It’s been in the works for the past six to eight months. Everyone is busy talking to real estate agents, interior decorators, office furniture providers, and telecommunications and internet service providers, among others. The company is moving to a new headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s an exciting time as the company has surpassed its financial expectations amid a volatile market, marked by an intensifying trade tension between the USA and China.
But the company is looking to resolve an internal situation, and one that will likely affect significantly it’s performance. The CEO will be stepping down after holding the position for the past 12 years. A special team has been tasked to look for a replacement, preferably before the move to the new headquarters. This task might be the most difficult concerning this big move. How challenging could it be to look for a new CEO? How much do headhunters charge to fill in this post?
Here’s what the special team should be looking at when it comes to executive recruiting:
An Overview of the Executive Search Industry
Top-level recruitment or executive search has evolved into quite a lucrative business. As of May 2019, the executive search industry has already recorded earnings of $9 billion, with companies fewer than 6,100 spread across America.
Landing Your Best CEOs
Executive recruitment is not your run-of-the-mill hiring process. This is sometimes referred to as C-Suite recruiting, because you are looking to hire a CEO, COO, CFO, etc. Here are the significant things your special team should be looking at to fill the CEO post:
- The best talent is already hired. The best talent is probably working for another company. This makes the recruitment process tough. The challenge, therefore, is to attract this talent to work for you. This is what is referred to as passive candidates. They aren’t actively looking for a new job, but they are open to exciting new opportunities.
- Defining the persona. The company is successful, the outgoing CEO was good at his job, and the industry you’re in is always changing. Use your knowledge of this information to craft the right job description. From there, you will be able to discern the persona that you need to fill the post.
- Visionary. If you’re coming from a state of success, then your challenge is to take the company to the next level. The candidate that you should be looking for must be able to express a vision for the company.
- Referral works. Don’t downplay the importance of asking people for referrals. They might have people in their network who might be able to connect you to the right talent. Tap your network as well as the people in your company.
- Maintain professionalism and confidentiality. Passive candidates will be careful about their communication with recruiters. They’ll ask to send messages to their private e-mail and request that you maintain confidentiality. Respect this as this will help build your relationship with them. In the future, they might get in touch with you.
Lastly, don’t be bashful about using the services of an executive search firm. Be prepared to spend quite a sum for this. It will be worth it, especially if your team is too stretched to focus on the search themselves. Fees range from $3,000 to upwards of $100,000. This will be a small price to pay if your CEO can bring you significant growth during his tenure.