Unique Executive Search Ideas You Need to Know

It’s no secret that finding the right executives when filling leadership roles at your company is crucial to your organization’s success in both short and long term. Thus, it’s important to devote sufficient time to your executive search. You don’t want to hire someone simply because they were the first candidate who seemed like a potentially good fit, only to learn you didn’t take the time to truly consider stronger options.

That’s why it’s a good idea to coordinate with an executive search firm. Working with professionals to find the right candidates for your needs will help you save a lot of time. It will also boost your odds of attracting the best possible candidates. Executive search firms simply have access to networks and resources that you may not have access to. This makes it easier for them to find candidates you might not otherwise find.

That said, you may still wish to be involved in the process to a degree. If so, it helps to keep certain unique ideas in mind. While the traditional executive search tips still apply, you might also want to consider the following tactics for recruiting leaders. They represent effective ways to find candidates that might not seem obvious to you right now.

Create a Video

This may seem like a bit of a quirky idea, but it can actually yield very strong results. After all, it’s extremely important that any executive you hire be a good fit for your company culture. Even someone with immense talent, drive, and experience may still be a poor fit if their values and personality don’t align with those of your organization.

It’s also worth noting that executives are busy people. They may not have a lot of time to learn about your company when they first learn you’re seeking to fill a leadership role. With that in mind, you could introduce candidates to your organization and its culture with a short video.

This can take on many different forms depending on the nature of your company culture. You might shoot a narrated office tour, in which you can discuss both your day-to-day operations and your overall values. If your company culture is more playful and fun, you might shoot a comedy sketch depicting a fictional day at the office. Sometimes a simple video in which key team members introduce themselves is effective.

Again, the nature of the video will vary on a case-by-case basis. The main point to keep in mind is that this tactic can help you engage potential candidates efficiently and dynamically.

Keep an Inventory of Stories

Executives need to believe in the work they are doing for your company. They need to believe its mission and values are worthwhile. Believing in the organization’s goals generates the kind of passion that’s necessary in a leadership role.

With that in mind, you may want to consider keeping a list of stories from your employees and team leaders. These stories should represent moments when your company achieved something you believe to be valuable.

For instance, maybe your company provides business lending services to people in impoverished areas. You would thus potentially have plenty of stories in which the people you’ve helped went on to build thriving businesses, stimulating local economies as a result.

Keeping a record of these stories provides you with valuable content you can share with candidates while performing an executive search. Quite simply, a story is an effective way to make your values feel more “real” for your candidates.

Invite Them Over

As these points should illustrate, one of your main goals when performing an executive search is to find candidates who support your values and fit in with your culture. That’s why it’s important to give them as many opportunities as possible to learn about your values and culture.

One way you could achieve this is to simply allow interested candidates to visit your office for an open house day. Arrange activities and meetings to add some degree of structure to the day, but make sure candidates also have opportunities to explore the office on their own.

If they are given the chance to “get a feel” for the way your company embodies its values during a normal day, they may feel more comfortable deciding to work with you. On top of that, if they aren’t the right fit, they may thus be less likely to accept a position, knowing they aren’t the ideal candidate given your organization’s culture.

Keep these ideas in mind as you perform your executive search. By applying them and working with a firm, you’ll be far more likely to attract the right candidates.