Tag Archives: Fit

How Do You Hire Good Salespeople? Eight Points

Situation: A CEO struggles with finding competent sales people. Issues include both finding these people, evaluating their skills, and assuring that they fit with the culture of his company. What techniques do others employ to find good candidates? How do you hire good salespeople?
Advice from the CEOs:
• Hiring salespeople is one of the most important jobs a CEO has, yet is paid the least attention. In a small company the CEO is deeply involved in the process, while in larger companies the CEO’s role is assuring that those responsible for selection and hiring are bringing in quality individuals. In either case the important points for the CEO to oversee are as follows:
• Determine what you want the person to do. What skills do they need? How much can you pay? Is that competitive with the market?
• Advertise – use internet portals, print media and referrals. Beyond this, one of the most successful means of recruiting is to hire individuals who have proven their skills in other companies and who are known to and respected by your existing salespeople.
• Review resumes for basic qualifications and weed out all that do not meet those qualifications.
• Test potential hires. There are a number of good tests including: DISC, Meyers-Briggs and Identity Compass.
• Bring candidates in for interview. See how they react to pressure. Are they a good match for the company culture? What is their personality like? Are they comfortable with the company’s philosophy, size, reputation, products and services, and so on?
• Check references and contact their current customers to gather their impressions of the candidate’s capabilities.
• Remember that past performance does not guarantee future results – particularly if there is a significant change in what is being sold.

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How Do You Position a Professional Services Company for Growth? Part 2 Three Suggestions

Situation: The CEO of a professional services company wants to position her company for growth. What suggestions do others have to assist her? How do you position a professional services company for growth?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Make Time for Organizational Development – Attention to organizational development and enhancing the organization so that it meets the needs of employees can yield significant dividends in terms of company performance and adaptability. When employees’ needs are met, they are motivated to extend their efforts both in performing their current roles and to develop new ideas that will benefit the company. Be sure to recognize these efforts.
  • Temp to Perm (Even for Hiring Leaders) – As the economy recovers there remains a high level of uncertainty as to how robust the recovery will be. In light of this, additions to staff may be approached cautiously. The temp to perm route offers a way for a new individual and the company to get to know one another and to test mutual fit before making a full commitment to permanent employment. This can be true even for positions of significant leadership within the company.
  • Meet the Unrecognized Needs of Customers – The top of the Customer Pyramid is meeting unrecognized needs – needs which the customer may not even know that they have. In a world of increased competition and rapid change, finding ways to understand, anticipate and meet these unrecognized needs of customers yields a significant competitive advantage. Brainstorm with your sales, marketing and customer service teams to identify unrecognized needs of past customers. Use the results to identify unrecognized needs of current and new customers.

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How Do You Navigate Communication Style Differences? Four Points

Situation: A CEO seeks advice on how other CEOs work with employees who have significantly different styles of communication. He suspects that this is a source of conflict between employees and wants to reduce that conflict. How do you encourage employees to be more open and receptive to other employees? How do you navigate communication style differences?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Conduct regular personnel reviews. In reviews work with the individual to develop personal growth plans in addition to professional development objectives.
    • It may be necessary to create enough stress in an interview situation to prompt the real personality to show.
    • Recognize that sometimes an employee who meets professional goals can still be a poor fit for the team. This can impact other, productive team members. Don’t be afraid to fire a bad hire.
  • How much can you expect to mold another person’s communication style?
    • There must be personal motivation to change – the impetus must come from within.
    • To prompt the conversation acknowledge that something isn’t working – or isn’t as effective as expected.
    • Communicate to the individual that the consequences of not changing are potentially worse than the effort to change.
  • Breed adaptive communication skills throughout the organization.
    • Use an assessment tool to start the conversation and align tasks.
    • In dealing with an individual who is confrontational, probe to determine what is motivating the individual’s question or position on an issue. Does the individual genuinely need additional information or are they using a wall of questions as a roadblock to moving on?
    • Work with the individual to organize their answers or input into a plan.
  • Communicate values and goals as they pertain to individual contribution and appreciate the impact of different departments’ actions on each other.
    • Be flexible – some people need more definition and reinforcement than others.
    • Understand that changes and transitions in the company’s focus can shift roles.
    • Review each individual’s role periodically to insure that it fits the company vision. This can increase the individual’s understanding of how they are contributing to moving the company forward.

