a higher level of expertise in their field, and employed.   This is the group of candidates where most of the “top talent” is found.  Now with the development of professional and social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, we are able to reach out and communicate with those passive job seekers.   Proactive candidate networking, referral-based networking, along with direct sourcing are all necessary to target passive job seekers and develop a well-qualified talent pool of candidates desired by companies for management and leadership opportunities. 

Social media provides access and targeted networking.  However, that’s just one piece of the Executive Search puzzle.  Executive Search is not just a transactional process.  The Executive Search now and in the future will utilize the social networking tools along another trend on the rise, cultural compatibility.  Gone are the days when a candidate could count on their resume or work experience guaranteeing a job offer.  Now, more employers want to hire candidates who share their values and general outlook of the company.   Searching for a candidate who is culturally compatible is now a key factor within the Executive search. 

 Although tools and methods may change the way an Executive search is conducted, the future of Executive Search is to continue providing value to the client by focusing on consulting aspects of recruiting. It is with this commitment of time and effort to understand the market within its industry, maintaining a network of suitable candidates, providing a short list of qualified candidates and ultimately, hiring talent that contributes to future success of the company that makes an Executive Search a success.

Author: Cari Castillo http://www.linkedin.com/in/caricastillo

Posted in Executive Search, Talent, Talent Acquisition | 4 Comments »

Hiring in Different Demographics

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Author: Cynthia Cancio - http://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiacancio

As one who is always up for a challenge, I was presented with a project some time ago to recruit positions in South America and Canada. Not knowing the specifics, I was quick to accept the opportunity as I wanted to expand my horizons outside of just recruiting in the US. The ball got rolling and I conducted intake sessions with the client to gather their needs and a picture of their ideal candidate—and as I hung up the phone, panic set in. How in the world would I pull this off? It started to dawn on me the language barrier, the international search, dialing into another country; you get where this is going. I sat back, took a breather and the search was on.

I was asked to write this blog to give some insight into a few demographic differences in hiring, aside from the obvious differences. To begin with, how are American based companies viewed in other countries; is this welcomed? Would this be a hard sell during the recruiting process? Have they even heard of my client? In an effort to curb my over-analytical side, I jumped in. Direct sourcing into another country was unique (partly due to my observation of them not getting bombarded with constant solicitation calls). My South American candidates seemed to embrace my efforts in contacting them creatively and were all ears with what I had to present to them.  Conversely, I felt my US candidates seemed more guarded when it came to direct sourcing them meanwhile Canadian candidates were very curious about my client. Another notable distinction was each country’s explanation of the offer packet; it was interesting to note the 13th month of compensation in Brazil, Canada’s maternity leave and the US benefits package.

As for how my client was perceived with being US based but in South America and Canada, I guess that’s a commonality amongst any demographic anywhere- a new career opportunity will always have an audience.  My search progressed and I learned that while the statistical data between countries might’ve varied, the main objective remained the same; to secure the best candidate for the client. As a recruiter, we are entrusted in fulfilling the staffing needs of our client with a quality candidate that is going to achieve their employers’ business plan. Obtaining top talent is key no matter where in the world your focus is.

Posted in Executive Search, General, Human Capital, Talent Acquisition | No Comments »

Embedding Diversity and Inclusion into Your Company

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Author:  Andrea Neal, http://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaneal

As a continuation of our monthly interview series, we had the pleasure and honor of speaking with the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies.” Not only is this organization the world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, but they are also ranked as one of DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity. 

Before getting to the interview, we have to point out a few quick facts. First, unless you can personally relate to the commercial of the guy living under a rock, you have noticed that diversity and inclusion have quickly become buzzwords within the workplace. Many organizations are stressing the importance of diversity and inclusion without completely understanding their meaning, much less what they are truly trying to accomplish.  Wikipedia says that, “Diversity is the range of ways in which people experience a unique group identity, which includes gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and age.” An organization’s culture tends to determine the extent to which it is culturally diverse. It is reasonable to believe that in order to promote diversity, you need to actively practice inclusion. Inclusion is defined as 1) the act of including 2) the state of being included 3) something that is included.  Adam Lloyd, President of Executive Search, at WilsonHCG comments, “Before a company can implement strategies for diversity and inclusion, they must first evaluate and define what diversity means to their organization. The same characteristics that make an individual diverse within one company could also make that same individual the majority at another.  It’s about acquiring unique experiences, points of view and strategies in order to create a rich culture.”

We hope this interview can provide you with information needed to incorporate diversity and inclusion into your company’s corporate culture.

Q:  Your Company was ranked by DiversityInc as one of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity in 2010.  This marked the fifth consecutive year that your company has been recognized and in 2009, the company went from 12th to the 6th ranked position. Can you share with us some of the things your organization did to jump up to the top two in 2010?

