Press Room

Four Must-Do's when Hiring for a Leadership Role

Posted on June 01, 2005

By Paul Frankenberg

As the economy continues its gradual climb upward and businesses look to expand, a growing demand for strong leadership and new executive roles will inevitably follow.

Filling a leadership role is a pivotal decision in a company's future. It is one that is often not implemented with enough care or attention. Bradford Smart, Topgrading author whose ideas have been implemented by top executives at GE and Allied Signal, states that more than 50% of all hires fail to achieve the desired results. For the company, the cost of replacing a bad hire can often reach as high as 24 times the person's base salary.

Executive and leadership hiring should be planned for in advance, advises Paul Frankenberg, CEO of Kraft Search Associates, a retained search firm affiliated with KraftCPAs PLLC. "Take the time now to develop a thorough model so that you can address the hiring needs in proper fashion when they do arise."

Frankenberg lists some key objectives used heavily in his firm's executive search procedure.

Clarify the position

Put all of those people responsible for hiring together to define the role and what the "right" candidates will look like from a technical and personality perspective. Discuss and write down to ensure accuracy among members. The objective is to, as clearly as possible, discuss the "soft" and "hard" skills required.

Create recruiting strategy

This includes:

a) Identify targets within your industry and outside of your industry from which you'll recruit.

b) Build a thorough position description, which will be shared with prospective candidates, highlighting your company, the role/responsibilities and experience and skills necessary.

c) Develop a recruiting "pitch", which will be your verbiage as you contact prospective networking resources and candidates. You must know what you are going to sell. Most companies simply "wing" this process. Preparing properly and demonstrating a thoughtful approach will catch an individual's attention and speak loudly to those with whom you speak.

Clarify "hot buttons" and verify experience

There are three things you should do once you have identified your short list of interested and qualified candidates.

a) Conduct a 15-minute spouse conversation. This allows the spouse to hear details about the role and to ask questions important to him/her during the transition. Additionally, you will be surprised at the content and the quantity of content that the spouse will share with you specific to the family's personal and professional objectives.

b) Discuss counteroffers. There is nothing more frustrating than having your ideal candidate accept a counteroffer from his/her current employer. You are dealing with people, so hiring is not a perfect process; however, make it a point to discuss counteroffers, on multiple occasions, with the final candidate(s) to understand whether a counter offer will be discussed, listened to and possibly accepted.

c)Verify degree(s)/certification(s) and discuss the offer before an offer is extended. Unfortunately several college football coaches and executives with many large organizations have forced us to recognize that things are not always as they appear. Even if degrees and certifications were earned 12+ years ago, verify the information.

The recruiting process does not end once your offer is accepted or once the individual starts the new role. This is when "recruiting" truly begins. You must consistently talk with the individual about the transition, objectives, obstacles, political environment and competition.

Everyone is busy, and we all want to hire someone capable of hitting the ground running. You can find that caliber of person; however, ensure success through consistent and clear communication. Do not use email to conduct these conversations.