One of the most critical decisions any CEO makes is who to include on the executive team. Most executives are willing to spend weeks developing a new product strategy that will add significantly to the company’s success, but then they spend only about 15 hours hiring the person who will implement the strategy.
Clearly, the higher in the organization new hires reside, the greater their potential impact. Ironically, these hires often receive less thoughtful attention than hires at lower level in the organization.
How does this happen? Primarily because the hiring manager often is the CEO, who has an overwhelmingly busy schedule. CEOs are often ill-prepared for interviews, having put little serious thought into what specific questions to ask the candidates and what specific skills they want to acquire.
Here are some important tips to keep in mind:
- Preparation is critical. Most executives are going from their gut reaction, rather than from empirical information gathered from the interview. This approach -"I´ll know a good person when I see them"- doesn´t take into account that some people are good interviewees and some aren´t. There is a real difference between someone you may enjoy in a brief meeting and someone who has the skills and experience you really need.
The hiring manager should think through and write down three lists of criteria: what critical skills are absolutely required; what are the desired secondary skills; and what is your "dream" list. Refer to the list during the interview.
- Personally conduct several reference checks for each candidate. Don´t rely entirely on the search firm.
- Demand well-balanced assessments of the strengths and weaknesses from your recruiter prior to meeting the candidate.
- Most senior level hires should involve three meetings. Use the first to set the hook. Many CEOs drag the candidates through days of half-hour meetings with groups of subordinates. This is a mistake, and it tests nothing but the candidate´s stamina. The first meeting should include a maxium of three people -the majority of time spent with the hiring manager, and some time with one peer and the hiring manager´s boss. Limit the second meeting to those few people who have the most to gain by hiring the new person- senior-level hirings have been derailed because of veiled jealousy.
- In the first meeting, let the candidate talk. It sounds so obvious, but many CEOs dominate the interview. Ask open-ended questions, and make certain that al least half the time allotted is given to the candidate.
- Be certain that the other people who will meet the candidate understand the criteria for hiring. The focus should not be whether they like the candidate. What matters is the successful track record and skills that would give your company the highest probability of success. And there will be plenty of time to get to like the candidate later.
- A surprising number of CEOs don´t bother to follow the basic rules of politeness. Be on time for interviews, be prepared, study the candidate´s background ahead of time and not during the interview, don´t accept phone calls during the meeting and don´t allow yourself to be distracted from the candidate.
Clients tend to forget that a majority of the people interviewed for top jobs will be in a position at some point to impact your company, through mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, licensing or just passing on information about your firm to colleagues.
Remember, what goes around, comes around.
- Plan to spend at least one and a half hours minimum of focused time. Don’t conduct an interview during a meal -it’s too distracting. I’ve had CEOs tell me, "Give me twenty minutes and I’ll tell you if they are right for the job". I could pose successfully as a brain surgeon for twenty minutes. Take the time to do it right.
- Don’t discuss compensation during the first meeting. Ninety percent of the decision should be based on whether there is a good fit between the candidate and the company. If you’ve found the right person, you can make the offer work.
- Demand immediate feedback via the recruiter following interviews from the candidate on his or her feelings about the company, the position, the chemistry of the various interviews so that future meetings can be more substantive.
Even more important, make sure that your company provides immediate feedback to the candidate. Fire off a short note after each interview, thanking the candidate for considering your company.
- Spousal issues can make or break a key hire. Candidates are likely to have working spouses. Address this issue early in the process.
Be realistic in your commitments to the candidates spouse -offer assistance, make introductions, commit resources, make honest efforts, build a marketing plan and don’t rely on your recruiter (they can help but can’t "create" a position). Invite the spouse to a social event, usually a casual dinner with three or four couples, prior to the final offer meeting. Most of the CEOs of our industry have contacts within their community and in the business world and can help integrate the spouse into the area quickly.
- Ethics are critical for all participants in the hiring process. There has to be trust between the involved parties. The CEO must fairly describe the opportunity by openly and honestly discussing the company, its financing, its opportunities and the potential downside. You are asking people to change their lives and devote themselves to a new opportunity -it impacts their entire life. You can´t earn that devotion without full disclosure. Also valid candidates will find out this information at some point anyway- and if they find out you’ve withheld important information, the relationship is poisoned.
Candidates must project their own credentials in a fair and honest way, treat the information they receive confidentially and with integrity. The recruiter has an obligation to present strong candidates with solid critiques of their strengths and weaknesses, provide immediate feedback from the candidate to the client, and conduct truthful objective reporting on the candidate and solid reference checking before, during, and after the search.
The key differentiating factor for your company is not the science or the money, it is the people. The fundamental variable in your success is the quality of the key people, who drive the company.
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