Hiring the Right Executives is Essential to Your Company's Success

Hiring for a company can be a daunting and nerve-racking experience. There's sorting through the applications and resumes, then there is the interview process, and then the second interview process and finally making the decision of who to hire.

All the while you're hoping you didn't pass over someone amazing because of something small and silly, or choose the wrong person because they interviewed well but now that they're hired they are the worst. Every position goes through this process and worries, even the executives.

Most mistakes made in the hiring process aren't that detrimental to the company as a whole, however, the wrong executive could spell disaster for the whole company.

So how do you know who is going to be the ideal executive for your company? And how do you find the right executive recruiters who can support you with making the right choice?

Senior Management vs Ordinary Management

Hiring an executive is not the same as hiring a manager or director. Mid-level management is responsible for their specific department or team. Most don't have to worry about anything outside of their current assigned scope.

An executive, on the other hand, is responsible for the company as a whole. Every business unit, plant, department, and team. They are tasked with keeping the company on the cutting edge of their industry and create a vision for its future.

Executives will strategize about growth and expansion, new investments, whether rebranding is necessary or not, and help create a positive company culture. This is why picking the right executive for your company is so important, they will hold the future of your company in their hands and help to shape it and make it grow.

One of the most successful ways to find the right executive is to partner with an executive recruiting firm. However, it is as important to find the right executive recruiter as it is to find the right executive.

Executive Recruiters

An executive recruiting firm specializes in recruiting senior leadership positions for businesses. They are experts in a wide variety of industries and will have multiple angles and resources to pull from while searching for the right executive.

Executive recruiters specialize in recruiting senior leadership, however, there is more it than that. How they go about recruiting these people is different than what a typical recruiter will do.

For example, an executive recruiter won't post a job opening and then sit back and see who applies, assuming that anyone does. While this works for most positions at a company, this will not have any benefit when hiring an executive.

Top notch executives aren’t simply looking for new jobs. They are passive candidates who need to be enticed to leave their current job and come work for a new company.

This is why executive recruiters need a special skill set and come to the table with a different mindset than other recruiters. A great executive recruiter listens to what not only the company who hired them wants but also what the candidates for the job want as well. They must have exceptional interpersonal communication skills in order to build those relationships and trust with the company and the candidate.

Executive Recruiter Essential Skills

Our Executive Recruiters at SCOPE understand what truly motivates a person to take a new position.

More money and better incentives are not enough. Our recruiters build relationships with potential candidates, which takes time. We learn what really drives them and present them with opportunities that makes them want to work for your organization.

We are professional matchmakers who create Win-Win situation. We match your company with the ideal candidate – and match outstanding talent with great opportunities.

We know how to ask the right questions in the right way to get to the heart of the matter and truly understand what motivates the candidate and the company.

So what do we look for in an executive?

An Executive's Desired Skills

First thing first, let's not confuse executives with leaders or managers. Calling an executive a leader makes leadership a top-down function, the exclusive territory of those in charge of others. This reinforces the extent to which people defer to those in positions of authority.

For the sake of higher employee engagement and faster innovation, every employees should be empowered to be a leader and or manager. Thus, the term “executive” leaves us free to regard leadership and management as occasional activities.

So what do we look for in an executive?

Part of the job of an executive is to ensure a positive company culture. They take responsibility for clear communication, ensure meetings are ran productively and create a sense of “we” rather than “I”. 

An executive will focus on opportunities, and the future of the company asking questions like “what needs to be done?” or “what is right for the organization?. They will develop action plans and take responsibility for decisions.  

Great executives have the power to inspire people and turn obstacles into opportunities.

Hiring the Right Executive Recruiter

Knowing what executive recruiters do and how they will perform their job is key to choosing the right recruiting firm for you to partner with.  

So, when your organization is looking to hire an executive and is looking to work with an executive recruiter to support you with that search, make sure you chose a recruiter who is an expert in their field and can deliver who you are looking for.

If you want to learn more about SCOPE Recruiting and how we can help you contact us today.