What to Do if Your Company Loses a C-Level Employee
In 2023, 40% of executives plan to leave their position to pursue other opportunities. This means that many companies will need to sharpen their executive recruiting strategies to find a new c-level employee.
C-level recruiting has a few extra steps compared to hiring for other positions. Do you know how to start your executive search to find the right person for the job?
The following guide will explain what to do if your company loses an executive.
Inform Your Staff
Always stay calm and act like a professional when a C-level employee leaves unexpectedly. Essential people depart for different reasons all the time and you must keep things running as usual.
Make sure you tell your employees about an executive leaving before they hear about it somewhere else. It won’t be an easy conversation, but your employees will respect your directness.
If you don’t inform your staff and they find out another way, it might create panic and make things worse. When they hear the news from you, it tells them that they’re thought of and that everything will work out.
Find Out Why They Left
Instead of jumping to conclusions or taking it personally, find out why the executive chose to leave. Doing so can help you avoid future abrupt resignations from other top-level employees.
Finding out what went wrong can also help when it comes time to hire their replacement. Especially if you’re hiring for a specific role like someone with construction and engineering recruitment specialties.
If you find that they left because of something like your company’s values, it might be a good opportunity to make changes. Stay positive and think of ways to improve your company after departure rather than take a step backward.
Have a Plan B
You should select an interim executive to ensure that processes run seamlessly while you search for new leadership. Interim executives only work part-time until you find a replacement, but they can offer valuable insight about the position.
You might find that this short-term period is the ideal time to restructure the company. If you have a good plan B and a qualified interim executive, you can keep morale high through the transition.
Search for a Replacement
If senior management resigns, don’t waste any time searching for a replacement. Find a qualified agency to search for candidates to speed up the recruitment process.
Using a recruitment agency allows your company to run as usual and focus on other important issues. Delegation is important because you don’t want to neglect other areas of your company and make the situation worse.
If possible, conduct an exit interview with the C-level employee that resigns. That way you can gain insight into the challenges they face to help you recruit the right replacement.
Replacing a C-level Employee
Losing a C-level employee can cause a lot of stress, but it might bring much-needed change. Remember to stay calm and honest with your staff. Don’t take the departure personally, use it to learn more about the structure of your company and how to improve it.
Check out our blog’s business/finance section for more ways to adjust to company changes.
