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Responsibility for the search of key employees
In most cases, when searching for mid-level or lower-level candidates, an HR consultant or HR manager is only required to conduct a few steps of the interview, evaluate the completed test task and analyze the candidate’s social network accounts. If the task is to find and evaluate a candidate for a management position, the consultant must have specific skills and experience for effective recruitment and subsequent evaluation.
The cost of error and the responsibility of finding the “wrong” employee is too high, and the demands often exceed the possibilities of the labor market.
Understanding the goals and tasks facing the future manager
It is important not only to discuss, but also to obtain a written description of the goals and tasks that face the employee and are the basis of the role for which we are looking for a manager.
Of course, it’s important to understand the history of the role, what happened to the previous employee in the position, and what made the search a good fit. These are all basic questions that the HR consultant asks.
In the search for management positions, the depth and analyticalness of the context of the position’s origin are important. Knowledge of the segment is always an added plus, often management search consultants come from the industry.
Personally, my previous experience in marketing communications helps me in my search. Thanks to this experience, I have an insight into the main performance indicators in marketing, media and working with the premium segment, where I started working more than 10 years ago.
Personality of the candidate
Personal competence is one of the determining factors in the search for key employees.
In addition, it is important that it matches the personality profile of the immediate supervisor, the company’s shareholders, the requirements of the headquarters and the hiring manager if we are talking about global corporations.
The main personal competencies are important, among them: emotional intelligence, leadership, ability to innovate and flexibility, to the latter I would also refer to the “technological thinking”, which now comes to the fore for a successful manager, such as the ability to make decisions, work in a team.
In addition to evaluating the candidate himself, it is important to understand the profile of his future manager, and we show the importance of this understanding to our clients. It’s important to evaluate the hiring manager’s profile and work on compatibility with that person.
In the assessment we use the DISC system, the Myers-Briggs typology and the value questionnaire.
I would like to dwell on the last tool, since it is now a new and important element in the search for key employees, and I would say all future employees of the company.
Company values
Many companies declare their core values. It can be openness, proactivity, customer orientation if it is a service business and many other important things.
Often overlooked in recruiting is the importance of matching the company’s values with each particular candidate. When choosing a key employee, the basis is conformity, sharing one’s own values and those of the company. It is important to understand the core values of the future manager, because at the interview level the candidate may state one thing, but a more detailed assessment will reveal that in reality the value profile does not fit the company.
Direct search always means working within a certain framework
Working within certain boundaries and with limited resources is considered standard when searching for key employees.
What does this mean? To give you an example, when we were looking for a marketing director for a sports and lifestyle brand, we first of all turned to direct competitors and the best global players in this segment. The number of such players is limited, and the candidates who have the right and interesting experience and at the same time are motivated, even less. So we expanded the range of companies and industries from which we sought candidates. The client wanted to see a perfect match in terms of professional and personal competencies, sharing and understanding of company values and of course a high level of motivation to make the transition.
We have done a lot of analytical work, provided a search map and arranged meetings/interviews with candidates from similar industries from managerial marketing positions, from the consumer segment. After 10-15 meetings with such candidates, the client came to the conclusion that it makes sense to focus only on direct competitors. The circle returns to the original starting point, but the client can make such conclusions only after meeting with candidates from related industries and studying the profiles of those candidates. In such a case, we may encounter a change in the search time and the release of the candidate we need. But as a result we find a perfect match.
Deadlines for searching for key employees and top managers
It is good when the client sets a clear deadline and we understand that we have a task with a specific deadline, for example, to get a candidate within 2.5-4 months. On average, the search period for a top management position takes up to 6 months, and in some cases up to a year. For management positions, at least 5-6 interviews are required, including assessment and participation of global colleagues, if we are talking about international companies.
It is also important to consider the willingness of the candidate to come in, often 1-1.5 months, to complete the affairs of their current position. I can note that if a candidate, even with the position of general manager, needs more than a month to complete the activity, this is a kind of signal and the real motivation and readiness for transition should be taken into account and paid attention to.
The search for leaders and key employees is painstaking, long and filled with many details, but it is vital for the efficient and successful operation of a company.
In order to assess the quality of the headhunter’s work, it is possible to consider the example of his appointments, how good his employees are for the company and how well they justified the investment that the company made in the search for such a specialist.
The risk of a hasty and shallow search is too great.
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