2. WHY IT MATTERS
Very few decisions will have a greater
impact on corporate performance than
the hiring of a new executive.
Hire a "Super Star" and you win.
Make the wrong decision, and the
impact could be devastating.
In Steven Spielberg's film, “Catch Me if You
Can”, Leonardo di Caprio portrays, Frank W.
Abagnale a master impostor and forger.
Abagnale worked all over the world under a
guise of false identities; a doctor, a lawyer, a
college professor, and as a co-pilot for a major
airline company—all before reaching his 21st
birthday.
This is a very funny and entertaining movie
which begs the question, “how did this guy
ever get hired?”
3. SHOCKING STATISTICS
According to the American Management Association and the US
Department of Justice:
•Employee theft and dishonesty costs U.S. businesses between $60
and $120 billion per year.1 (Not including the billions spent on
protecting against theft: guards, security systems, etc.),
•$36 billion in annual workplace violence 2, and
•The "average" employee embezzles $125,000 over the course of
their career1
1
Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: National Crime Victimization Survey
2
Workplace Violence Research Institute
4. 2 TYPES OF LIARS
Enthusiastic/ Opportunistic
Get caught up in the pursuit of the
opportunity and sculpt the truth to fit the
circumstances
Willful
Seeking financial gain
Internal theft
Paid to go away.
5. OUR JOB AS HR OR RECRUITERS
How you craft and execute a
recruitment process which
guards against liars and
delivers the best candidate is
what we’re talking about
today?
6. Why Listen to Me?
25 years experience
1000 search projects completed
99.7% success rate
1 Year Guarantee
200,000 people interviewed
$184,000,000.00 in salaries
negotiated
We understand both the art and
science of hiring… that it is
simultaneously an assessment
and sales exercise.
7. AGENDA
1. S.M.A.R.T. Search System
2. Case Study
3. How to Select a Firm: Best Practices
9. S.M.A.R.T. SEARCH
In the executive search industry, as is the case in other professions,
methodology is important. Most firms have developed detailed, logically
constructed approaches for specifying a position and attracting top
candidates.
Continuous
cycle
Short
List
Research
Recruit
Intervie
w
Business Needs S.M.A.R.T. Referen
Analysis ce New
Plan Search Checkin
g
Hire
Offer
On-
Negotiatio
boarding
n
11. NEEDS ANALYSIS
One of the most important components of the search is the initial
search strategy because it often determines the search’s success.
Spend dedicated time with your search committee early in the process
to clearly define your requirements, agree on a successful search
strategy, craft a Candidate Road Map, and write a compelling position
profile.
The Search committee
Choosing a Chair
Initial Requirements Session.
12. SELECTING A SEARCH COMMITTEE
When selecting a Search Committee, the Board should
carefully weigh the answers to these four questions:
1.Which outside Board members have been successful CEOs in their
respective careers?
2.Who is best positioned to invest the appropriate time into the
process?
3.Who is in the best position to evaluate and persuade candidates?
4.Who has successfully conducted CEO or executive level searches in
the recent past? This is a key issue. If no one has the experience,
consider bringing someone in who has.
[Success should have a heavy weighting toward exit and share
holder value and not just who got a bargain on entry
compensation.]
It’s important to recognize both the public and private reasons
behind the search, discuss the overall parameters of the
strategy, and agree on the charter and deliverables of the
Search Committee.
NOTE: Depending on the circumstances, the current CEO may or may not be a part
of this committee.
13. CHOOSING A CHAIR
A successful search is dependent on a myriad of variables.
The Chair needs to insure the following basic components are
in place before the search begins:
A detailed process
Realistic expectations clearly defined;
A concise and descriptive timeline;
A competency based profile of the ideal candidate;
A disciplined recruiting strategy;
Talent acquisition sources; and
An organized and coordinated interview and final selection process.
NOTE: Managing an executive search project is a fulltime job. Generally speaking,
Boards of Directors as an entity rarely have the requisite experience, detailed
operational knowledge and more importantly the time, to commit 100% of their
effort to recruiting a high level executive. Most executives are not aware of the
amount of dedicated time that is required to locate, court and win over candidates.
This is not an activity that can be undertaken “part time”.
15. Consensus
The correct Search Committee Chairman is vital to the ultimate
success of the search; they keep everyone and everything moving
forward by leading the process and guiding decisions.
The Chair must make certain everyone on the committee is heard
without letting the dissenters and detractors run away with the
group.
NOTE: Their major challenge is to gain consensus from the group,
remembering that you can’t always please everyone all the time.
16. ASSESS AND DOCUMENT THE
FOLLOWING:
Responsibility - Start with your end goal in mind. What results are you looking for? Build the
business? Turn it around? Flip it? Talk through the job at length with your goal in mind. Lay out
the specific activities involved. Is it a new job or an existing one? Where are the contact points
with other positions? Does the role require a person to carry on with the established foundation,
or start from scratch? Are you REALLY looking for a change agent?
