Case Study > Washington Business Week

Hiring with Confidence: How R2R Enabled a Non-Profit to Hire an Executive Director

Richeal Royal | Published on May 7, 2024 | 4 min read

Summary

Washington Business Week (WBW), a non-profit organization with over 47 years of experience providing high school students with hands-on business exposure, encountered challenges in recruiting a new Executive Director. Being a small organization, WBW lacked the internal resources and expertise to conduct an executive search. With board members and volunteers lacking the time and knowledge to recruit, external support was crucial to identify a suitable candidate for this key role. This role is vital in shaping the organization’s direction and influencing its structure, strategy, and values. This role is responsible for leading financial strategy, expanding outreach to all high schools in Washington state, and increasing corporate donations and donor relations.

Challenges

  • Hiring Confidence: The leadership lacked confidence in their hiring decisions and sought precision due to their limited experience working with recruitment partners.
  • Brand Visibility: Despite being established for 47 years, WBW struggled with low brand recognition, impacting its ability to attract top-tier candidates.
  • Financial Constraints: As a non-profit organization, WBW had limited financial resources, highlighting the importance of a cost-effective recruitment strategy without compromising on the quality of hires.

A 59.7% response rate achieved

led to $16k in cost savings

Solution

After identifying WBW’s challenges, R2R created and executed a thorough strategy, which involved:

  • Crafting a Compelling Job Advertisement and Go-to-Market Strategy: R2R designed an attractive and persuasive job ad to captivate top-tier candidates by highlighting WBW’s unique impact, mission, and the significance of the Executive Director role. R2R implemented a personalized go-to-market approach to educate potential candidates about WBW, emphasizing their impact, role objectives, and organizational vision, ensuring alignment with the organization’s values and attracting highly qualified individuals.
  • Talent Mapping and Comprehensive Evaluation: R2R conducted talent mapping to identify suitable candidates and created tailored interview guides with specific screening criteria for a thorough evaluation process.
  • Enhancing Candidate Engagement and Experience: R2R prioritized regular communication with candidates to ensure transparency and engagement. Through personalized support and regular updates, R2R transformed candidates into WBW advocates, showcasing how they could participate, volunteer, or involve their companies in supporting WBW. This approach not only improved candidate satisfaction but also strengthened WBW’s reputation as an employer of choice.
  • Serving as a Trusted Advisor: R2R provided the current President with reliable advice supported by data, insights, and best practices, ensuring he made an outstanding hiring decision.

This detailed strategy provided WBW with a cost-efficient recruitment solution while maintaining high-quality standards.

Results

R2R sourced a total of 67 candidates, achieving a response rate of 59.7%. Out of these, 7 candidates were submitted, resulting in 5 hiring manager interviews and 3 executive board interviews. The time to submit qualified candidates was 10 days, and the overall time to fill the position was 53 days.

Through this partnership, WBW was able to streamline their executive search process, leading to the successful Executive Director hire. R2R’s strategic and comprehensive approach, from educating the client to implementing a targeted recruitment strategy, ensured that we met WBW’s needs effectively and efficiently. This process resulted in significant cost savings, with WBW saving $16,300 compared to the industry average recruiting fee. R2R’s efforts not only filled the position with a qualified candidate but also positioned WBW for future success with a capable leader at the helm.

WBW-logo-FINAL

Location

Federal Way, Washington

Industry

Non-Profit

Size

< 50 Employees

Result Highlights

Time to Submit Candidates

10

time-to-hire: (in days)

53

Cost Savings

$16k

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In Our Clients' Own Words

I expected professionalism and ability, but what I got was so much more

When I reached out to R2R for help recruiting an executive director, I expected professionalism and ability, but what I got was so much more. From the very first meeting, I was working with a team that worked hard to understand my organization and our specific needs. A job description can give you the "you must be this tall to ride this ride" types of qualifications for a candidate, but through my work with R2R, I was able to get candidates who not only exceeded those baseline qualifications but met the "right now" needs of my organization - the extra knowledge and attitude that could help us address our current needs in a way that just posting on a job board could never have done. By the end of our candidate search (which yielded multiple phenomenal candidates, any one of which would have been a great fit for us), I had grown to enjoy and appreciate the frequent, but not overbearing, check-ins from R2R so much that I have to admit that a part of me was sad we filled the position!

President & Board Member, WBW

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