Stakeholder sessions enrich the recruitment process, leading to more successful and sustainable outcomes for everyone.
Charity recruitment is competitive and relies on finding people who align with the charity’s values and goals.
However, an often overlooked factor in choosing your next executive leader is what team members and service users need from them.
Including stakeholders such as the wider staff team, key partners, and service users allows room for diverse perspectives and insights at the table, providing unique viewpoints on the qualities and skills necessary for the role. These stakeholder sessions help us create a more precise candidate profile, tailor our search, and improve the accuracy and efficiency of the selection process.
However, I recently met with several people who had never considered this an important element of the selection process. In fact, some of them remained downright sceptical.
Why successful charity recruitment relies on stakeholder sessions.
1. Improved decision-making.
Board members provide strategic vision, senior management offers operational insights, staff members highlight day-to-day requirements, and service users tell you about the user experience. Combining these perspectives allows for unbiased judgements, a collaborative approach, and informed judgment—the keystones to great decision-making!
2. Role clarity.
Each of these stakeholder groups will have a different idea of the most important part of the job and how they measure success. Including a wider group allows for greater buy-in to writing the role description and shaping the narrative we tell candidates. Involving the necessary groups means that communications can accurately reflect the organisation’s needs and expectations at all levels, leading to better alignment between the candidate’s skills and the role’s demands.
3. Cultural fit.
Who better to check the cultural fit of the potential incoming Chief Executive than the people who will be directly reporting to them?
Your operational and staff teams live the day-to-day operations and will have a better understanding of the support they need to do the best job they can. They can provide insights into what qualities a candidate will need to integrate well into the existing team.
4. Stakeholder engagement.
Actively involving diverse groups in decision-making leads to higher support and engagement with the recruitment process overall. True inclusion builds a sense of ownership, aligns the expectations of different groups, and increases transparency across various areas of the charity.
By listening to the needs of everyone involved, you show that these people are valued. Sure, it might be that not everyone will agree with the final decision, but if they understand why the decision was made, they are more likely to support it anyway!
From the candidate’s point of view, they are more likely to have a smoother onboarding process, which leads me to…
5. A better candidate experience.
The candidate experience should be at the heart of your recruitment process. It runs all the way from finding or being approached for your job opening to the onboarding experience. Each stage matters.
As I’ve outlined above, involving stakeholders will improve the role description, increase stakeholders’ investment at all levels, and strengthen decisions. These are all important in attracting and engaging the right candidates.
They may not meet stakeholders until the interview process, but each element is important in shaping the candidate experience by giving them a better understanding of what’s expected. They will gain insight into team dynamics and better understand if the role is right for them.
Recruitment decisions go both ways — our candidates need to make the right decision for them, too.
And, as we know, a good candidate experience can leave people as your ambassadors and advocates, even if they’re ultimately unsuccessful in their application or interview. So, for all you naysayers, get your stakeholders involved!
Clare Chesworth is Head of Social Justice at Peridot. She is passionate about recruiting executive and board leaders for organisations supporting marginalised communities. With an empathetic and driven approach, Clare can find the right leaders to suit your mission. If you’d like to get in touch with her, you can connect with Clare on Linkedin or send her an email.
