Tribe Executive - Finding the right fit for the board

Here’s a question: how do you assess candidates coming through as either executives or board members for their fit?

The reason for looking at this is because there are a lot of boards out there where everyone looks fairly similar. In other words, people are choosing others for their teams based on who they think they’ll get along with.

It used to be that about 80% of these decisions were made on fit. Over time, I’ve seen that drop down, depending on the sector to around 50/50 or 60/40 between skills and fit.

At Tribe, the first thing we do before starting any executive or board recruitment is spend time speaking not just with the client, the chief executive or board chair, but also with that person’s peers, meaning the other executive team, as well as the staff who report into that executive.

Before I even go to the market to look for people, I’m already assessing fit based on what these groups tell me. That means I’m well informed before we begin the search.

We also use other methods at Tribe, such as psychometric testing, which we’re really strong at. At the end of the day, you as the client are the best judge when candidates come to you. But you need a recruitment company that invests real time and effort into getting the fit right at the very beginning.

With over 20 year's experience in executive recruitment David Hammond, provides more than just recruitment support. Take a look at the additional services that can support you or your business through the next phase.