CEO Search: Why Candidate Vetting Matters for Search Firms

Your executive search firm has created a list of 8 to 10 candidates who seem to be qualified for the position. Now what? Before moving further along in the process, there are a few precautions to take, such as proper investigation into candidates to ensure that a poor fit doesn’t slip through the cracks.

Even after an initial pre-screening, there are still opportunities to uncover candidates who may not be a good fit. When it comes to narrowing candidates, search firms need to ensure that they are turning over every stone to better understand each candidate before providing a finalized list of recommendations. In this article we will discuss the significance of careful vetting of candidates and the tools available to streamline the processes for narrowing and selecting finalists for effective CEO search.

The Importance of Screening for CEO Search Firms

There’s a lot of valuable information to be learned from a resúmé or an interview. What cannot be (or simply is not) described on paper is how well a candidate will fit in with their new work environment.

During interviews, you may have an opportunity to hear about particular instances when a candidate showed exceptional leadership skills, but thorough screening can reveal more insight into their character. This vetting process often involves background checks, confirmation of the candidate’s prior experiences and skills, and evaluations of online profiles.

Cultural Alignment

While a candidate may have excellent communication or organizational skills, their behavior within a new environment is critical for effective leadership. Ensuring that a candidate can integrate with a new team can be difficult, but conducting online and social media screening for a CEO search can reveal more about the candidate, beyond their list of skills.

Analyzing information and comments they have shared online can give your search firm a better understanding of their values as a person—ones that might not come out during a traditional interview or may not align with your client’s company values, corporate culture, or even company policies.

Uncover Red Flags

Your role as a search firm is to find individuals who bring value to your client’s business. However, your role is also to protect your clients, and your firm, by avoiding poor quality candidates with prior cases of harassment, fraud, theft, violence, or other misconduct. Online screening can uncover these, if present, and contribute to your clients’ overall quality of hire.

For example, an online search may uncover social media posts that harass others, express intolerant views, or even threaten others with violence – all behaviors that go against workplace values that are rarely discoverable in the interview process. Further screenings using civil litigation and subscription databases can also unlock more information regarding previous actions that could be viewed as red flags, like fraud or discrimination cases. A history of misconduct in the workplace can immediately demonstrate the candidate is not a smart hire.

Support Your Clients’ Goals

A poor hire can greatly impact the cultural environment your clients are looking to maintain—especially when that hire is in the C-suite. Current employees can see detrimental impacts through even one instance of CEO misconduct at work. Screening for signs that a candidate will behave poorly or commit misconduct in the workplace can not only prevent those instances but also preserve the culture your clients want to maintain. In turn, your clients will keep current employees happy, engaged, and productive.

Using Online Screening in CEO Search

Technology has made executive due diligence, background checks, and online screening more efficient, consistent, and streamlined, all while maintaining compliance with EEOC, FCRA, GDPR, and other regulations. Now, thanks to advanced screening tools like Fama’s 360 solution, CEO search firms and Executive Search Firms can efficiently sort through candidates in a manner that is compliant with these standards while identifying any individuals who could be a poor fit for their clients.

Common Challenges of Executive Search

This specialized form of recruiting can introduce several roadblocks to the recruitment process. Search firms need to be mindful of:

Understanding client goals: Without getting to know your clients and what they are looking for in a new chief executive, you’ll have a hard time finding suitable candidates. Every industry requires a different set of skills and different types of people, along with processes that need to match certain industry norms or regulations. Beyond that, each company has its own unique needs as well as existing leaders with strengths or weaknesses of their own that a new executive may help supplement. To help streamline the CEO executive search process, your search firm should be able to tailor your strategies in accordance with the needs of each of your clients.
Adapting to change: Industries are constantly changing. So are compliance regulations. To keep up with new information or requests from clients, it’s important for executive search firms to be able to adjust as needed. Stay on top of new standards that are becoming common practice for your clients' industry, and be ready to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Growing competition: Businesses are looking to find and hire new, great-quality candidates rapidly. This means search firms can’t spend too much time conducting their search or qualified candidates will be hired by competitors. With a limited pool to choose from, businesses are expecting search firms to be able to quickly present qualified applicants.

Tips for Conducting Online Screening and Due Diligence

Thorough and effective due diligence requires a deep dive into their online history. Here are a few things for executive search firms to keep in mind when conducting social media screenings.

Use complaint tools: Many search firms are conducting their research in a non-compliant manner. This can lead to wrongful or unethical diligence, placement, or hiring practices. Instead, choose a screening partner that is compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Analyze a vast number of sources: To gather up-to-date information regarding the candidates you are screening, it is important to cast a wide net. In fact, Fama conducts online screenings covering more than 10,000 online sources, social media channels, credible news sources, civil litigation databases, and more as part of their Executive Due Diligence solutions.
Identify types of misconduct: Misconduct can look like an array of different behaviors. As a search firm, you should get to know what specific types of issues your client is looking for or concerned about and make them aware of any significant findings in your research. That may be violence, theft, fraud, sexual misconduct, and more.
Support your decisions with qualified data: Your goal is to match clients with qualified professionals who will help their businesses excel. To accomplish this, you need to find evidence that your chosen candidate will mesh well with their new coworkers and be able to help the business move forward as a leader. Without data to support your chosen candidates, you might leave your client with a new hire who causes disruptions for other workers, which in turn could hold established employees back from accomplishing their tasks.

Partner with a Proven Online Executive Search Solution Provider

Sourcing and vetting qualified candidates is only half of the battle that CEO search firms face. Once a candidate has been selected, it is also up to the executive search firm to ensure the placement expectations are met by the candidate and the client.

Fama has online screening solutions available to help executive search firms effectively conduct online and social media screenings for misconduct. In fact, these tools have proven to be influential resources for the top five executive search firms in the industry. With high-quality and easy-to-use tools ready to go, you too can maximize efficiency and match your clients with the best candidates.

Reach out to our team today to request a demo and see how our products can enhance your search firm’s due diligence practices!