Insight Blog

Identifying, attracting and securing professionals for executive-level roles in any industry can be challenging and many companies struggle in their pursuit of high-caliber individuals. While the reasons for this are often pondered, it is many times because senior leadership teams need guidance on how to attract talented and experienced professionals to their organizations and their opportunities.

In their New York Times bestseller, 'Who', Geoff Smart and Randy Street [S + S] provide simple advice for business leaders on how to identify, interview, attract and secure who they refer to as “A players” (or high-caliber executives). Within ‘Who’, S + S hone in on the top five things that executive candidates tend to care about when considering new career opportunities. As search consultants, we agree with S + S and recommend giving these five attributes strong consideration, allowing them to guide your recruitment of executive candidates.

1.  ORGANIZATIONAL / CULTURAL FIT

Simply put, a strong cultural fit is vital for an employment relationship to be successful long-term. Cultural fit is the single most important attribute of a candidate to vet out and the most prominent aspect of your company to sell to a prospective executive.

S + S describe a good fit as a company’s mission, strategies and culture support and complement a candidate’s career goals, strengths and values. S + S make an interesting point in saying that most companies do not put enough weight on these components and bypass them during interviews. By openly discussing these aspects, you show concern for an executive's potential success with your company and thus, differentiate it in the marketplace (and among competitors).

2.  FAMILY

Understanding a candidate’s family situation is always critical but becomes especially important when hiring a professional for an executive-level role. Overlooking an individual’s family dynamic can be a mistake because if the career change causes family difficulties, they will subsequently cause performance difficulties. A candidate’s family dynamic is so significant that, if it is not understood or not congruent to the demands of your company’s role, you are either not going to be able to secure the executive or they will not work out long-term.

3.  FREEDOM

We all know that high-level professionals do not want or like to be micro-managed. They want autonomy and independence. After all, it is these traits that contribute to their success. During interviews, an executive wants to hear about the responsibilities and expectations of a role, and how much freedom and opportunities they will have to make their own decisions and prove themselves.

4.  FORTUNE

All executives wants roles with companies that are financially secure and offer them probable growth in their wealth. At some point, compensation will come into the equation. We recommend that you prepare extensively for those discussions because a top candidate will do their research on what they are worth within the marketplace. If it is a fine line between your current executives’ compensation packages and what the candidate wants to join your team, consider the many ways that you can get creative with compensation, such as: stock options, sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, etc.

5.  FUN

Fun is a factor that some companies are really good at including in their recruitment initiatives and others completely forget about. To some extent, everyone wants to have fun at their job. Because making a career change is a major decision for an executive, they need for a new opportunity and company to feel right and they want to get excited about how they can make a positive impact. Simply put, they want to be part of something great. So, making “fun” part of your recruitment strategies can be key to hiring even senior-level executives.  

Each of the above factors is going to carry different weight in prospective candidates and you will want to determine which one presides as being the most important for a prospective candidate. Additionally, while it is essential to focus on these aspects during the recruitment process, it is important to give them the appropriate attention during the selected candidate’s first year of employment. The hiring landscape is extremely competitive for high-caliber professionals and, honestly, you cannot stop attracting an executive after they come on board. Therefore, we suggest a strong onboarding program that addresses these five influences on a continual basis. After all, you want to be sure to give the new executive every opportunity to succeed.

Source: Who (by Geoff Smart + Randy Street)