Authority - Draw out the org chart. Spell out the informal networks which keep the organization
humming as well. Who’s on side? Which departments are strong and which are week? Where do
you need bolstering? This is absolutely critical in a family run business.
Performance Requirements - Define successful performance. Hard skills. Soft skills. Industry
knowledge versus industry contacts. Establish and agree upon observable and measurable
performance requirements. Start your relationship with all new hires with observable and
measurable requirements in place. Once they are established not only will you know where the
new hire stands but so will they when it comes time for the yearly review without prejudice. List
experience requirements in detail. Must candidates possess experience in your industry? To
what degree must they have already been in a comparable role elsewhere? What specific
experiences are an absolute must, versus nice to have? Make sure you spell them out so it’s clear
to everyone. Also list execution parameters which are flexible and those that are not.
Personal Qualities - Define the essential personal qualities. Think through the environment and
the various personal styles which work in your organization. Decide the degree to which a
compatible style is of importance. Are you looking for a change agent? Do you want a person who
will be counter to the established company culture or who will promote it?
Fit – Reflect on who succeeds and who doesn’t. Why do people leave? What is the management
style of this person’s boss? What styles don’t work with their future boss? If the job requires a
high degree of contact with customers and outsiders, think through the image and approach
which works best in your market space.
Compensation - Specify all of the elements of the compensation package. Gather objective
competitive market data. Think about the upper limits of compensation if the absolutely perfect
candidate came along, how far are you prepared to stretch - if at all? What, besides base salary,
do people in your company receive and value? Will you pay relocation costs?
17. Requirements Documents
Position Profile Confidential Candidate Brief
Sizzle Steak
The questions on the CCB align with your requirements on the
Position Profile to build a biographical résumé of the individual’s
career as it applies to that exact job. MORE ON THIS LATER
18. Sourcing Strategy
Agree on a prioritized sourcing strategy
The Search Committee should agree on a well-defined, yet diverse
source environment to create an adequate pool of potential
candidates.
Search Committees with the willingness to accept a broad, yet
prioritized source environment strategy experience the most success
at revealing the best talent.
[Picture the concentric circles of a dartboard where the bull’s-eye
represents your sweet-spot and the concentric circles are closely
aligned industries.]
NOTE: A quick search of your SIC Code is an easy way to identify “adjacent”
markets or feeder markets where skill sets/knowledge may be similar.
19. Agree on how people will be brought in to the process
25. SCREENING
“William J. Strawman, a candidate for Chief Executive Officer, has a
career record and resume that is ideal for the role in your company.
Once on the job, however, he’s a complete failure. His performance in no
way matches the accomplishments detailed on his resume. He is
terminated at great expense to the company in terms of time, cost and
impact to others both in and outside the organization.”
There are many reasons people do not perform up to
expectations after they’re hired. A tighter "front end"
screening process will solve this problem.
Ask yourself these questions:
What has the candidate accomplished that is relevant to your goals?
Does their experience meet your needs?
Prior to beginning the search, you brought together all the
people who have a direct stake in this individual’s success and
worked to build consensus on all of the parameters of the role
– now you need to follow through and screen against those
parameters.
26. THE ROBUST INTERVIEW
Setting the Stage
Assuming that attracting the very best executive onboard truly is
critical, it is essential that you also have in place a robust interview
process. One designed to produce the executive hire you want AND
provide a positive experience to the candidate.
Conceptually this is simple: it should be treated much like a first date.
This is a business meeting, of course – of equals. Both parties need to
make a positive first impression.
Unfortunately many companies fail miserably at this stage no matter
how compelling their brand. You can avoid this potentially fatal gaffe
simply by treating the candidate much as you would a senior executive
from your largest client.
After all, you need this person as much as they in all probability need
you. Now is not the time to play Mohammed and Mountain as so many
companies do. The company (of course) views itself as the mountain.
27. INTERVIEW
Act 1
Find out why each career move was made. Ask yourself – did it make
sense?
Has there been steady career progression?
Was the candidate’s decision reasonable?
How clearly did they see the situation?
What are the driving forces in this person’s career and life?
Look for personal situations, which may influence performance.
Determine areas of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
Do the same things that were negatives in earlier situations exist in your company?
Push /Pull questions
What does the length of tenure at each company tell you?
Are there holes in their story?
Dig until your satisfied you understand.
28. INTERVIEW
Questions
Drill down on CCB
Look for inconsistencies
Check out dates.
Look for subtle clues – i.e., vague answers to direct questions.
Get specific answers; if they are not specific, keep digging.
Get ready to line-up your Reference Questions against their
accomplishments [take copious notes]
29. INTERVIEW
Evaluating
All successful techniques for evaluating candidates focus on the critical
elements of the job, the corporate environment, and the degree to which a
candidate can respond to those elements.
