If someone mentioned the word “retention” while a contingent agency was pulling out all the CV-gathering stops, they’d probably throw their hands up in defeat. But, in executive search, being able to retain a senior staff member is a key consideration from the very outset of the hiring process. Here’s why, says Jeremy Bossenger of BossJansen Executive Search.
Executive search is a highly specialised form of recruitment, in which a company partners up with a firm offering the executive search service, to help the firm attract highly skilled senior staff members. The partnership ideally develops over the long term, as an extension of the hiring company, so that the executive search specialist is eventually able to identify and engage suitable candidates – generally who are already happily and gainfully employed – without the need for director-level instructions.
While the best-in-class executive search partners will help the companies on their books to fill strategic positions by gaining an in-depth understanding of their business operations and strategic goals, the top companies to work for – in turn – will invest in their staff engagement and satisfaction levels, so that senior staff members are keen to make the move across to them.
Essentially, the high-profile and listed companies that executive search firms want to team up with, are those where the C-suite is open to strategic advice on how to create an enviable workplace culture in the first place. Here are three tips for organisations to consider:
• Be open to smart and motivated younger candidates. A suitably qualified and perhaps more youthful individual, who suits your culture down to the ground, is likely to hit the ground running to the extent where they need little time to grow into a senior-level role. This is where you need to trust your executive search partner: instead of going with a jaded senior individual, someone with a bit of youthful energy to inject into the mix – together with fresh ideas and a more diverse background – is likely to be a better hire, and one who stays and offers more in the long term too.
• Prioritise professional up skilling while encouraging personal development. Progressive human resources departments keep the education coming, after any staff on boarding has long been completed. This means not only running courses that help staff members to cope with their current professional responsibilities and to flourish in their roles, but also those that assist them to manage their lives, in an holistic sense, much more seamlessly. Ideas to keep all team members engaged and thriving include: learning lunches, technological talks, sales sessions, and every so often something unusual and inspirational – such as talk from a sporting hero on their latest adventure, or that offered by a celebrity entrepreneur on a personal challenge they’ve overcome. The idea is that those companies that prioritise knowledge acquisition of all kinds, see better-motivated and engaged staff members – who in turn have more to offer up in the way of productivity.
• Drive culture positivity throughout the HR department … and beyond. Executive directors have a plethora of responsibilities to juggle – but nothing could be more important than their regular meeting with the entire C-suite and HR department. This should be known as the safe space, in which destructive forces on the company culture can be aired and addressed; and where the contribution of positive forces are amplified and rewarded. Reiterate to your HR manager and team the need to keep all staff members safe, respect a diversity of viewpoints, and encourage each person to contribute their talent to the best of their ability. Establishing clear and healthy relationships within this space, and allowing these to gravitate outwards from the C-suite and HR circles, will set the tone for the kind of corporate culture that your archest competitors will envy.
