TALENT MANAGEMENT RECRUITMENT KORN/FERRY C-SUITE
Singapore - Hiring a wrong employee is expensive, but the consequences are even more dire when the wrong employee is the new chief executive officer. And yet, new CEOs struggling to fit into the company's culture may be more common than we know.
According to managing director of Korn/Ferry Singapore and Indonesia, Gerard Chai, he estimates that up to 40% of CEOs will have initial struggles with company culture. However, this would vary "depending on how much latitude they are given and how much of a surprise they encounter going into the role".
"For example, a Western executive who has never worked for an Asian company will struggle with cultural issues, as would an executive from an MNC environment going into a family-owned business," Chai says.
However, Chai adds that there will likely be fewer struggles if CEOs are "given the autonomy and latitude to lead their new organisation", and has the support of the board as well. "There will always be issues relating to company culture, but it is also up to the CEO to set the tone and address these issues over time. Sometimes a whole transformation is required, which then requires even more support from the board," he adds.
But to prevent such costly selection mistakes from happening, Chai says there are steps HR practitioners and employers can take - such as having detailed assessments that explore characteristics and competence fit. While it is important to be honest and set clear expectations from the onset, Chai adds that employers should probe into detail their past experiences as well as the rationale for decisions made in relation to the role and challenges ahead. In addition, companies should also ask the candidate competency-based questions against the critical leadership competencies required for the CEO role.
In Chai's opinion, the length of time in which a company woos a candidate is not as important compared to the integrity and intensity of the process. But, Chai warns, "you also don't want to stretch the process so long that the momentum and interest diminishes with the time taken."
Instead, what is critical is that the company performs detailed reference checks that are both formal and informal, such as introducing the candidate to key stakeholders such as board members and selected staff. The company should also share the company’s vision, strategy, expectations and CEO mandate with the candidate to ensure alignment, Chai says.
"Getting the steps right will ensure a higher chance of success."
________________________________________________________
More quality Lighthouse titles
Get your marketing department up to speed with Asia's most read marketing site
marketing-interactive.com
Want to get on the right side of the procurement department?
Direct them to Procurement Asia
