Before you Launch a Search: Organizational Landscape Analysis and Discovery
By Jen Goodman & Patti Dorsey, Bolster
Summer 2023
Conducting an organizational landscape analysis and discovery before recruiting for a job opening is crucial for understanding the current state of your organization and identifying the specific needs and requirements for the role you are looking to fill. Here are some steps you can follow as an employer:
Define the Job Role: Start by clearly defining the job role and its responsibilities. This includes determining the primary tasks, required skills and qualifications, and reporting relationships for the position.
Review Current Organizational Structure: Examine your current organizational structure, including reporting lines, departments, and teams. Understand how the new position will fit into the existing structure and identify any potential gaps or overlaps.
Assess Workflows and Processes: Evaluate the workflows and processes related to the role you are hiring for. Identify pain points, inefficiencies, and areas where the new hire can contribute to improving productivity and effectiveness.
Identify Key Stakeholders: Determine the key stakeholders who will be impacted by the new hire's work. This may include managers, team members, clients, or other departments. Understand their expectations, needs, and how the new hire will interact with them.
Conduct Competitor Analysis: Research and analyze your competitors' organizational structures, job titles, and responsibilities for similar roles. This can provide insights into industry standards, best practices, and potential areas for differentiation.
Review Internal Talent Pool: Don’t forget to consider internal candidates who could potentially fill the role. This helps promote career development and utilize existing talent within the organization before seeking external candidates.
Conduct Gap Analysis: Compare the current state of your organization with the desired future state. Identify any skill gaps, knowledge deficiencies, or areas where additional resources are required. This analysis will help you refine the job description and set realistic expectations for the new hire.
Seek Input from Key Stakeholders: Engage with relevant stakeholders, such as department heads, team leaders, or executives, to gather their input on the role and understand their perspectives. Their insights can provide valuable information on the role's impact and integration within the organization.
Collaborate with HR and Other Leaders: Work closely with your HR department and other leaders to align on the organizational landscape analysis and ensure a clear understanding of the requirements for the job opening. Leverage their expertise in crafting job descriptions and identifying suitable candidates.
Document Findings and Plan: Compile all the information gathered during the analysis into a comprehensive document. This should include a detailed job description, organizational structure charts, stakeholder input, and any other relevant insights. Use this document as a reference throughout the recruitment process.
By conducting a thorough organizational landscape analysis and discovery, you can lay the groundwork for a successful recruitment process and find the right candidate who aligns with your organization's needs and objectives.
Bolster is an on-demand executive talent marketplace that helps accelerate companies’ growth by connecting them with experienced, highly vetted executives for full-time, interim, fractional, advisory, project-based, or board roles. Jen Goldman is Co-Founder & Head of Talent Acquisition & Member Supply and Patti Dorsey is an Executive Recruiter. Learn more about Bolster here.
This post is part of the America Achieves Talent Summer Series. America Achieves is a national nonprofit organization founded in 2011 to strengthen democracy by building educational bridges to the middle class and re-establishing the link between work and opportunity.
In early 2023, America Achieves selected Bolster, Edgility Consulting and LER Consultants (LER) and DGW Consulting Group (DGWCG), all nationally recognized talent sourcing and executive leadership firms, to participate in a philanthropically funded national talent pipeline pilot project known as the Collective Impact Talent Initiative. The Collective Impact Talent Initiative builds upon America Achieves’ work with equity-centered economic growth and workforce regional coalitions through the Commerce Department’s Build Back Better Challenge and Good Jobs Challenge, both of which were part of the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan. The Collective Impact Talent initiative, with its partners, provides inclusive, place-based regional coalitions from across the country, from upstate New York and Central Valley California, to Virginia and Texas, among others, with individualized and capacity-building support to source, recruit and hire the key diverse talent needed to drive the regional coalitions’ innovative and bold visions of equity-centered economic growth and workforce development. The Collective Impact Talent Initiative is grounded in the belief that coalitions and their work are only as good as their teams and people. You can learn more about the Collective Impact Talent Initiative by going to catalyzeblog.americaachieves.org/talent_initiative or by emailing catalyze@americaachieves.org.
