How Executive Search Consultants can Help Find Your Next Leader

One of the most important and daunting responsibilities of nonprofit governing boards is finding a new leader for the nonprofit organization. Your board must build consensus on what they need in a leader, and then conduct the search itself, which can involve weeks of candidate communication and interviews. What’s more, all of this is in addition to the board’s normal responsibilities, and the volunteers’ outside obligations.

This is where executive search consultants can be a valuable and effective resource. They can help boards with the entire process, guiding the organization to identify what the organization needs in a new leader, create a compelling job profile and promote the position to active and passive candidates, as well as facilitating interviews, and helping you select the right candidate.

Grand Rapids, Michigan’s job market has made a lot of progress in the past few years, with employment levels up 4.4 percent in 2016. The improving economy is good news for metro Grand Rapids residents, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. While furniture and automotive manufacturing have made a rebound, the jury is still out on the market for executive talent. Grand Rapids human resources providers and executive search consultants can help you navigate the market to find your best fit.

Discovering What You Need in Your Next Leader

A good search consultant helps board members to create a position profile. This means working with the board to determine what kind of leader their organization needs, and seeking insight from the organization’s key stakeholders. These stakeholders can provide further understanding of the direction and impact of the organization, and how a new leader can continue its mission. This is also an excellent opportunity to build brand awareness and demonstrate the organization’s ability to collaborate with team members and third-party experts.

Finding Qualified Candidates

Now that you have a solid position profile, the search consultant will create a recruitment strategy that will build a qualified talent pool by reaching out directly to passive candidates. Search consultants know the most active job boards that are a good fit for your job, and will research similar organizations and broadcast to a diverse audience. Executive search consultants are the main contact for candidates throughout the search, freeing up more of the  board members’ time and protecting the brand of the nonprofit by providing a positive experience for job seekers.

Conducting Interviews

Search consultants facilitate the interviews using standard questions based on the position’s profile to guide the conversation and make it easier to compare the candidates’ responses. That doesn’t mean the interviews will all be the same! The board and consultants should ask follow-up questions based on the candidate’s answers, really digging into their experience and how they can serve the organization.

Help You Make the Right Choice

After the interviews, the executive search consultant gathers feedback from board members and candidates to help the board determine who will be next leader. They can also help negotiate an offer and onboard the candidate.

While recruiting a leader for a nonprofit organization can be a difficult task, an executive search consultant can make sure the process is as smooth and effective as possible. By collaborating with board members, you can be confident that a consultant will find you the best and most uniquely qualified talent for your organization’s critical leadership position, allowing you to continue working to achieve your missions with bright new ideas.