Blog Standard - Groupe Insearch

Sep 01

Improve Profitability by Hiring the Best

By Angelica Rains Corporate Culture, Hiring Strategies, Interviews

Recruiting the top talent is an excellent method of increasing profitability. This is particularly true when hiring C-suite executives who can significantly affect company operations. Explore some of the ways that investing in top talent will likely increase your profit margins.

Top Performers Improve Vision and Clarity

With the top talent in your C-suite, you improve their ability to see various details and keep track of the overarching vision while doing so. This allows them to optimize projects better and accurately determine which tasks you should delegate.

Hiring the best support team for the C-suite, from executive assistants to chiefs of staff to other employees, further enhances this. It helps leadership delegate tasks with confidence, allowing them to focus on responsibilities that only they can handle.

Improve Your Brand As an Employer

When you hire a C-level executive who is the top in their field, this reflects well on your company overall and as an employer. It should attract top talent for other roles, whether entry-level, C-level, or somewhere in between. Talent will apply for your other positions because they will see that you prioritize hiring the best and cultivating opportunities. This makes working for you a great career choice, especially if they can expect to receive mentorship from talent in higher positions.

Decrease Your Hiring Time

Improving your brand as an employer not only helps you attract the top talent for other roles, but also reduces your hiring time. That happens for several reasons, including that top talent will apply to your company even when there is no opening. This means that you will have a list of potential recruits that you can contact as soon as there is a vacancy.

More Promotions from the Inside

When a company takes the perspective of hiring the best talent, it becomes easier to support internal promotions and advancements. New talent will feel supported, increasing their confidence and promoting their leadership skills.

Combining this with hiring the top talent for the C-suite takes it a step further. The executives will encourage that talent and potentially groom them as a replacement when they retire or move on.

You can leverage this support for internal advancement to help you recruit top talent in other roles as well. After all, most employees would prefer to work with a company that offers opportunities for advancement. This is just another way that hiring the top C-suite talent makes filling other roles in your company easier.

Aug 25

Essential Questions to Ask During a C-Level interview

By Angelica Rains Career Guidance, Corporate Culture, Hiring Strategies, Interviews, Leadership

A structured approach that focuses on research, networking, reference development, and rehearsal is the key to more successful C-level interviews. There are some differences in preparing for a C-level interview versus an entry-level one. In addition to showing your knowledge, skills, and experience, communicate your leadership style. Asking intelligent questions can also make you stand out. Executive recruiters recommend these, along with a few other tips.

What trends are you following that could influence this organization’s goals and priorities?
If I am hired as your executive assistant, what do you see as the most significant challenges in working to fulfill the goals of this organization?
What are some significant milestones that will be used to evaluate my performance?
Can you describe the work culture and environment here?
What are some of this company’s most significant achievements recently?
What leadership style wouldn’t be conducive to this company?
What would the typical workday be like for an executive assistant here?
What communication tools, professional development, etc., are available to employees?

Although this certainly isn’t a comprehensive list, it does represent some thoughtful questions that will help gain helpful insight regarding the expectations of these high-level positions. It’s a red flag when candidates don’t have any questions during an interview.

Research Industry Trends

Another effective way to connect with an interviewer and show that you are prepared to meet their organizational needs is by researching emerging trends from around the industry. Candidates are always encouraged to review annual reports, news articles, and videos when meeting with a hiring manager. Knowing about trends can also help you answer probing questions like why you want to work in this industry.

Reference Development

C-suite candidates have to be very selective when providing suitable references. Although any former colleague might work for an entry-level job, considerations need to be respected and relevant for executive-level managers. Only use people who can constructively describe your work ethic, leadership characteristics, strengths, and ability to work under pressure.

Although it’s still important to highlight your skills and experience, asking essential questions during a C-level interview is the best way to learn if it’s the right fit for you. Researching industry trends can help you create solid queries and respond to them intelligibly. Finally, focus on providing only trusted references you know could handle open-ended questions about your leadership qualifications.

