The research conducted by PARP shows that the biggest problem hindering the development of Polish enterprises is the lack of managerial staff - this was indicated by as much as 26% of the surveyed organisations. No wonder, because recruiting a good manager is a real challenge. High requirements concern both parties - employers expect rich experience and specific competences, while potential employees not only do not actively look for a new job, but also require very individual treatment. So how to find the perfect candidate?

Initiative on the part of the employer

When preparing for recruitment for specialist and managerial positions, you should be aware that the most valuable potential employees usually do not look for a new job. - We call them passive candidates. In their case, the standard formula consisting in the publication of a recruitment advertisement is unlikely to work, because most likely they simply will not see it. Therefore, one should act differently, proactively, know how and where to look for people with appropriate competences, as well as how to communicate with them and initiate contact more directly - points out Marta Żółkowska, recruitment consultant in the consulting and training company Integra Consulting Poland. Later on, it is not easier at all, because the recruitment resembles multi-stage trade negotiations, in which additionally the employer is the party that should be more flexible in terms of time, place and form of talks.

Let's talk about the conditions

Managers are characterized by the fact that they require a special approach throughout the entire recruitment process. - It is important not only to make contact, but also how we will conduct the whole procedure. Passive candidates avoid risk and like to be treated very individually. They approach building their professional image with great care and work on it for many years. As a result, the main argument in favour of a potential new employer may not be, for example, an increase in the originally proposed remuneration - admits Marta Żółkowska from Integra Consulting Poland. So how to convince to your company the person we particularly care about? It is important not only to present the job offer itself, but most of all to effectively encourage people to consider it - here the important thing is both information about earnings and employment conditions, as well as details about the guaranteed opportunities for professional development, training package or the atmosphere in the company itself.

Manager's tasks and responsibilities

With a great deal of sensitivity

Recruiting managers can be a challenge for one more reason - very many of them do not like to be judged by recruiters because they believe that their experience, scope of duties in their current position and professional success should speak for themselves. - For this reason, they are distrustful or even offended by the fact that they are to participate in tests or additional tasks as part of the recruitment process. In such a situation it is very important to show the candidate that we treat them individually, even if we use certain standard assessment tools or recruitment methods. It is also worth emphasizing that such solutions are used to obtain an objective and integrated assessment burdened with a lower risk of error and to ensure full confidentiality of all information - says recruitment consultant Marta Żółkowska.

Hunt for a specialist

Recruitment of managers is a specific and time-consuming process - also because candidates should be selected taking into account not only their knowledge and professional experience, but also the management style and focus on a specific organizational model, as well as verifying the fit to the culture of the entire company and the team they would ultimately lead. - This is important because previous work shapes certain habits in us. For example, a freelancer so far working on a project and a person passing from the corporate structure, although theoretically they may have a similar professional profile, in practice they will probably differ significantly, among other things, the perception of the level of autonomy at work, the approach to multitasking or the way of managing time and priorities - notes Marta Żółkowska from Integra Consulting Poland.

No wonder that currently companies rarely decide to fill such important positions without support from an external partner. Most of the people searching for employees for high, specialized positions are automatically associated with head hunting. It is worth knowing that this is only one of the available recruitment methods, the so-called executive and direct search area is very wide, and the procedures consisting of it have at least several stages. - First, together with the client, we determine the profile of the desired candidate - substantive, personality and motivation, we define the territorial and sectoral area of the search, including a list of companies whose employees may be the most valuable to us. Then, using the internal CV database, networking and external recommendations, we collect information about suitable candidates, contact them and verify their CV. We use various methods - we analyze biographical data and career paths, conduct a diagnosis of motivation and personality tests, check references, examine competences based on elements of AC/DC methodology - says Marta Żółkowska from Integra Consulting Poland. On the basis of the information gathered in this way, we prepare reports containing detailed descriptions of individual persons, containing not only information about their experience or declared skills, but also such issues as strengths, expectations and possible discrepancies from the expectations reported by the employer at the very beginning.

When recruiting managers and high-class specialists, we usually meet the so-called passive candidates. For this reason, it is not an easy task to reach particularly valuable, highly qualified people and then interest them in our offer of employment. It will largely depend on them for the success of the company, so it is worth to prepare well for this process and devote enough time and attention or decide to help an external partner.