Recruiting and Retaining the Next Generation of C-suite Leaders

The recruiting and retaining landscape has changed remarkably over the past decade and will continue to evolve from the traditional model as we once knew it. Roughly 10,000 baby boomers, the largest generation in U.S. history, will be retiring every day for the next decade, according to the Pew Research Center. This is undoubtedly creating a shift in the makeup of the C-suite.

If this hasn’t yet impacted your C-suite, it’s likely that it will soon, and it’s important to be prepared to install your next leaders. Attracting top-level C-suite talent starts with having a clear sense of your organization’s mission and establishing a culture reflective of that. Your mission and culture need to be aligned and reflect your company’s strategic goals and imperatives. It can be challenging to attract top talent if these two elements are not in sync, and it can also be difficult to define exactly who your ideal candidates are.

Know What You Look for in a Leader

Companies need to give serious thought to whom they put in a leadership role. Whether you work for a large or small credit union, your leadership team likely invests a lot of time and resources to build the right culture. A mis-hire in the C-suite can be costly and time-consuming, not to mention having long-lasting impacts on your company, including turmoil and damaged morale that make achieving your organization’s objectives more difficult.

Understand Your Public Image

Social media can be a good representation of your company, demonstrating your culture, defining your brand, and helping to build your reputation. But it can also hurt your reputation, so stay on top of what is being posted and the messages being sent out. Whether you realize it or not, potential new hires at all levels are always watching you.

Your website is also your “face.” Potential new hires want to learn about you, and your website is likely where they will turn to do their research. Having a modern website that is easy to navigate is essential for any business today. Thinking about our more than one million members, Golden 1 recently launched an updated website with a new and improved design that is more modern and user-friendly.

Diversify Your Recruiting Techniques

It takes a village to attract and retain great talent. You must utilize every resource you can to bring in someone who is the right fit. Before you start the recruiting process, you must assess the role and know exactly what you are looking for in a candidate. The process should be in-depth and involve a variety of relevant stakeholders such as those who would report directly to the employee, current leadership peers within the organization and members of the board. A C-suite employee who is retiring could be engaged in the interview process. You should also conduct executive searches, use professional networks, ask for employee referrals, look to professional organizations, use industry affiliations and review potential internal hires. We open our search nationally and look at other industries. No matter what the industry, it’s important that a candidate reflects your organization’s culture and overall objective.

It’s important to look at diversifying the candidate talent pool. An inclusive and diverse C-suite supports and reflects an inclusive culture. That is why it is vital to have people on your radar even when there is no immediate opening – a wider talent pool can further diversify your C-suite in areas like age, ethnicity and gender.

Throughout the process, we make it a point to get to know the candidate. Whether it’s over lunch, coffee, panel interviews, one-on-one meetings, on the weekends or even after hours, we do whatever it takes to get a good sense of the candidate and allow that person to get a better sense of who we are and why they should consider joining Golden 1.

Identify the Right Fit

Hiring for the C-suite requires a different process than hiring for other employees. We invest heavily in all of our hires, but we do spend more time when looking to fill an executive position where expertise and talent make a big difference and where the new hire may have an immediate and significant impact on the business.

In general, we give ourselves 90 to 100 days to recruit, interview and get to know a C-suite candidate and show them what Golden 1 has to offer. Once hired, we spend two full days onboarding and integrating our new executive-level employee.

During the interview process, it is important to vet candidates thoroughly and keep in mind the importance of substance over flash. Some individuals interview and communicate well but may lack leadership skills and abilities. It’s better to identify this during the recruiting process than once he or she is brought on board.

Asking probing behavioral interview questions, using leadership assessments tools and focusing on candidates with emotional intelligence, or EQ, are all important, especially in a C-suite role. Assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DISC (dominance, influence, steadiness, compliance) assessment, and Gallup Strengthsfinder help you understand a person’s strengths and personality. These are helpful when evaluating C-suite candidates to holistically review if they exhibit the “full package” – leadership IQ, situational awareness and EQ.

For us, it’s getting the right fit. We want someone who shares the same vision and culture.

Recruiting Best Practices to Consider

• Prepare in advance to ensure smooth transitions and business continuity.
• Develop and nurture a pipeline of diverse talent that can create a benchmark for future C-suite opportunities to fill critical positions. Remember to invest in current employees.
• Diversify your executive workforce. It is crucial to your financial and operational performance. Diverse perspectives spark innovation.
• Plan ahead. Over the next few years as baby boomers retire, C-suite leadership roles will have many vacancies. Millennials will make up over 50% of our workforce and companies need to search for ways to practice inclusive and intentional planning.

In the end, be true to your mission. We’ve found our “people helping people” focus resonates with candidates. Don’t be afraid to seek talent that is reflective not only of who you are now as a company but who you want to be.

Heather Andrade-Neumann is SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer for Golden 1 Credit Union in Sacramento.