Aug 18

Adapting to Executives Facing Upcoming Retirement

By Angelica Rains Career Guidance, Corporate Culture, Leadership

Retirement is something that impacts small, mid-size, and big businesses alike. It can be difficult for some leaders to give up control over something they’ve worked so hard to build. Approximately 12 million Baby Boomers also happen to be executives and business owners, and most of them will be eligible for retirement in the foreseeable future. Yet, close to half of CEOs still don’t have transition plans for when they leave. Below are some potential exit strategies that can help businesses maintain value and adapt to executives facing retirement.

Develop a Plan

Perhaps this is the best advice that executive recruiters can offer to owners and leaders considering retirement. Rather than continue working in the business, start working on it by focusing on other responsibilities that can help grow it, like marketing. The decision to either sell the business or transfer ownership to current employees gets more accessible when the right employees are hired and appropriately trained. Then, organizations should model a plan similar to this for managing the wave of retiring workers.

Decide organizational goals. Surveys and focus groups are effective ways to discover what the needs of employees and the company are.
Determine what you want from employees. Do you want to promote internally for C-suite positions or recruit external candidates? Even though external candidates tend to have more experience, employment data suggests that they are more likely to be fired than those hired from within.
Aggressively promote the succession plan. Ensure that employees understand eligibility by holding educational meetings.

Recruit Successors Earlier

It’s easier for organizations to prepare for retirements than other forms of turnover because they can usually predict the who and when. Multilevel succession plans can help small businesses develop talent to hedge against executives retiring. Alternatively, companies can partner with C-level recruiters to hire a successor as soon as possible to shadow the outgoing executive and gain knowledge transfer.

To Retire or Not to Retire

For those executives unsure if now is the right time to exit the workforce, some red flags can help. For instance, retirement might be the best option if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing or don’t feel challenged anymore. Other people opt for retirement for personal reasons such as health, family obligations, etc. Some industries are evolving so rapidly that businesses could benefit from fresh leadership.

A strong succession plan is the best way for businesses to overcome the wave of retiring executives. It should combine transparent retirement policies and internal successor development programs. Otherwise, recruiters are yet another valuable resource that can help you adapt.

Aug 11

Why Managers Should Never Eat Alone

By Angelica Rains Career Guidance, Corporate Culture, Leadership

As a leader, you want your employees to know that you value their opinions and see them as people. One of the easiest ways to demonstrate this is to have lunch with them regularly. Managers who eat with their team members receive various potential benefits, such as higher employee retention and improved performance. Lunchtime is also one of the best times to build your network. This is especially true in the C-suite, where relationship-building is extremely important.

Improve Retention

Not liking their manager is one of the most common reasons people quit jobs. Taking the time to talk with your employees and demonstrate you empathize with them and care about their success will instantly make you a likable leader. This is why you should never eat alone. Eating lunch with your team members is an excellent opportunity to socialize with them and get to know them on a more personal level. Build a connection with your team so they will want to work for you.

Improve Team Performance

Employees who feel a connection to their team and to their managers are more driven to succeed. When team members eat alongside their managers, they feel seen. By connecting with your team on their level and in an informal setting, you will build trust and loyalty. Eating lunch as a group makes sure everyone feels included, which makes people want to do better and contribute to the group’s success.

Build Your Network

Eating lunch with others is also a great way to grow your professional network. Networking is most successful when it is based on authentic relationship building and isn’t just networking for the sake of networking. Most networking nowadays has moved online, yet nothing is as powerful as face-to-face conversations. When you eat together, you form relationships built on genuine camaraderie and respect. The relationships you create at the lunch table are much more meaningful than ones limited to online communication.

Enhance Your Mood

Another reason you should never eat alone is that it is simply more enjoyable to eat in the company of others. Eating in a large group enhances mood and makes people feel happier. If you always eat alone, you may eventually start to feel lonely and excluded. Even managers need to take a break from constantly thinking about work. Lunch breaks are a chance to give your brain a rest from work stress and to let loose. This can be a lifesaver when it comes to mental health.

While many managers are in the habit of eating lunch alone, a lot of good can come from making a point never to eat alone. On the one hand, this habit will help you build a connection with your team, improving employee retention and team performance. On the other hand, it can help you grow your network while enhancing your mood and reducing stress.