Hiring: Anticipating challenges and other considerations

Finding candidates for public sector C-suite roles requires proactive and intentional efforts to address specific questions that are both unique to public sector positions and vary among communities. It’s not enough to slap a “help wanted” ad on the wall and hope the right candidate responds.

Through years of experience helping public sector organizations navigate this process, we’ve discovered ten considerations that continually resurface and that might not always be top of mind. Organizations that adopt innovative and customized solutions to address these challenges typically enjoy much more success along the way.

Below, we explore these considerations and offer experience-tested guidance on how best to overcome them.

History of position and character of organization
By presenting both the history of the position and the character of the organization in a transparent yet optimistic light, you can better attract candidates who are aligned with your mission and who feel confident in the stability and prospects of the role.

The legacy of the previous holder(s) of the position can strongly influence potential candidates’ perception of the role, especially if there has been high turnover or any controversy surrounding the position. To the extent possible and appropriate, provide transparent information about the role’s history, highlighting recent changes or improvements and emphasizing your organization's commitment to stability and positive change. If there have been challenges, such as frequent turnover or restructuring, proactively address these concerns by outlining steps taken to resolve them and illustrating a clear path forward.

Relatedly, the broader public perception of your organization beyond the position itself—plays a significant role in attracting top-tier talent. Potential candidates will likely consider the organization’s reputation, especially if there have been adverse incidents or controversies.  We encourage active management and improvement of your organization’s public image through evidence of civil behavior, strategic communication, and public relations efforts, often through collaboration with third-party advisors—such as highlighting success stories and initiatives that demonstrate a positive impact. Utilize social media outlets to craft messaging that highlights key success stories, core values, and initiatives demonstrating a positive social and environmental impact.

Organizations should take a proactive approach to enhancing their reputation by:

• Engaging in transparent communication: Regularly share updates on your organization’s progress, values, and goals. Be open about past challenges but focus on demonstrating tangible steps taken toward improvement.
• Showcasing leadership vision: Highlight the leadership team’s vision for the future and how they are steering the organization towards innovation and success. A strong leadership narrative can reassure candidates about the stability and direction of the organization.
• Signaling a healthy work environment: Civility between the governing body, the chief administrative officer, and staff is critical to productive relationships. Candidates are more likely to be attracted to a workplace where respect and professionalism are the norms. News outlets, social media and other publicly available platforms often provide a window into these dynamics. If the relationship is perceived as contentious or dysfunctional, it may deter potential candidates.
• Promoting success stories: Highlight recent successes, such as major projects, community involvement, employee development programs or industry awards. These stories build credibility and reinforce a positive image of the organization.
• Fostering a strong organizational culture: Candidates are increasingly interested in the internal culture of organizations. Share how your organization fosters a positive, respectful, inclusive and supportive work environment, where employees feel valued and psychologically safe and have opportunities to grow and make meaningful contributions.

Work flexibility
Increasing expectations for flexible work arrangements, including remote work, can be challenging in the traditionally office-bound public sector. It’s best to address these challenges during the recruitment process by offering flexible working arrangements—whenever possible—and implementing policies that allow for hybrid work models. If this is not an option for specific positions and environments, clearly communicate to candidates the dynamics prohibiting such arrangements to help establish realistic expectations from the start.

Public nature of the process
Recruitment processes for public sector roles are often more transparent and open to public scrutiny, which can deter some candidates. While this reality cannot be entirely dismissed, your organization should work toward the following ends:

• Ensure candidates understand the reasons for transparency (and how it benefits the public)
• Develop a process that sustains anonymity up to the latest stage possible as permitted by state and local laws
• Support candidates throughout the process to help them feel comfortable and prepared

Affordable housing and/or residency requirements
The high cost of living and lack of affordable housing across the country can be a barrier, especially if the role requires relocation to a high-cost area. While we encourage candidates to do their due diligence upfront to explore the housing market and the feasibility of relocating, organizations can show support by offering relocation assistance, housing allowances or help to find affordable housing options.

Furthermore, some public sector roles require candidates to reside within a particular geographic area, which can limit the talent pool. Providing flexibility with residency requirements (where possible), offering incentives to relocate and/or providing temporary residency solutions for candidates transitioning to the area can help overcome this challenge.

Compensation
Public sector salaries often do not match private sector compensation, making it challenging to attract top-tier talent, especially from the private sector. Counter this challenge by creatively and proactively emphasizing the intrinsic rewards of public service—such as job security, work-life balance and the opportunity to make a significant impact—as well as total rewards, including competitive non-monetary benefits.

Complex stakeholder environment
Managing a diverse range of stakeholders, including government entities, the public and various interest groups, can be challenging. Based on the role’s requirements and exposure, make sure your organization seeks candidates with strong stakeholder management skills and a track record of effective communication and negotiation.

Political influence and public scrutiny
Public sector leaders often face significant political pressure and scrutiny from the media and the public. Based on the role’s requirements, identify candidates with experience in high-visibility roles or those who have operated in politically sensitive environments. Even after hiring, we encourage organizations to support and prepare candidates further for public scrutiny and provide media training.

Diverse and inclusive leadership
Ensuring diversity and inclusion in leadership roles is critical but can be challenging due to a limited pool of diverse candidates with the requisite experience. It’s helpful to employ broad search criteria and actively recruit from diverse talent pools through third-party networks and partnerships with organizations that promote leadership among underrepresented groups. This could include those that do not come from public sector backgrounds, as this brings different perspectives to the role.

Cultural fit and alignment with public service values
More and more, private sector candidates with transferrable skills and experiences are applying for and transitioning to public sector roles. Some candidates from the private sector may struggle to adapt to the public sector’s culture and its emphasis on service over profit. To address this dilemma, we encourage organizations to assess candidates' commitment to public service values during the recruitment process. We also encourage organizations to offer comprehensive orientation and onboarding programs emphasizing the public sector’s mission and values.

Competitiveness, timeliness and keeping candidates engaged
Because high-quality candidates may receive multiple offers, lengthy hiring processes can result in losing candidates to other opportunities. Focus on streamlining your recruitment and selection process to be as efficient as possible. Produce a compelling narrative about the role’s impact and future opportunities within the organization and maintain regular communication with candidates to keep them engaged and informed about their status in the process.

The bottom line
Public sector organizations can enhance their ability to attract and retain qualified C-suite candidates well-suited to public service leadership's unique demands and opportunities by addressing the specific considerations above with timely, tailored solutions. And while crafting such solutions is no easy feat, you don’t need to go it alone.

We’ve navigated these waters many times over—and we know the way forward.