Posted By: Eva Grabner | on June 1 2017
Deloitte says ‘Use an executive recruiter’
Yes they do. Really!
Talent has always been important to business success but now it needs to become an inseparable part of business strategy, on par with technology and finance. The global demographic shift, the widening skills gap and the entry of the more flexible, and technology-driven, ‘Millennials’ into the workforce is profoundly affecting businesses. Companies need to respond quickly to these trends and prepare for the new work order with its rapidly evolving ways of working, recruiting, monitoring performance, rewarding and managing, in order to attract and retain vital talent.
Executive level leadership roles especially, will be even more important in the future. The task of finding the right combination of technical skills and cultural fit will be even more challenging and the capability, and willingness, of company executives to do this themselves will be even less, hence the need for a highly skilled external executive search recruiter.
How does your company currently source its executives? Do you use your in-house recruitment staff? How effective is this? What about advertising? Is that working for you?
Last year Deloitte published a report Positioning for prosperity? Catching the next wave in which they listed actions that businesses must take to gain significant operating advantages through superior talent and/or business practices.
- Better recruitment, motivation and retention of high-quality talent
- Incremental innovation within business
- Institutionalisation of superior practices
- Ability to tap into third parties
The report also provides more detailed comments about each of the identified prosperity drivers. Under ‘competency advantage’:
“Looking outside, companies can partner with third parties to expand their areas of competency and create unique capabilities. This might include forming alliances with technical specialists, and outsourcing commoditised work that doesn’t deliver an opportunity to differentiate.”
Print media advertising rarely works anymore as a reliable source of high calibre executives. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to post an advert with the inevitable outcome of little-to-no quality applicants coming through. Top executives are approached, and wait to be approached, they rarely apply for jobs. They are sourced via relationships and referrals. The right recruiter will already have a strong network of leaders that they can approach on your behalf when you are searching for that new leader.
How do you attract talent to your business? Are you a business of choice for employees? Have you worked with a reputable executive search firm before?
The process of relationship building should start now, whether you are seeking to recruit in six weeks, six months or six years. It is imperative that you grow your relationship with an executive search recruiter now so that they can truly understand your business and the culture that drives high performance within it. This investment will substantially benefit your business in the long term.
Eva Grabner
Managing Director
Elite Executive Pty Ltd
0409 59 11 88
