When you’re hiring for Executive level positions, you have to be sure you’re making the right decision. Hiring in the right Executive can have a transformative effect on your entire company: even outside their direct reporting channels, they can affect the culture and inspire people to give more and work harder (and, more importantly smarter). Hiring the wrong one can have just as much of an effect, but in a negative direction. It sends a message about the kind of values your business wants to foster, and if your employees get the wrong message from a high level hire it can lead to bad morale, resentment and even trusted employees choosing to move on.
Far more so than people in lower level jobs Executives come to you with a record and a reputation, so you need to make sure you picking the right person to bring the right reputation for your clients and your employees. One of the best ways you can do this is to go the professionals. While a candidate who comes to you with a recommendation from a trusted peer is priceless, it’s unlikely your professional network can provide enough candidates to give you a proper choice, and this is where finding an Executive Search Agency comes into play.
A good Executive Search Agency can really transform your hiring process. They can provide far more help simply sending you candidates. Talking with your contact early in the process can give you important insights that guide your search, from the current state of the job market, to the skills and qualities you should be looking for in your hires. In the fast-moving environment that start-up culture lives in, the roles of executive level positions can be fluid, and you might find that what you need to look for in a CTO has changed between one hiring cycle and the next.
There’s also the relationship you build with an Executive Search firm. Whether you keep one on retainer, or simply come back to the same firm regularly, they will soon get to know the culture of your office and will have a better insight into the right candidates for you. They can even work pro-actively, notifying you when someone who could be asset to your business is looking for their next position.
With all the advantages they bring, it would be a false economy not to spend the time developing a good relationship with a top level Executive Recruiter.