A: It all starts with our CEO. We have diversity goals as an organization, and it’s a total company effort, not just within Talent Acquisition.  Our goals are measurable and every member of our management team is tied to and incentivized by those specific goals. If you look at all of the functions within our business, you will see that everyone is on board.

Q:  You were a keynote speaker at ERE’s fall expo where you discussed ways to build a diverse, multi-generational workforce.  What led you to this topic and what piece of advice do you have for companies looking to improve their diversity strategies?

A:  I wanted to share our best practices with other companies out there looking to build a stronger presence within diversity and inclusion. My advice for other companies is to have a clear picture of where you are right now.  Know exactly where you are, and where you are not.  Take baby steps because it’s a journey, it’s progressive, and it most certainly doesn’t happen overnight.

Q:  How exactly do you measure the success of your diversity and inclusion programs?

A:  We measure the success of our programs in several different ways.  First of all, people are incentivized, so you see that they are now actively participating in employee network groups and putting themselves in situations that cross ethnic and gender lines, when they otherwise would not.  Our employees take pride in these incentives and none of this happened overnight.  We have goals and take pride in making our company one that weaves diversity into our culture.

Q: Where do you see diversity and inclusion within talent acquisition evolving over the next five years?

A: I think that companies wanting to be successful will have to embrace diversity into their cultures.  The demographics of our country are rapidly changing.  If you look at a successful organization that is not currently including diversity and inclusion, and a competitor that does – you will see that the company with strong diversity and inclusion initiatives will be the one still here in years to come.  The bottom line is that companies are going to have to embrace diversity and inclusion or will suffer the possibility of no longer existing in years to come.

We would like to thank this organization for leading the way in embedding diversity and inclusion into their workplace and if you have any questions or would like to discuss ideas for doing the same, please reach out to us at marketing@wilsonhcg.com.

Posted in Diversity, Executive Search, General, Human Capital, RPO, Talent Acquisition | 2 Comments »

Is Spending Capital on Hiring a Good Idea?

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

I saw a question posed in the LinkedIn community asking business leaders if spending capital on hiring new employees was a good idea.   The question made me think about how risky of an investment human capital really is to any organization, large or small.  While CDS and MBS were able to bring Wall Street down one employee in a small company or a single “blood line” in a large corporation can have the same effect.   We have seen this happen in Corporate America time and time again (i.e. Enron, HealthSouth and WorldCom).  Once upon a time, these were great organizations that collectively employed hundreds of thousands of people, yet they went south due to the actions of a select few.  Those are extraordinary situations when a bad hire makes it all the way to the top.  Imagine for a second all the damage that occurs in a company’s vast population not in the C-suite or at companies not followed by hundreds of analysts or the Wall Street Journal.

In my career I have hired hundreds of people and every time I interview someone I think not only about the potential value they can bring to the organization but conversely, the damage they can do.  Hiring someone or more importantly not hiring someone, are the most vital decisions a leader will make.  I think it is safe to say we are in an economic recovery and I know at least our clients are starting to hire in mass therefore, now is a critical time to know who not to hire. 

There was a client of ours years ago that I bought a few shares of their stock at $35.  Two weeks later it was $28 and I should have sold.  I held on to that stock until it hit 17 cents.  I kept believing that they were going to turn it around and if I just held on to it a little while longer, I might make my money back.  This stock represents bad hires I have made.  Cut your losses as fast as you can!  If you make a bad hire, it’s best to get rid of the person as fast as you can.  I will let your HR department advise you on getting rid of bad hire.  Here are a few suggestions to avoid making a bad hire.  I have a friend who happens to be an executive at a very large company; she insists references are never really checked.   Of course a candidate fills out an application with references and may even put a few names on their resume but are those people going to say anything of real substance?  Then we have the background check that simply verifies dates of employment and salary.  Attention hiring managers:  you may not know this because some of you are not in HR, past employers won’t tell you if your new hire was the worst employee or the best, in fact, most won’t even state if the person is eligible for rehire.   Back to my friend, since she doesn’t believe references are really checked by HR, she actually takes ownership and isn’t afraid to ask around about a potential new hire.  If you are a hiring manager in today’s business climate, you are most likely connected to someone through LinkedIn or some other networking method who knows your potential new hire. 

Always have someone interview a potential new hire that does not have an agenda.  Sales organizations are the biggest offenders; they typically have the sales manager interview a candidate then the sales manager’s, manager. That is NOT the way to do get objective feedback.

Make the interview comfortable for the candidate; you will get a lot more out of someone if they are relaxed.  Don’t spend more than 25% of the interview asking pre-planned questions. 

Lastly, take ownership in the reference check process.  If you were going to spend $100K of your own money I would imagine you would do your own due diligence and not rely solely on others. 

One bad hire can haunt you for your entire career.

Posted in Executive Search, General, Human Capital, RPO, Talent Acquisition | No Comments »

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