Why The Hiring Process of A Business CEO is Very Tricky? Consider these Steps to Follow!
How do CEOs get hired? This is a question that numerous business owners ask when they consider hiring an external business CEO for the first time. A number of times, the hiring decision is delayed because of the difficulties related to the CEO search and the CEO hiring process.
The whole process of hiring a business CEO can be intense and complex, more so when you are hiring from international locations. Companies in the UAE with global operations face challenging scenarios when they plan new CEO recruitment. The CEO search process and the CEO hiring process are usually tricky, as there are hundreds of things to manage in the CEO search and hiring processes.
Here is a blog that will give you better insights into hiring a business CEO in the UAE.
Why Is The CEO Hiring Process Tricky?
1. Deciding Who Should Be In The CEO Hiring Committee
Deciding the experts who’ll form the CEO Hiring Committee is a crucial part of the process. The Committee will have a lot of power; therefore, the individuals should be picked carefully. You need to ensure that they possess the required skill set to aid you in the process and choose the right candidate out of the crowd.
The experts in the team should have extensive knowledge of the industry and hire a CEO that best suits the company’s motives. They should be excellent at assessing the knowledge and expertise levels of top executives. The Hiring Committee can shortlist candidates, interview them and choose the CEO of the company. They should act in an unbiased manner to ensure the most beneficial result.
A lot depends on this process; the decision on who is part of the Committee is an important one. And choosing this panel of members is always a tough decision.
2. Deciding The Top 3-4 Skills/Abilities To Focus On
When hiring a CEO, it is crucial to pinpoint the top three skills, abilities, knowledge, and experience that serve as the pivot.
Particular abilities will suit a company best. Identifying these skills and ensuring that the CEO search has these specific skills with them can prove to be helpful for the company’s progress. The organization’s growth should be the priority.
Shortlisting the skills required for the company’s development requires thorough research and in-depth analysis. The phase of the CEO recruitment process usually triggers conflicts of interest, differences in opinion, and time-consuming sessions.
3. Dilemma – Should You Focus On Elite Academic Background or Extensive Industry Experience
Another factor you must decide on is whether you’ll prioritize educational qualification or industry experience. A CEO with an elite academic background, armed with the exquisite and exclusive knowledge and training offered by top universities in the world, could spearhead innovation and transformational moves with efficiency.
An industry veteran, on the other hand, has 10x more connections, contacts, practical industry experience and deep insights and knowledge earned not only through an academic degree but also through 15+ years of experience leading companies.
It is again one of the tricky decisions that the CEO recruitment panel has to make.
4. Challenges Of Framing Compensation
Arriving at a consensus on CEO compensation is also a tricky phase. It is always wiser to conduct a proper, in-depth compensation analysis from a third party, such as CEO recruitment agencies, so that the results are data-driven, objective, and devoid of any bias.
CEO recruitment agencies often are equipped with well-updated knowledge resources comprising information and insights from having conducted multiple compensation benchmarking and research to study the compensation structures of CEOs in different industry segments and geographies.
5. What Assessments To Choose?
The next step of the process can be time-consuming. The people in charge of hiring the CEO need to sort out what assessment they’ll consider. For the process to move forward, the Committee needs to develop the evaluation they’ll apply to each candidate to understand their strength and suitability for the job.
6. What Should Be The Interview Formats? – Q/A, Paid Consultations, Presentations?
Deciding the interview sessions, formats, and assessment methods is no less of a tricky task. A simple Q and A would be of not much use.
The interview sessions need to be well-planned in advance and designed to generate the most information about the candidate’s professional background, knowledge, abilities, approach to solving problems, etc. Some companies also conduct paid consultations on specific business moves to understand how the candidate is planning, viewing and envisioning the moves.
7. To Hire An External Expert In Interview Panel or Not? Whom To Hire?
Take a look at the Hiring Committee you’ve decided on. Does it lack comprise someone who has the level of expertise, market knowledge and industry expertise that is right to judge that of a CEO? Companies need a CEO who has more experience and knowledge than the existing team has, and that is why the trend of hiring an external industry expert to guide your CEO interview and hiring decisions.
CEO recruitment agencies also help companies in the UAE to hire external experts who are right for assessing leaders in their industry segments and target geographies.
Hiring an external expert needs to be done very objectively, and the guidance provided by the expert needs to be understood in an open-minded manner. The decision is entirely up to how open the current top management is to involving an external expert.
8. Balancing Expectations And Negotiations
This is the most important process once you have selected your top 5 candidates and would like to make the final selection. Negotiations have to be carried out in a structured and well-planned manner. If the team is not composed of experts, the negotiation can go awful. Balancing expectations and negotiations can make the whole process smoother.
9. Buy-In Or Acceptance From Internal Leaders And Stakeholders
Internal leaders or stakeholders might show interest in pitching in on the whole process. There is always an element of change or transformation when a new leader takes on the top-most position. Resistance from internal stakeholders makes things difficult. The CEO hiring process should be designed in such a way that internal stakeholders become open to accepting the new leader.
The Best Way To Overcome Challenges And Optimize CEO Hiring Process
1. Consult With A CEO Executive Search Agency
The process of hiring a CEO can be tedious. Several procedures require great attention and thorough knowledge. A bad decision could risk the growth of the whole company. There is a lot at stake while hiring a CEO. Luckily, some CEO search agencies are well-equipped to tackle every challenge that comes with the process. Consult with executive search Dubai to make your job easier!
2. Conduct Market Mapping And Compensation Benchmarking
Finding a CEO who can enable your company to achieve its future growth plans and compete well requires market talent mapping services from competent CEO recruitment agencies. Market mapping provides you information about the top talent available for the CEO position and details about their background, track records, achievements, strengths, and weaknesses.
3. Find The Right External Consultant To Assess Knowledge And Expertise
CEO recruitment agencies are also able to easily find you the right external consultant to guide you through the CEO interview and assessment processes that are ideal for your company. As an external consultant will not be affected by the internal politics of the company, he or she can prove to be a compelling, unbiased voice.
4. Find The Best-Match CEO Candidates
Top CEO recruitment agencies excel at identifying and finding the best-match CEO candidates based on the company’s business and position-based specifications. CEO search experts have years of experience in achieving desired talent attraction and candidate outreach and engagement outcomes. With the help of these CEO recruitment experts, your company will be able to find a great leader within less time.
Conclusion
You must have got the right information to answer your question, “how do CEOs get hired?” This is a question that many of our CEO executive search consultants come across, especially from startups and SME sector clients who are hiring a CEO for the first time. The CEO hiring process requires a lot of time and effort. The position is crucial in determining a company’s fate. Hiring the right person can bring about wonders for the firm. A powerful CEO leasing the company will exponentially increase the company’s profits. But the hiring process itself can be rather complicated.
Consult With A CEO Headhunter At Alliance Recruitment Agency UAE
Consult with Alliance Recruitment Agency when you are planning to hire a CEO. Our global manpower agency is one of the best CEO search teams offering CEO executive recruitment services in the UAE for local and international companies in the emirates. Over 12+ years, we have gained extensive experience and are among the top CEO recruitment agencies in the UAE. Reach out to us for C-level recruitment!