The recession is officially over. As we begin the New Year, cautious optimism appears to be the prevailing sentiment among business leaders and key managers. 2014 should be a year for growth and increased profitability. One key factor for success will be the retention and engagement of your top performers.
As the economy improves, and companies increase their hiring activity, now is a good time to review your recruiting process. Most companies focus on identifying strong candidates and then assessing them through the interview process. While these are critical elements of the process, don't forget that the best candidates will also be evaluating the company and the opportunity and may have hard questions for you. The most desirable candidates are becoming more receptive to exploring new career opportunities.
September 23, 2013: Cincinnati, OH: Karen Finan has joined Baldwin Gilman LLC as Vice President, New Business where she will be responsible for outreach to growing companies looking to hire mid to executive level talent. Finan joins the firm after a successful tenure with Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Tri-ED) and Duke Realty Corporation where she was recognized for innovative and impact business attraction and retention results on a national basis.
The new C-Suite executive you've been working so hard to secure has now joined your company and you are ready to, in the words of the rock band Kiss, "Shout it, Shout it, Shout it out loud!" But, within a short period of time you begin to notice that the executive transition is not happening as easily as you wished. Recent Forbes.com studies have been conducted as to why executives fail and how the executives can position themselves for success.
As a hiring manager, it's your job to hire the candidate that is "most likely to succeed". No, we aren't referring to what their classmates in high school thought about them; we are talking about who is the right candidate for the job, fits well with the company culture and has the qualities that will be successful now and into the future.
Did you know that our region is quickly becoming known as one of the leading marketing and branding hotbeds in the country? In 2010 the Cincinnati USA Regional Partnership, along with branding and design leaders from LPK, unveiled the economic development campaign called "Cincinnati, the BrandHUB." We are fortunate to have consumer products companies like Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Macy's, Luxottica, and Kao Brands headquartered in the region.
On September 14, 2012, Nancy Foster officially retired. It was a day of mixed emotions for all the employees at Baldwin Gilman. The team is sad to see Nancy go, but we are excited as she takes time off to enjoy life and to determine how her passion for small business will ignite her entrepreneurial spirit and take her to the next level of career success! Nancy's executive recruiting career at Baldwin Gilman spanned 18 years.
Rick Maier has a wealth of experience spanning a 30+ year career, beginning in public accounting, moving into banking, manufacturing, consulting and now executive recruiting. It is with great pleasure that Baldwin Gilman welcomes Rick Maier to the firm as a senior recruiter. "I've been friends with Rick for a number of years while he served in executive level roles at Snap Vector Consulting, LaSalle Bank and Global Fastening Solutions.
You have finally identified the elusive, passive candidate who is a perfect fit for your hard-to-fill executive position. The interviews have gone very well and there is strong mutual interest. So, what will it take to seal the deal? What components of a compensation package will be right for securing this top-tier candidate?
Eric Gilpin, President of the Staffing and Recruiting Group with CareerBuilder, reported in the Q2 2012 U.S. Job Forecast, "The U.S. economy continues to gain momentum and trend in a positive direction½" but continued saying, "there is still much work to be done." We can't agree more! The first half of the year has been steady, but not booming!