May, 1998

Hasten the Hiring Process without Taking Shortcuts

BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND SPEAKER Michael Gerber describes the life of today’s typical executive as "busy, busy, busy … doing it, doing it, doing it." Isn’t that the truth? The last manager at your company to stick his or her feet up on the desk and engage in some old-fashioned planning probably got fired for laziness.

In today’s downsized corporate environment, there’s generally too much to do – and too little time in which to do it. It matters little whether one makes widgets, markets them, buys the raw materials or runs the company: there’s hardly enough time to go around. And that’s when everything’s working perfectly.

Then suddenly a critical position opening occurs. The incumbent resigns to take another job, accepts a promotion or faces termination. It’s a job that needs to be filled, and tomorrow is definitely preferable to next month or next year. Each day the position remains open will cost the company money in terms of lost revenues or savings. Time is money, but all your time is spent or spoken for. What should a hiring manager do?

Plan Now to Avoid Delay Later

"A stitch in time saves nine" referred to the wisdom of mending a small hole before it got larger. The same general philosophy applies to the search process: a few minutes of attention now can save hours later. So after you have locked the door, stick your feet up on the desk and engage in a few productive moments of productive planning.

Think first about the job. Verify in your own mind that it does in fact need to be filled. Review the existing position description. Is it still accurate? Are there things about the existing position that ought to be changed?

Next, consider the ideal candidate. Should he or she be a clone of the most recent incumbent, or would a different kind of person be better? If so, how?

Last, consider how you plan to conduct the search. In many cases, a promotion or transfer from within may be the wisest course of action since it costs the least, advances someone’s career and improves organizational morale.

Other times, however, a qualified candidate does not exist in-house, or a "new broom" is required to bring fresh insight and approaches to the tasks at hand. In the kind of job where skills are of paramount importance (as in the case of a computer programmer) and skill-holders are in abundant supply, a combination of advertising and Internet recruiting may identify acceptable candidates – along with a lot who aren’t.

Conversely, when particular skills are in short supply or – equally important – are secondary to management ability, creativity, problem-solving, leadership and other "soft" attributes, there’s no substitute for a custom search conducted by a skilled recruiter.

Is More Merrier?

Some employers pass out search assignments to numerous recruiting firms. These employers tend to have multiple, virtually identical openings and value quantity over quality in the identification of potential candidates – a "more the merrier" philosophy that generally produces the same end result as classified advertising, i.e., lots of poorly qualified resumes. In addition, firms that recognize they are part of a cattle call are highly likely to limit their activity to searching databases, as opposed to conducting original recruitment. This is low-value-added assistance.

Keep in mind that the goal of outsourcing the recruiting function is not only to acquire outside expertise, but also to improve productivity by transferring responsibility to a trusted outside provider. Productivity declines, however, when no single firm bears responsibility for completing the search. The end result is that countless hours you had hoped to save are consumed reviewing resumes that aren’t even close and answering the same questions over and over from would-be outside providers.

The alternative to trial-and-error recruiting is to entrust the search to a single firm that can familiarize itself completely with the position opening to be filled, that can be trusted to represent your interests in a professional manner and that will conduct the search efficiently and confidentially.

Selecting the Search Firm

You and/or your company may have well-established relationships with several qualified search firms already. Alternatively, you may be looking to add a firm to your list of preferred providers.

Either way, when making the final cut for the search at hand, here are a few questions to ask:

• Is the firm a specialist in my line of business? (Said another way, does the firm know me, my company, my competitors and their employees?)
• Am I comfortable with the search consultant and with the organization that stands behind him or her?
• Has he or she taken the time to fully understand the specific search criteria, and will this individual meet my requirements for service, communication and follow-through?
• Will no stone be left unturned to identify and present candidates I can count on?
• Will I see the best possible candidates in the fastest possible time?

Sanford Rose Associates, for example, combines speed with precision by using its unique Dimensional SearchÒ profile to identify those key elements for success on the job and compare them to the skills, past experience and operating style of potential candidates. While the process requires significant time investment up-front, it pays great dividends as the search progresses.

By contrast, the search firm that promises to fax three candidates tomorrow (based on a five-minute conversation) is peddling resumes.

Working with Your Search Consultant

The most important things that search consultants have to offer are their time and their expertise. The more wisely they use them, the more both they and their clients benefit.

It therefore is important to keep the consultant in the loop and to make yourself available when he or she calls. If the nature or the timing of the search changes (as has been known to happen from time to time), share the information.

Also, don’t overlook the second word in "search consultant." Should a good consultant challenge any of your assumptions about the position opening (e.g., title, pay, functional responsibilities, etc.), he or she is doing so with a knowledge of the marketplace that can help make the position attractive to the happily employed, not just the desperately unemployed.

Likewise, good consultants will explain the relative strengths and weaknesses of candidates they present, will offer their suggestions on how to maximize the interview process and will help you design – and make – offers that stick. With regard to offers, it is the consultant’s responsibility to know precisely what it will take to make a candidate say "yes," and clients who fail to make use of this intelligence are likely to watch the offer crash in flames. Not only is that a bummer, it’s also a waste of time.

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Which brings us back to busy-ness. Someone once said that the two keys to making a successful football play are planning and execution. The same can be said of successful hiring, especially when time is both of the essence and in short supply.

At the onset, a few minutes of thought and preparation can ensure that you will be engaging the right firm to recruit the right person for the right job. Then, by making yourself available and by heeding the firm’s advice, you can be well on your way to nearly flawless execution in the shortest possible period of time.

If you work in a large, multi-unit organization, others – including the corporate Human Resources and MIS Departments – might appreciate copies of this issue. These can be ordered from your Sanford Rose Associates search consultant.

©1999 SRA International, Inc. All rights reserved, including electronic reproduction or alteration. This SRA Update is published for the clients of Sanford Rose Associates.