Executive search recruitment is a complex activity that cannot be completed in a vacuum. You need the combined forces of HR and the C-Suite to maximize success —especially if you are looking to hire a US executive for your European company.
HR experts and CEOs must both be present from the beginning to the end of the executive search process. At DSML, with executive search firms in Boston and Chicago, we recommend having your highest-level HR executive work alongside the executive managing the new position. Each brings a different perspective — C-Suites often look at managerial efficiency, while HR leaders look for matches in the company’s culture and how new hires could work alongside other colleagues.
Most importantly, your HR executive should be leading your executive search — not taking a backseat to other members of the executive search recruitment process.
The Harvard Business Review summarizes this well:
“It’s time for HR to make the same leap that the finance function has made in recent decades and become a true partner to the CEO. Just as the CFO helps the CEO lead the business by raising and allocating financial resources, the CHRO should help the CEO by building and assigning talent, especially key people, and working to unleash the organization’s energy.”
The authors mention companies like General Electric, Tata Communications, Black Rock, and Marsh as examples of companies who have achieved remarkable success due partly to their focus on human resources during the hiring process.
The Benefits Of Partnering With HR Executives In The Executive Search Process
As a European CEO, your top priority should be ensuring the success of your business. However, finding the right US executive can be challenging. There are many benefits of including the highest level of HR in your executive search recruitment process.
- HR executives can help to build trust and rapport between an executive search firm and the executive team.
- HR executives can identify skill sets and capabilities that may be latent in the candidate.
- HR executives will save time and money while maximizing your chances of finding the perfect executive and cultural match.
- HR executives make sure there is always a pipeline of candidates, even when the CEO gets excited and focuses on just one candidate.
- HR executives bring a slightly different perspective about a candidate’s background, potential, and fit to the culture.
HR executives at the highest level should be involved from the very beginning of the executive search process. Their ongoing feedback allows you to manage the complex factors of international recruitment and ensure a smoother decision-making process in the meantime.
How To Involve Your HR Executives in the Executive Search Recruitment Process
HR plays an important role in the executive search process. Ergo, it’s critical to start the process by allowing your most qualified leaders to lead the charge with confidence.
There are three steps:
- First, create a job description that effectively communicates expectations to US audiences. There is a significant difference in cultures between the US and Europe, and your highly trained HR executives can bridge the rhetoric gap better than your C-Suite alone. Have your executive search firm review the job description to ensure it fits the US market audience. In fact, HR should probably be the first to interview potential candidates to check for cultural fit, soft skills, and fit with the rest of the team.
- Once you have a clear understanding of what you are looking for, it’s time to take part in interviews with qualified candidates. HR executives can provide a unique perspective that looks for different elements of talent; a huge boon to your expanding organization.
- Now you can make a hiring decision based on your interview meetings. HR executives will make sure the process is fast enough by following up internally with the C-suite and holding them accountable.
Involving HR at every step of this process ensures the smoothest, easiest, and most effective search workflow possible.
HR Executives Might Need Help to Facilitate a Successful Search in the US
HR executives play a vital role in the successful executive search recruitment process. Not only can they identify optimal candidates from better talent pools, but they can provide interview feedback, keep track of your search status, and act as liaisons between the executive search firm and your organization.
However, HR executives cannot always manage the entire process.
Let’s say your company needs a new CFO in the US. The higher HR level in the US would be a peer of the CFO, so it might be a better choice to work with the HR Executive in Europe to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
In contrast, let’s say that your company is recruiting for European subsidiaries in the USA Chicago for the HR Executive position. In this particular situation, you might need to work with HR in Europe alongside the CEO in the US.
Executive Search Recruitment With DSML
Executive search is an essential process for any business, and it is important that CEOs involve their HR executives in the process right from the beginning. However, skills gaps and oversights can occur at any stage of the executive search process, and combined with potential setbacks between European and US locations, it may be best to partner with trained professionals who can maximize your talent pool.
DSML, with executive search firms in Boston and Chicago, understands that every executive search is different, and strives to complement the acquisition process for European companies looking to branch into the US. As we work with your company’s C-level Executives and HR Executives, we ensure a fully customized process that is specifically tailored to your company’s needs.
If you are in charge of hiring for a European company expanding into the US and are seeking executive search recruitment services in Boston, Chicago, or throughout the US, contact DSML today.