CHALLENGE
The CEO of an international industry association announced that he was retiring after more than 20 years in that position. The association was also facing external policy and regulation changes that could potentially change its basic business model. A subcommittee of the Board of Directors was selected to choose the new CEO. Selection committee members had little experience in senior staff hires and wanted the process to be fair to both internal and external candidates.
SOLUTION
CCI created a structured approach to the search that would result in an unbiased process fair to all applicants. Key leaders at various levels of the association were interviewed to understand the culture and requirements. From the interviews, CCI generated a competency model and built behaviorally based interviewing questions for the Board to ask. Board members were given a behavioral interviewing guide and CCI trained them in its use, including pitfalls of hiring and the appropriate use of different kinds of questions.
RESULTS
The Board screened eligible candidates from resumes submitted and created an interview schedule. All qualified internal candidates were interviewed and discussed by the Board. The process was completed in a shorter time than anticipated and with a unanimous selection of the new CEO. The outgoing CEO said the selection committee found CCI’s “support and guidance very valuable and were happy CCI was on board for the journey”.
