Having a well-structured process is vital to ensuring a uniform candidate experience, a level playing field, and as predictable of a search as possible. Know where to bend to accommodate your candidates, but limit how often and how dramatically you deviate from the plan. 

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Role Scope and Scorecard:

Start by defining the broad responsibilities of the role. Consult the relevant Role Guide to familiarize yourself with the typical expectations of this role, and figure out how those map to your business challenges. 

From there, get more granular. What are your expected goals and outcomes for the role? What are the specific tactics and capabilities they’ll need to be able to employ to get what specific things done? Consult search firms, senior leaders with experience in the function, and/or your board to determine what’s realistic for the role. 

Pull this together into a candidate scorecard that everyone on the interview panel has access to, and uses to guide their interview and feedback. For more visit the NEA blog post on the subject. 

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Search Strategy:

Utilize your responsibilities and your scorecard to work with whoever is leading the recruiting effort on defining the strategy they’ll use to identify prospective candidates. What companies or industries are most likely to have people with the required skill set? How will they identify those companies? 

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Interview Panel/Process:

Define who will be involved in the interview process, the order of interviews, what everyone’s role will be, and how their opinion will be weighted relative to others in the process. 

- Who: The interview panel should have superiors, peers, and subordinates involved. For example, when interviewing a CRO a sample group could include the CEO and a board member (superiors), the CMO and the CHRO (peers), and the VP/Dir. Sales and VP/Dir. Customer Success (subordinates). Adjust according to your business, scheduling, and the interview capabilities of your team. 

- Order: Defining your interview order should reflect the steps your candidates are going through. There should be some flexibility - e.g. if your typical process starts with a 30-minute call with the CEO and you think you have a shot at a stretch candidate, meet them for a 45-minute coffee meeting at a convenient location of their choosing. 

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A sample process might look like... 

1. 30-minute video conference/meeting with the CEO

2. 60-minute call/video conference with the CHRO 

3. 45-minute meetings with CMO, VP Sales, and VP Customer Success and 15-minute wrap-up with CEO at HQ 4. 45-minute meeting/call with a Board Member (optional) 5. 90-minute presentation on 30-60-90 plan for their role, with as much of the interview panel as can attend 6. Dinner with CEO (optionally include spouses) with verbal offer if appropriate 

     - Role: You know your team’s strengths - play to them. Is your VP Sales or your CMO best to sell the company’s vision to the candidate? Will your board member be more valuable if they talk about why they invested, or if they’re evaluating the candidate’s vision and capabilities for the role? Is your CHRO a great management skills interviewer or should they focus on what they’ll add to the broader company culture? Everyone should know loosely what they’re expected to come out of the conversation with, and the questions to ask to get there. 

     - Weighting: In our example, a 1-star review from the CEO probably ends the conversation, but a 1-star review from the VP Customer Success might just mean others on the panel need to dig into that person’s concerns. Set the right expectations with each person on the interview panel - make sure that those who have less sway know they are being included because you value their opinion and want them to have a say, but that ultimately the decision will be up to you and the Board. 

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Candidate Experience:

Whether you hire them or not, you want candidates to have the best experience you can offer at every point in the process. Candidates talk to their network about your company and the experience they had, and this is part of your company brand - not just in regards to future candidates but with customers, investors, etc. 

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Some common pitfalls can be avoided by making sure that... 

- The point-of-contact for scheduling is reliable and responsive 

- Communication is positive and makes it clear that their time is valued 

- Interviewers are on-time, prepared, engaged, and respectful 

- Follow-up is prompt and transparent about expectations and next steps 

- Deviations from the role expectations, interview process, etc. are communicated and explained 

- Interviews feel like mutually exploratory conversations, not interrogations