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How Do You Interview New Tech Hires? Four Necessities

Situation: A CEO wants advice on hiring new technical staff. Important considerations are cultural fit, identifying the characteristics of effective people, assuring that the right people are hired, and evaluating people for specifics tasks. In the past hiring technical people has proven challenging and poor hires have inhibited company growth. How do you interview new tech hires?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • It is critical to be clear on the factors necessary to be successful in the enterprise. Once these have been identified, align the factors with existing individuals in the organization as role models. Also align these factors with those who will be involved in candidate selection. This facilitates identification of good candidates.
  • Develop clarity on candidate evaluation. Identify and develop questions that will allow candidates to describe what is important to them and what they want to get out of their career choice.  In addition to specific knowledge, candidates should demonstrate a personal value system compatible with the company’s culture. They must also demonstrate a high energy level.
  • Once there is clear articulation of desired characteristics of candidates work with others such as college placement organizations, friends of the firm, Craig’s list, and so on to assist with candidate identification. A well written position description not only describes the type of individual desired, but also why someone would want to join the firm.
  • It’s imperative to be able to give a sales presentation on the company including specific reasons why people should join it. Avoid getting so wrapped up in the selection mode that you fail to recruit. Some who have done this were stunned to find that after they have made their selection the candidate was no longer interested.

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How Do You Position Yourself as the New Leader? Five Points

Situation: A medium-sized company has just been acquired. A long-term employee has been named CEO of the entity. During his tenure with the company, he has established solid relationships within the company and is well-respected. He understands that he is no longer a co-worker but is now CEO. How does he best position himself to both employees and to the acquirer? How do you position yourself as the new leader?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Proactively engage the team in a dialogue about the direction and potential of the company. Focus comments on the positive and the potential of the firm and the combined entity. The acquirer is bringing a new sense of excitement and energy to the firm. They will be looking for key leaders who share their excitement.
  • Market yourself to the new owners.
    • Develop a list of hopes, desires, and needs.
    • Dialogue with the acquirers and learn their hopes and dreams for the combined entity.
    • Look for synergies between your and their hopes and desires. Create your own marketing campaign around these synergies.
    • Position yourself an essential member of their transition team.
  • Select a mentor from the acquirer. Actively seek out their advice and guidance. Use them as a sounding board as you develop your campaign as new CEO.
    • The new organization is now just a plan and may be very flexible.
    • Ask acquirers about the model that they see. What are their key objectives for the first year? What niche do they wish to fill buy acquiring the company? As the key liaison between the company and acquirer bring value to the transaction.
    • When speaking to them, listen for their questions of how they see you fitting into the organization. This will present an opportunity to define your role by addressing their key needs during and after the transition.
  • The same suggestions apply to an individual receiving a promotion within the same company.

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How Do You Hire and Retain the Right People? Four Suggestions

Situation: A CEO is concerned about employee turnover, particularly among promising younger employees. He doesn’t know whether these employees are different from past employees, or whether it is a function of the current economy and recovery. They look like a good fit during interviews and appear to fit well with the company when they come onboard. Yet, after a few weeks or months they leave. How do you hire and retain the right people?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Ask other companies in your area whether they are experiencing the same phenomena, and what they are doing about this. Are their experiences similar? Why do they think this is happening? Have they developed successful strategies to stem the resignations?
  • Conduct follow-up interviews 3 months after the employees leave. Use an independent party – or at least a neutral party within the company – to conduct the post-departure interview. While there may be a variety of reasons why individuals leave, are there similar themes in their motivations?
  • Are employees being treated similarly to the way that Margery Mayer and others have discussed treating customers – are they being heard?
    • Ask and listen to their true motivations – perhaps they value the opportunity to take an extended vacation for a life experience more than they value a raise. Intel and other companies offer their employees an extended sabbatical after a certain number of years of service. The employee does with this time what he or she wants.
  • Host informal beer and pizza sessions with employee groups. Keep the mood relaxed. Let them open up and complain if they so wish. It’s far better to let them air these feelings with the CEO than as buzz within the office – particularly if the see that they are being heard.
    • It is important to follow up and respond to what is heard. Employees appreciate the opportunity to be open and honest, but only if they sense that their input is producing the changes that they desire.

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Must a Family Business Always be “Family”? Five Suggestions

Situation: The CEO of a business that has been in place for several generations is frustrated by the challenges of working with family members. Relatives are involved in top positions, but frequently place personal concerns above the priorities of the business. This leads to tense situations where other family members, not in the business, will intervene to support their close relatives without appreciating the conditions facing the business. Must a family business always be “family”?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • For the business to thrive, you must match skills and talent to available positions – not just the “best” family member fit for the position.
  • Understanding that it is difficult for one family member to communicate negative news to another family member, consider hiring a consultant or HR company to evaluate and be the go-between in determining best family fit, or family/non-family choices for open positions.
  • If the company involved unionized employees, and some family member employees are union members, this may complicate your choices. Seek outside non-union counsel to help you evaluate situations and navigate solutions.
  • Hire a professional facilitator to assist in running company planning meetings which involve family members. A facilitator can approach the situation from a neutral standpoint, and does not carry the personal history of brother-sister or close relationships within the company. Choose an individual with experience with family-owned companies who can build a company vision that goes beyond personal relationships and concerns. This individual can also help navigate the operational situations facing the company.
  • Look at both your organization and ownership structure versus applicable regulations and licensing requirements. This may present new alternatives for you to consider.

