In today’s recruiting industry, we now have access to more candidate data than ever. However, securing the right C-suite leaders has become a unique challenge in the future of executive search — many recruiters are already approaching top-level candidates regularly, especially when they are easily accessible online.
The finance and tech industries change rapidly and that’s why it is important to keep up in the context of executive search. RIAs and trading firms stay ahead of the winds of the financial markets. The tech sector frequently restructures leadership roles, knowledge requirements, and compensation rates for its leaders. These frequent changes in structure and expectations can make staffing a strong executive team more difficult than anticipated. Many companies now outsource their C-suites.
Effective sourcing into the future will require internal sourcing, leveraging digital tools and market intelligence, passive recruitment, and ending the “one size fits all” model. Ultimately, there are two factors they have in common: a tech-adaptive and highly personalized approach to recruiting.
Internal Sourcing
If you ask around, you’ll find most organizations prefer to hire internal candidates whenever possible. These candidates are already familiar with the organization’s structure, culture, strengths, and weaknesses and the organization is familiar with theirs. Perhaps more importantly, the employee has already shown a meaningful dedication to their employer.
Recent research shows that a new determining factor for effective internal sourcing is HR integration. A recent study by Deloitte found that high-performing organizations are much more likely to integrate their talent acquisition departments with other HR departments. They structure their sourcing efforts with other teams that include Career Development, Talent Management, and Learning and Development. This way, they can track employee performance on and off paper as they grow within their organization. This allows internal recruiters to actively and passively recruit from among their own.
Digital Tools & Market intelligence
New technologies like AI filter and manage large amounts of candidate data in the blink of an eye. These technologies compare a candidate’s historical performance against performance benchmarks that are set by the industry. For example, they can compare how a CTO’s previous accomplishments compare to the average CTO in a mid-sized fintech startup.
AI also aids in short-listing candidates by assessing their communications skills. By feeding the software the candidate’s verbal and nonverbal communication data, they are able to find determining factors in the candidate’s ability to communicate. This capacity is paramount, as communication skills are one of the top common success factors for C-suite leaders.
AI can also be useful in determining compensation data and determining how long a candidate will stay in a role.
Passive Recruitment
As we all know, many of the best candidates aren’t job seekers at all. Approximately 70% of candidates aren’t actively looking for work, so finding new ways to engage and entice candidates will be critical in the years to come. As much as it is about finding the right candidates, it’s also important to hold their attention for the duration of the courting process. This requires the personalization of recruitment. But, how?
Strong market insights and communications skills on the behalf of the recruiter aid in strong personalization of the process. Front-end research and effective communication with the candidate help uncover what motivates the potential executive. Then, the recruiter will target the push and pull factors that close a deal with the ideal candidate.
Privacy Matters
This may be surprising, but the role of privacy will be immense to the recruiting process. Thousands of potential candidates are opting out of sharing their information on sites like LinkedIn. Many of them are tired of being spammed with requests from bad recruiters and salespeople day after day. In a world full of public information, many potential candidates elect privacy whenever possible. At the end of the day, this means that a bespoke approach to recruiting will win, especially when top candidates keep their data to themselves.
The End of “One Size Fits All” Recruiting
This leads us to confronting the limitations of technology. AI platforms are only as good as their data. If the software has bad data or no data, it weakens or can disable our efforts. At the end of the day, technology is only as personalized as we make it. This is already where so many recruiters fall short. They rely on technology to do their job for them, in lieu of a personal connection.
This is why technology is a tool that cannot replace the value of a personalized approach.
Now is the time to get hiring with a firm that uses a highly personalized and tech-adaptive approach. Make the leap into the future of recruiting when you partner with GRN Mid-Cities.