Ratification of Senior Executive Appointments
There is a lot of talk about C-Suite failures, especially in today’s unpredictable and opportunistic markets. As such, I was asked by David Creelman, an HR Strategy and Analytics expert, to recommend the key questions that Board HR committees should ask when ratifying the hiring of C-Suite executives.
A key message from David’s article was that board members must take a strategic and long-term view of human capital issues. They need to be insightful about the ways the people side of the business impacts the company’s strategy. This puts them in a perfect position to raise our recommended ratification questions with the CEO.
Importantly, David notes that the Board HR committee is not interfering with the recruiting process, they are merely suggesting questions that need to be asked. This example illustrates how the HR Committee of the board adds value simply by asking thoughtful questions.
As leaders in our organization, the buck stops with us and I would argue that, for the areas we are accountable for, we all have this same mandate to ratify key executive hires with a few questions, especially those hires we have not been directly involved in.
Recommended ratification questions for key executive hires:
- Endgame: What is the endgame, the long-term strategy, and where is the company heading next in its growth cycle (accelerating, launching new growth areas, or transformation)?
- Impact: What role will this position play in achieving that strategy?
- The Must Haves: What kind of capabilities and experience does a person need to succeed in this newly defined role? What uncharted areas do they need to be able to navigate through? Can they inspire and energize their teams in our culture to deliver exceptional results? What are the “Must Have Requirements” to set the evaluation bar for candidates to get over?
- Measures of Success: How will we know if this person is succeeding after 3 months, end of year 1, end of year 2, at our endgame? What are the Success Criteria? How would we measure this and how confident are we that the candidate can achieve this in the timeframe needed?
Looking beyond yesterday’s needs:
As David points out in the article, when a senior position needs to be filled the typical response is to look at the job as it is currently structured and try to fill it as soon as possible. Ideally, the hiring manager, an HR leader, or the interview team would bring the long-term view shown in the four ratification questions. However, realistically they are often consumed with short-term issues and so they opt for the simplest course of action: replacing the job as it currently is. This is not ideal it’s just the natural thing to happen. It is indeed what often happens.
Additionally, I would also ask, do you have the most appropriate executive search firm involved? If it’s your internal recruiters, are they experienced enough for this level of senior hire?
In summary:
You have the mandate and the responsibility to ratify all key hiring decisions in the areas you are accountable for. As leaders, we have empowered others to make decisions and don’t want to be seen to interfere but as an inspirational leader, the best way you can coach them is to ask a few thoughtful questions.
I hope this is helpful and I’m curious to know what your #1 ratification question is. If you have an interest to explore further, let’s chat.
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