Need: Seasoned leader to succeed retiring Chief Executive Officer
Service: Executive search
Community Action Wayne/Medina (CAW/M) helps people help themselves through collaborations and services promoting self-sufficiency, household stability and family and childhood education. When its CEO announced her retirement CAWM engaged The Yunker Group to find a seasoned leader to continue the organization’s record of success and impact.
Perspectives of the Search Committee Chair, Dr. Heather Fitz-Gibbons “The Yunker Group did a fantastic job. The search went very smoothly. It was well organized, seamless at every stage, and exceeded our expectations. One of the strengths that Jim Yunker brought was the recognition that he was working with an all-volunteer board. He understood that we all had day jobs – and that this wasn’t our area of expertise – and he made it as easy as possible for us to participate.”
“The Yunker Group doesn’t just manage the mechanics of a search. Jim got to know the key players in the search process so that he could manage personalities and manage the strengths of the search committee. He also made it a priority to understand the mission of the organization, our needs, and exactly what we were looking for in a CEO.”
“I would describe The Yunker Group as engaged, personable, and highly competent. Jim works really hard to get to know his clients, to understand their needs, and dispel any of their concerns. They performed the search with the utmost professionalism and sensitivity and helped us navigate any challenges as they arose.”
Observations of Human Resources Director, Stacey Corbin “The thing we really liked about The Yunker Group is that they exclusively work with nonprofits. That expertise is what influenced our decision to hire them for this search. From my standpoint in HR, I think the search went fabulously. They laid out the process and the timeline, and 99% of the time, things went exactly according to plan. When they didn’t, it was usually scheduling conflicts on our end. I always knew where we were with things and never felt like I had to reach out or track anything down.”
“I think the resources they had and the process they deployed for getting candidates was a real strength. They partnered with us to learn what resources Community Action had available to publicize the position and then leveraged those networks alongside their existing avenues and resources. In the end, we had 54 total candidates, and 17 of those moved on to the first round of interviews. So, we felt that was a good result.”
“From the beginning, I felt it was absolutely necessary to engage with an outside search firm because we have 150 employees, and I am an HR Department of one. I just didn’t feel like I could dedicate the necessary time to this search and balance it with all of my other responsibilities. This was very important, and I felt it was critical that we get it right – and the Board understood and agreed.”
“The Yunker Group has such great policies and procedures. They made it easy for our all- volunteer Board, which doesn’t typically have much experience with a process like this, to engage and to rate and rank candidates. They really educated and informed them and made it easy for folks who aren’t traditionally recruiters to participate.”
“Jenny Weiglein and Jim Yunker are consummate professionals. They’re also very human – very friendly and personable. Their genuine care and concern also made an impression on me. They were every bit as invested in finding the right person for this role as we were. So, after all of the questions and vetting and due diligence, when we had our final two candidates, I felt absolutely confident that one of these two candidates was our new CEO. And that’s because of all of the time, effort, and energy that was put into the search.”
“Jim is one of those people that you just feel comfortable with, and I knew from the start that our working relationship would be fantastic. He is an excellent communicator. He was always proactive and kept in touch, and that was very important to me.”
“My advice to someone considering hiring The Yunker Group is: Do it! They’re very selective about how many searches they’re doing at any given time, which ensures they can give adequate attention to each client that they have. And you don’t get passed off – you get the company’s President & CEO working right there in the weeds alongside you.”
Thoughts of the successful candidate, James Fox “I’ve been in the field 20+ years, and I’ve never been part of a hiring process that was as thorough as this one. I think the result was that both sides felt equally well informed about each other. Honestly, I felt like the process was as much for me as the candidate as for the organization. In my experience, that’s pretty unique.”
“The interview process was distinctly progressive. Each stage built on the one before. So, it avoided the repetition and disjointedness of some hiring processes and was very intentional in its unfolding. By the time you got to the final interview, they really had a lot of information and were able to use that interview to work through specific questions or engage you around some of the finer points of the written responses for example.”
“The firm is very knowledgeable, personable, and professional. They had a very clear idea what the organization was looking for, and they did a really great job communicating with me at each stage of the process. For example, if there was a delay, they would let me know, so I wasn’t left wondering. They would also prep me thoroughly for each stage of the interview process so that I knew what to expect and could put my best foot forward.”
“The Yunker Group is highly skilled at what they do. Jim Yunker’s experience in the field – and his expertise with nonprofits – is unique. It’s a whole different ball of wax to find a CEO for nonprofit than for a corporate entity. There are just a lot of considerations, and Jim is very knowledgeable about the necessary skill sets for people working in the nonprofit industry.”
“I felt as well informed going into this role as with any I’ve ever been in. In fact, I feel like the orientation process really started with that first phone interview. There’s information shared all along the way that’s useful – about people, opportunities, needs – so it doesn’t feel like your typical first day going in.”