A Guide on How To Create an Effective Executive Recruitment Plan

Introduction

Recent news about the Philippines recording an increase in annual hiring is partly thanks to more businesses – both local and foreign – operating and expanding in the country. Scaling efforts mean an increased demand for human resources, thus keeping the local job market vibrant.

Consequently, growing organizations must also ensure that their teams and objectives are managed effectively by hiring competent leaders. That means searching for executives, either through their in-house HR department or recruitment agencies.

That said, you need to have an executive recruitment plan in place before diving into the Philippine talent pool. After all, planning before searching can increase your chances of finding the best candidate for the role, reduce waiting time, and improve retention. Of course, the caveat is that your plan must be effective.

Read on to discover how you can develop solid hiring strategies and how Q2 HR Solutions can help you.

What Is a Recruitment Plan?

A recruitment plan serves as a roadmap for a company’s hiring process. It details the reasons for the recruitment, who to find and where to find them, and how to reach those candidates. Its specifics can also vary depending on your company’s resources, such as your HR team’s capabilities and hiring budget allocation. Still, each plan involves phases you can use as a template to build on whenever you need new talent.

The particulars of each recruitment plan also depend on the positions you wish to fill. When hiring for staff roles, most companies target active candidates. Meanwhile, those recruiting for executive positions usually source from a pool of passive candidates. The latter is more tedious, rigid, and personalized.

How Will an Executive Recruitment Plan Benefit Your Talent Search?

An executive recruitment plan is tailored to source, vet, and onboard the best people for top-level positions. It’s essential to have guidelines in place for such roles because getting the wrong individuals can negatively affect your business’s trajectory.

A smooth and effective hiring system optimizes the time and money you allocate to the talent search. If your company shows that it’s established and put together due to its smooth recruitment process, you will attract and impress more highly qualified candidates.

Steps in Creating a Recruitment Plan

To better attract the best talents from the Philippine job market, your executive recruitment plan should be flawlessly aligned with your overarching business goals. In other words, every plan you develop should contribute to your company’s success.

To begin forming your recruitment plan, consider the following steps:

Determine Your Goals

Yes, the general goal of recruiting an executive is to fill a leadership position, but there’s more to it. Your need to hire should be aligned with your core business goals to ensure that your new talent will contribute to business success.

For instance, your main goal is to increase your business size and scope. With a top-down approach, you can break down this big goal into specific steps, like “opening 20 new branches nationwide.”

That particular target could signal a need for a new general manager. Remember that hiring company executives is usually done to fill those management gaps and keep your operations running smoothly.

Define the Position

Identifying the position missing from your executive ranks is just an initial step. Beyond that, you should also create a concrete definition of the duties and responsibilities that the position entails. Moreover, you have to specify your required soft skills, hard skills, and personality traits.

Since you’re hiring for an executive position, you should also outline qualities you believe will fit into your company culture. Recruitment for C-suite roles shouldn’t use a cookie-cutter job description, as their profile should align well with how things are run in your business.

Work With a Recruiter

After identifying your goals and the roles you need to attain them, you can enlist the help of an executive search or headhunting firm. Hiring industry experts can assist you with polishing your recruitment goals and job descriptions. You can also take advantage of the broad network and talent pipeline of such firms. Leveraging a firm’s connections is essential, especially if your business is young.

You can delegate specific tasks to the recruiters or allow them to handle the whole process. Either way, your goal should be to find the best match for the executive role in the fastest, most efficient way possible.

Plan a Sourcing Strategy

To find the best candidates quickly, plan your steps for sourcing them. You can start by listing your business connections and selecting prospects from the roster. You must also identify which recruiter to hire to broaden your search scope. Additionally, choose which job board you’ll use to post an announcement, or if you’re not posting them on public sites, plan how to message your prospects directly.

Sourcing can also be done passively by being an attractive, desirable brand to work with. Start solidifying your company’s branding and marketing it so it becomes popular. The more established you are, the more likely top talents will consider your company.

Determine Selection Methods

Since most executive searches target passive candidates, it’s essential to have a well-thought-out message when you’re reaching out. Once the candidate expresses interest, you need to provide them with a clear timeline of the steps and processes involved with the selection. You’d need high-level assessments to test their industry expertise and management skills, as well as interview questions tailored to the role.

While you should be strict with your selection process, don’t let it be so convoluted or time-consuming that the prospect gets tired of it. Remember that the passive candidates you’re trying to recruit still have their executive tasks in another company, so you’d want to ensure you’re not wasting their time while still testing their qualifications effectively.

Allocate a Budget for Recruitment

Setting a recruitment budget is important as it gives you a threshold on how far you can go with your executive search. If you have a set amount for finding a CEO, you will be more confident of the paid tools you’d use and the recruitment agency you’d hire.

Your budget allocation should include expenses for sourcing, screening, and onboarding executive candidates, so be sure to stick to them as much as possible. You want to prevent overspending on a role because there’s a small risk of a quick employee turnover, which could be unprofitable for your business.

Let Q2 HR Solutions Help You With Your Executive Recruitment Plan

Q2 HR Solutions has a wide range of hiring solutions for your business in the Philippines, including company analysis, recruitment plan development, and onboarding support. We work with big and small companies in various industries, and we tailor our services to match where you are in your business. With our experts and solid strategies, we can help you find your next company leaders quickly and efficiently.

Conclusion

With the country’s hiring growth in recent months, companies looking to scale should take advantage of the vibrant job market. As you increase your employees, you’ll need dependable top-level individuals to lead your growing team.

Setting up a recruitment plan can help you find the best candidates systematically and efficiently. Develop a plan by defining your hiring goals, writing accurate job descriptions, setting up a sourcing strategy, and allocating the right budget.

You’d also benefit from hiring recruiters, like Q2 HR Solutions, to assist you with your search. Whether you want to polish your recruitment plan or overhaul your strategy, we’re here for you. Contact us today to learn more about our services.