One year after states and many businesses reopened around the country, the Great Resignation remains a major conundrum that employers are attempting to solve. In March 2022, a record 4.5 million people quit their jobs, while inflation closed in at 8.5%. With a recession looming, companies are suffering from labor shortages at all ends of the employee spectrum, including at the executive level. One of the drivers of the Great Resignation at the executive level is the increase in competition for talent, with CEO turnover predicted to reach as high as 30% by the end of 2022, according to a Bain report.

So, with all this in mind, let’s look at some best practices you can employ to attract executive talent and fill those key positions at your company during an economic downturn. 

Be Transparent

Misunderstandings about salary requirements are the number one stumbling block during the recruitment process. It can frustrate the company and the candidate to go through the entire interview process only to find out there is an unbridgeable gap between the compensation the candidate requires and how much a company is willing to pay. This can be difficult to navigate, as many candidates are reluctant to share their compensation requirements and many companies do not publicly publish their salary ranges. But employees and prospects are calling for more salary transparency. Glassdoor performed a Global Salary Transparency Survey and found that employers should better communicate salary to current and prospective employees. “By making pay information available, it can help impact recruiting and retention rates as employees and job candidates have made it clear they want to work for companies where pay transparency is embraced.” Have the salary conversation early in the process. This will help you direct your focus toward qualified candidates you can afford to bring into the organization.

Offer Incentives

Many companies are raising wages and offering incentives like lucrative bonus plans and sign-on bonuses; flexible work arrangements, such as the ability to choose hours or to work from home; or other perks like top-tier healthcare plans Marketing these incentives can also give you an edge over your competition and help drive more resumes from qualified candidates.

Implementing this strategy is important for recruiting entry-level and mid-management employees but is critical for recruiting executive-level talent. Remember: not only is the competition from other companies fierce but 70 percent of the workforce is made up of passive job seekers. These employees know they are valuable, and they get recruited for their skills, knowledge, and experience. The pool of C-level talent is made up almost entirely of these individuals, so competitive pay and bonus structures paired with unique incentive plans are a must to attract high-caliber talent.

Culture, Culture, Culture

Culture should be an important focus of your executive recruiting strategy. Establishing your organization’s values and beliefs are not only core to the identity of the organization, but also reflect the beliefs and attitudes of the leadership team tasked to execute on those very expectations. It is imperative you set your executives up for success, and that begins with evaluating whether their values are in line with the company culture.

Adopt Technology

In addition to the pool of qualified candidates being smaller these days, the hiring timeline is also shortening, placing pressure on hiring managers to identify and onboard employees at a quicker clip. A McKinsey survey of 100 CEOs found that during of the pandemic, 95 percent of their companies changed their hiring processes. The most common adjustment is a move toward virtual interviews due to the heavy adoption of video conferencing platforms. Companies that have embraced this change have enjoyed the benefit of expediting an interview process that was traditionally reliant on face-to-face meetings.

Be Prepared to Negotiate

 In a competitive market, quality candidates may come to the negotiating table with multiple offers in hand. As such, there is frequently pressure to negotiate the offer. In addition to the sign-on bonuses discussed earlier, increases in base salary, extra PTO, and opportunities to quickly advance within the organization are negotiation tools that you can utilize to help you get your candidate to “yes”.

How to Reduce Employee Retention

It’s costly to replace key employees. In fact, it costs a company 6 to 9 months of an employee’s salary to replace him or her, according to The Society of Human Resource Management. Today’s employees demand more from their employers and are quitting at a fast clip. Here are a few things you can do to keep your best talent:

Show appreciation – employees want to feel appreciated and feel like their contributions are impacting the growth of the company. You can show appreciation by publicly celebrating wins or developing a bonus program tied to annual goals. 

Offer growth and opportunity – career professionals and senior talent are often looking at the big picture and want to grow within an organization. Provide opportunities for talent to grow and help them see their future position in the company.

Provide professional development – training in the workplace can be invaluable for employees. It shows you care about their career trajectory and are willing to invest in them long-term.

An “All of the Above” Approach

Recruiting and retaining talent in today’s competitive market requires a multi-pronged strategy. Whether offering competitive compensation packages and perks, leaning into your company culture as a competitive differentiator, or embracing technology to streamline your hiring process, there are a lot of strategies you can embrace to ensure you rise above the competition. Additionally, engaging expert assistance to source executive talent is another tactic that can help elevate you in the eyes of a candidate, shorten the recruitment window, and ultimately help your bottom line.

Securing Expert Hiring Assistance

Companies need every advantage when trying to secure talent over their competition. One strategy is to secure an executive talent firm to lead the search. In general, but especially during a competitive market labor shortage, a good search firm can provide expertise in finding and securing quality employees for your organization, ultimately saving you time, money, and internal resources. You should be sure to choose your executive talent firm wisely. The firm should have experience in advertising, recruiting, and screening for talent, but more importantly, the firm should also have experience hiring for the particular position for which your company is in need within your industry. When communicating with an executive talent firm, be upfront about your needs and provide as much information as possible about your business and the position for which you need recruiting services to help guide the search.

Michael Callam is president of Gertsburg Licata’s Talent and M&A advisory groups. He can be reached at [email protected] or (216) 573-6000 x7003.

Gertsburg Licata is a full-service, strategic growth firm, specializing in business law, M&A advisory and executive talent solutions for entrepreneurs and executives of start-up and middle-market enterprises. Our proven process ensures time and resources are dedicated to identifying the goals of your organization and how your executive talent needs align with that vision. Our expert recruiters partner with you to build your dream management team, securing the best talent to help drive value for your employees and customers. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you secure your next competitive advantage.