How to hire a business leader

How to hire a business leader, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business leader hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a business leader job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new business leader
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a business leader do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the business leader you need to hire. Certain business leader roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a business leader to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a business leader that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of business leaders and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Business Leader	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Leader	Top executives devise strategies and policies to ensure that an organization meets its goals. They plan, direct, and coordinate operational activities of companies and organizations.	$26-69
   Process Improvement Manager	Process Improvement Managers oversee the operational processes of the company. These processes are usually related to production, sales, marketing, human resources, or finance... Show more	$38-65
   Director Of Business Operations	The position of a director of business operations involves the direction and coordination of an organization. It is the main responsibility of the directors of operations to oversee the profitability and overall growth of their organization... Show more	$32-87

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Analytics
   • Project Management
   • Customer Service
   • Business Development
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Business Process
   • Business Plan
   • Process Improvement
   • Business Operations
   • HR
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Data Analysis
   • Dashboards

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and manage SharePoint portal site for SFA department.
   • Lead process and results metric development for all components of Medicaid business system.
   • Develop project plans, project status reports, manage the team and resolve day-to-day issues with emphasis on SDLC.
   • Set up a governance document to be share throughout all of department which outline how SharePoint would be manage.
   • Manage sales and technical group to complete a custom online shopping system and CRM system for digital and print products.
   • Utilize GMP to manage department budgets for capital expenses, spare parts, tools, and yearly contracts with outside vendors.

   More business leader duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your business leader job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A business leader salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, business leaders' average salary in kentucky is 60% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level business leaders earn 61% less than senior-level business leaders.
   • Certifications. A business leader with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a business leader's salary.

   Average business leader salary

   $90,430yearly

   $43.48 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business leader salary

   $56,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average business leader salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$124,329	$60
   2	Washington	$121,241	$58
   3	California	$111,304	$54
   4	New Jersey	$110,095	$53
   5	Delaware	$96,882	$47
   6	District of Columbia	$96,677	$46
   7	Pennsylvania	$95,239	$46
   8	Rhode Island	$93,282	$45
   9	Illinois	$92,284	$44
   10	Massachusetts	$87,715	$42
   11	Colorado	$86,790	$42
   12	Wisconsin	$85,991	$41
   13	Virginia	$83,941	$40
   14	Arizona	$77,160	$37
   15	Minnesota	$76,660	$37
   16	Maryland	$76,597	$37
   17	North Carolina	$73,897	$36
   18	Nebraska	$72,905	$35
   19	Texas	$71,498	$34
   20	Ohio	$66,650	$32

   Average business leader salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Lyft	$151,018	$72.60	10
   2	Meta	$150,704	$72.45	172
   3	TBWA Worldwide	$150,642	$72.42
   4	World Fuel Services	$149,341	$71.80	1
   5	Control Risks	$149,061	$71.66
   6	Devon Energy	$149,012	$71.64	2
   7	Airbnb	$146,766	$70.56	3
   8	Credit Suisse	$145,783	$70.09
   9	Apple	$145,538	$69.97	29
   10	Google	$145,423	$69.91	107
   11	DoorDash	$141,045	$67.81	60
   12	Biogen	$137,041	$65.89	7
   13	PayPal	$136,711	$65.73	21
   14	AstraZeneca	$136,548	$65.65	9
   15	Accenture	$136,513	$65.63	1,327
   16	DTCC	$135,465	$65.13	12
   17	UST Global	$134,356	$64.59
   18	Postmates	$134,005	$64.43
   19	SoFi	$133,723	$64.29	26
   20	Airtable	$133,337	$64.10	1

4. Writing a business leader job description

   A job description for a business leader role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a business leader job description:

   Business leader job description example

   Job Scope
   
   We have an exciting opportunity for a hands-on transformation lead with a passion for curiosity, quality, and driving end user adoption of high agility behaviors. We are seeking a proactive individual with an agile, growth mindset to join Visa's Transformation Office. The Transformation Lead - Business Agility will lead a multifaceted set of initiatives that will focus on defining Enterprise agility and increasing agility across Visa.
   
   The primary responsibility for this role will be defining and communicating the behaviors and mindsets, practices, processes, systems, and tools required to improve business agility. Effectively driving adoption of agility concepts and Agile practices across the enterprise is also a critical component of this role. The Transformation Lead will be an integral member of the Enterprise Business Agility team, partnering with other coaches to develop materials and driving change to increase the agility in all functions across Visa.
   
   Key Responsibilities
   
   Drive refinement and scaling of Digital Transformation strategy that helps employees across Visa embrace high agility principles, practices, mindsets, and behaviors
   
   Partner with Transformation Office team members and stakeholders to drive key transformation program activities. Establish and maintain relationships with a broad base of key stakeholders (i.e., executives and staff) in the business.
   
   Manage the execution of large, complex, transformation initiatives including leading across multiple functions to ensure success
   
   Provide thought-leadership on how to sustain transformation and increase agility across Visa
   
   Serve as an agility subject matter expert for stakeholders and team members of the assigned business units
   
   Strengthen collaboration and partnership between Product and Technology, Client Services, Design, Marketing, and Sales
   
   Effectively guide the transition of new capabilities into BAU operations
   
   Manage cross-functional communications to maximize understanding, impact, and speed of change adoption
   
   Regularly communicate progress of transformation work to Senior Leaders
   
   The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of (and experience implementing) methodologies, frameworks, processes, and tools that make organizations more dynamic, flexible, and adaptable. They will have significant experience driving transformation/change efforts in an embedded consultancy model. They should be comfortable with hands-on problem-solving and solutions development in a highly collaborative, cross-functional environment. The role requires the person to be comfortable with ambiguity, be a creative and independent thinker, analytically minded, with a solid background in financial and general business analysis.
   
   This position is open to the following locations: Austin TX, Foster City CA, Miami FL.
   
   This is a hybrid position. Hybrid employees can alternate time between both remote and office. Employees in hybrid roles are expected to work from the office two days a week, Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a general guidepost of being in the office 50% of the time based on business needs.
   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find business leaders for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any business leaders they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level business leaders with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your business leader job on Zippia to find and recruit business leader candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting business leaders requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new business leader

   Once you have selected a candidate for the business leader position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new business leader. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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