Tips for finding the right candidate and keeping them

Hiring top talent isn’t about filling roles; it’s a matter of connecting with an individual who is aligned with your organization beyond their skillset. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost of a bad hire can reach up to 30 percent of the employee’s first-year earnings. Bad hires cost $240,000 in expenses related to hiring, compensation, and retention (The Undercover Recruiter).

When you take into account screening and selecting candidates, new employee onboarding, and training, it’s easy to see why executive talent acquisition is such a costly and time-consuming process. It’s significant when you do make the right hire, but the financial impact is multiplied if your new executive doesn’t work out.

Why do we end up hiring promising leadership candidates who are the wrong fit? Here are a few tips to help you more confidently attract, recruit, and retain the right talent.

1. Develop an Ideal Candidate Persona

When searching for the right executive leader, you want a specific individual for a particular role and industry niche. You can accomplish this by research, data, and facts to create the candidate persona. The persona can include their characteristics, skills, qualifications, and educational background, and you can tailor your recruiting efforts toward attracting the right candidate.

2. Utilize Social Media Recruiting

According to the Society of Human Resource Management, 84 percent of organizations are using social media in their recruitment efforts, including job boards, online forums, and blogs. A good way to target potential candidates is on LinkedIn and Facebook via a job posting or a direct message. Sending a tweet to open jobs and adding hashtags is another way, as well as sharing photos or videos of company-sponsored events on Instagram and YouTube. Don’t be afraid to embrace these social platforms. If using social media, it’s important that you know your target, segment, and utilize a more direct approach. Communicate with individuals directly based on their specific skill sets and experience.

3. Showcase Your Company Culture

Employees value work-life balance, and some are leaving more rigid environments in favor of more flexible employment situations. Flexible work schedules, on-the-job training, promotions, employee recognition programs, and performance bonuses will make them feel valued too. Inviting candidates to make an impact and be part of something greater is a great way to recruit and retain employees.

4. Support Your Employer Brand with Video

Did you know that 75 percent of American adults use YouTube? Among 18-24 year-olds, the percentage is even higher at 94 percent. Video is becoming more common for recruiters —for job postings, company-sponsored videos, pre-employment assessment and video interviewing software. Through video, candidates can gain a better feel for the company and its culture, and recruiters can get a better idea of someone’s personality and non-verbal cues.

The CCY Advantage

Cochran, Cochran, and Yale (CCY) has recruited and developed executive talent for over 40 years. An industry leader in ethics and integrity, we recruit talent who make an impact and align them with your strategy. We take your people and company to the next level, and we are proud of our proven results.

​CCY is nationally-recognized within the Professional, Technical, and Executive Search and Recruitment industries as the preferred resource for targeted talent acquisition, from key staff members to the boardroom. By working with us, we will find your next outstanding leader. At CCY, we help you define the problem at hand, develop a solution, and provide value through defining skills, personality traits, and cultural aspects that are necessary for the executive to fit seamlessly within your organization.

Speak with a Talent Acquisition specialist today.