By Diane Franklin
When JMFA Executive Search Group is involved in a CEO search, an external candidate is hired more than 50 percent of the time. Nationwide searches draw from a large pool of talent, including candidates who may already have CEO experience, and that sometimes makes it difficult for an internal candidate to compete.
However, Charles Shanley observes that internal candidates have an advantage that external candidates do not—and that is a clear understanding of the credit union’s culture. Shanley is executive vice president of the CUES Supplier member firm in Baytown, Texas.
“We can find a person with the right credentials and qualifications,” Shanley says. “The hard part is finding someone who matches well with the culture of the organization.”
For this and other reasons, JMFA typically recommends to clients—if all other things are equal—that they hire the internal candidate. “If your internal and external are both the same caliber of candidate, there’s no doubt you should hire the internal candidate,” Shanley says.
“You want to be able to show that you have a track record of promoting from within. It improves morale at the credit union. Just because you’re using an external firm doesn’t mean that you have to hire the external candidate. We want what’s best for the credit union, and that very well could be one of your internal people.”
Diane Franklin is a freelance writer based in Missouri.