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How Do You Handle a Side Project? Two Considerations

Situation: An early principal of a company has done a lot of work on a product that no longer fits the company’s business strategy and focus. The CEO wants to reward this individual for past work. An arrangement could include equity plus a big chunk of whatever this individual can make marketing the product that he created. What is the best way to handle this side project?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • There may be benefits to working with this individual as proposed. Letting the individual play in his own sub-market gives you an additional customer and may lead to interesting but yet unknown opportunities. Take care that this does not impact critical timelines for the company’s principal strategy.
  • A set of guidelines for this arrangement may include:

o    No grant of additional stock in the company – the opportunity to pursue the project should be sufficient incentive.

o    Keep this side project as company property.

o    Give the individual a sizable chunk of any revenue that he can gain from the product.

o    Task the individual to manage and solve technical challenges so that this does not impact company priorities.

o    Retain control of timelines and quality sign-off so that this project does not conflict with your higher priorities.

o    Give the individual sufficient support so that he is more likely to succeed.

  • Are there concerns regarding brand risk?

o    Draft an agreement to allow this project to operate cleanly and treat the principal an early small customer. Define the requirements of the project, release timelines, and branding options so that they do not interfere with the company’s larger goals.

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How Do You Resolve a Conflict Involving a New Employee? Four Considerations

Situation: A company has hired a new employee with excellent skills who reports to a Director. This person is a self starter who prefers little supervision. Friction is starting to develop between the new employee and the Director. How do you resolve this conflict?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • This person was hired for their talent. However a successful hire takes account of talent, but also role, cultural fit, organizational placement and the needs of the company.
    • For example, if this person is strong in operations but they are now in client services, is this the right role?
    • Similarly, if the culture of the office emphasizes teamwork, collaboration and support, is this the right culture for this individual?
  • Be cautious before tweaking the org chart to create a new role for this person..
    • Consider both your current staff and the new person. You may be creating additional conflict if your actions appear as favoritism.
    • The dominant factor is YOUR plan. If the employee is wrong, replace the employee.
  • If an employee can’t get along with others it is a difficult situation to repair.
  • When you meet with the employee what should be said?
    • First, don’t try to solve the situation before you have a clear strategy.
    • Question and listen. “You’ve been with us a short time, and I want to check in with you. What do you think of your role?” Let the employee talk, probe for clarification of what is said. Take note of what is said. Acknowledge any requests but indicate that you will put them under advisement.
    • Do the same in discussion with the Director.
    • The key is that you are in control. Look at your objectives, and where you fit resources best within the org chart. Once you have your plan, communicate it.

Key Words: New Employee, Conflict, Friction, Talent, Role, Fit, Organization, Company, Needs, Strengths, Skills, Report, Personality, Act, Direct, Concerns, Boundaries, Response, Conversation

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We Only Want A-Players – But Do They Want Us? – Five Strategies

Situation: An early stage company will staff-up over the next year. In the past the CEO has recruited individuals with big company experience and solid resumes, only to find that they had difficulty transitioning to the hands-on responsibility of a small company. How do you find candidates who are highly experienced but who can also excel in a small company environment?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The best candidates are not in the job-search pool. They are currently working but open to a change. Some will wish to return to a more hands-on situation.
  • Let people know that you are looking for “the best” and have a great opportunity. Create some buzz.
    • Go to your network ask “who do you know?” Don’t be shy!
  • Look for achievers – with proven performance in companies of the size that you plan to be in 12-18 months. Check their references carefully.
  • What can we do now, while we seek the right people?
    • Use contractors and consultants. These people are more entrepreneurial, self-starting, and self-accountable. Monitor their work. If they are good, add them to your team as permanent employees.
    • Develop a milestone-based personnel plan as part of your business plan:
      • When we hit Milestone A, we will need an operations manager.
      • When we hit Milestone B, we will need channel or market development expertise.
    • Conduct case studies of how other companies in your or similar spaces have facilitated their scale-ups. What worked? What didn’t? Why?

Key Words: Candidates, Recruiting, Fit, Culture, Start-up, Achievers, Performance  [like]