Brent Cameron - Managing partner, Boyden Global Executive Search
First, it is true that many Vancouver-based companies looking for top executive talent expand their search outside the city. As Vancouver is a relatively small city with fewer head offices than Toronto or even Calgary, expanding the geographic scope of the search can deepen and broaden the pool significantly.
Before agreeing to expand your search beyond Vancouver, here are a few things you should know:
Cost: Expanding the search will increase your costs. You will have expenses related to interviewing people not based here, plus relocation costs. Also, most compensation surveys consistently find Vancouver salaries lagging behind other cities. You may have to enhance your compensation package in order to attract the right candidate.
Housing: If you are going to recruit from outside Vancouver, housing needs to be one of the first conversations you have with potential candidates. And you need to realize that, for many people, Vancouver is just not going to be a viable option.
Immigration: If you are going to search internationally, you need to work with a recruitment firm that understands the changing Canadian immigration and work permit requirements, or you need to find a good immigration lawyer to provide you advice. Do not wait until the end of your search to do this. If you are going to search internationally, get advice at the start.
Tony Kirschner - Partner, Davies Park Executive Search
Consider the following before expanding your executive recruitment outside of Vancouver.
Confirm that the rumours of a “talent crunch” are true. Executive scarcity rarely blankets an entire region and often is focused on a hot job function or industry. Before expanding your search, be sure you have covered the fundamentals. Ask yourself: Am I being too rigid with skills-based hiring criteria? (Top executives can be effective across functions and industries.) Have I developed a proper talent pipeline or am I relying on social media and online postings? (True executives rarely respond to these approaches.)
If you are confident that you’ve exhausted the local talent market, looking afield is the next step and the norm in executive recruitment. Expanding the search geographically adds cost and risk, so you generally need to increase the number of candidates to achieve a successful result. For Canadians, Vancouver is an attractive place to live but it is expensive compared to most regions, so often candidates withdraw when it’s “decision time” as the numbers don’t add up. Be sure you’ve properly vetted candidates and focus your efforts on higher-cost-of-living markets.
When looking outside Canada, you have to “sell the city” to prospective candidates because, as appealing as Vancouver is to most Canadians, not everyone is as aware of the pros and cons of living here. Immigration issues lengthen the hiring process, so engage an experienced immigration lawyer to ensure your ducks are in a row.
If you decide to search beyond the Lower Mainland, be prepared to get creative with total compensation approaches, give yourself plenty of time to fill the position, and use tried-and-true recruitment best practices to successfully attract top executives.
Chad Rutherford - Managing partner, Vancouver, Summit Search Group
Vancouver is one of the top cities in the world to live in, and for that reason we have some of the brightest and best executives in the country, if not the world, who are choosing to live here.
So what are the solutions for people who run into a “talent crunch” in their search? The main two that I would highly recommend are transferable skill sets and professional recruitment firms.
Sometimes I see employers get so caught up in finding someone from their own industry that they miss out on some really outstanding individuals. Someone who has been a top performer in another industry most likely has the intelligence and drive to succeed in a new industry.
And many times there are benefits in bringing someone new into an industry with a fresh perspective and excitement as opposed to recycling someone who has maybe lost that passion and has “seen it and done it.”
I have also seen many clients trying to use Internet solutions lately only to come back to our professional search services.
The top performers aren’t sitting at their computers searching job postings and they probably aren’t spending a lot of time replying to posts.
A professional search firm takes the time to understand what it is you need to accomplish and what the corporate culture requirements of your company are. It would then go out and recruit appropriate individuals with a professional message explaining why the firm is contacting them, how the candidate matches the job needs and why they should take the time to consider the opportunity. Ultimately the firm would provide the client with a short list of fully qualified applicants.