Executive evaluation needs to assess the candidate’s:
Set of demonstrated skills in relation to the tasks to be undertaken;
Fit within the relationship structure of the organization; and
Interest in undertaking the role they are being recruited for.
Final Assessment
Is this an individual who stands out from others you have met? What is it about
them that makes them stand out?
How insightful are the candidate’s questions about your company?
Did they do their homework?
Can you discuss industry specific issues in depth?
Does their method of presentation make a positive impression?
Do you sense they are sincere?
31. CREDENTIAL-CREEP
Credential- creep can range from a candidate claiming they had
greater responsibilities than they actually did, to claiming they worked
for a company when in fact they didn’t.
Now this may be an extreme case but people do fudge – embellish –
augment, and incorrectly describe their credentials. Take for example
the former president of Lotus Mr. Jeff Papows who got in trouble
several years back for misunderstandings surrounding his education
and military service record. According to the Wall Street Journal..
“Papows is “not an orphan, his parents are alive and well. He wasn't a Marine Corps captain, he was
a lieutenant. He didn't save a buddy by throwing a live grenade out of a trench. He didn't burst an
eardrum when ejecting from a Phantom F4, which didn't crash, not killing his co-pilot. He's not a tae
kwon do black belt, and he doesn't have a PhD from Pepperdine University.”
Granted these are unusual cases, which you aren’t likely to run into,
but resume creep happens at all levels with great frequency.
Patricia Gillette a San Francisco lawyer who defends companies against former
employees says, "Probably 90 percent of the time, people lie on their résumé,” (
http://www.maximonline.com/grit/articles/article_2753.html)
32. References
Who is NOT a good reference
Who is a good reference
Typical Problems
Best Questions
33. References
Who’s NOT good
Relatives and other Useless References
Don’t use personal references. Relatives and friends are of very limited if any value to you as a reference. Their
opinions can’t possibly add any insight into the candidate’s work habits on the job. His “buddies” don’t know what
he’s like to work with. Character references have their place but it’s not here.
The Human Resources Department
The most frustrating and I would contend irrelevant references are those from the Human Resources Department
of the company where the candidate last worked or currently works. Why? Because they don’t work with
Candidate on a daily basis so they can only comment with second-hand knowledge or anecdotal information. They
won’t be familiar with the candidate's day-to-day performance unless he’s a super-star or a complete “dud”. Also,
most HR departments are hesitant to reveal anything, no matter how true, which might lead to legal action.
34. References
Who’s good
360-Degree Feedback
Bear in mind, no one person will be able to give you all the information you’ll need to make an informed
decision. You need to check Candidate’s references slightly differently with his boss, than his peers
and subordinates to get a complete picture of his competencies. Each reference offers another
perspective – another piece of the puzzle.
Candidate’s direct boss assigns his responsibilities.
Candidate’s peers know what an overachiever he is.
And most importantly, the people who work directly for him -- Candidate’s subordinates – know everything Candidate’s boss and peers don’t.
This type of 360-degree feedback is enlightening to say the least. And frankly, next to his boss,
Candidate’s subordinates will provide the most insight into his character.
Here is what do you do you do when the candidate hands you his list of references. First, determine
if the people on the list are the ones who you need to speak to. Here are the questions you ask
Candidate to assess the suitability of each reference:
35. REFEERENCES
Best questions
For Supervisors:
1. “Did/does the candidate report directly to you? For what length of time?” (Less
than 1 year is too short a period to form a valid impression. Find someone else).
2. “Did you complete or contribute to their performance appraisals? How many did
you do?”
Cross-Referenced Interview Questions
Ask them about specific projects the candidate discussed, and compare the
reference’s answers with those the candidate gave during the interview for
consistency. For example:
What was their biggest accomplishment at ABC Corp. in your opinion? [does it line-up?]
What do you anticipate I will find to be this person's real strengths, and what areas would benefit from
constructive coaching or mentoring? [is this consistent with your notes?]
This position interacts with XXX types of co-workers or customers in YYY types of situations. How does that
compare to what they did for you, and how well do you think they will handle these interactions for me?
[personalizing this question will cause their voice to crack or quiver if they’re lying to you!]
41. Type Header Text Here
Industr y new hire failure
rate is too high [more than
50%]
Here’s how you stop it :
Detailed hard target
deliverables
Search Chair contact with New
Hire
Weeks 1 , 2, 4
Months 2, 3
Quar ters 1 ,2,3,
43. Requirements Documents
Position Profile Confidential Candidate Brief
Sizzle Steak
The questions on the CCB align with your requirements on the
Position Profile to build a biographical résumé of the individual’s
career as it applies to that exact job. MORE ON THIS LATER
44. CASE STUDY
Position Profile Candidate Brief
1 to 1 mapping of our requirements to their experience.
The Brief becomes a “check list” for skills and experience
so in the interview we can validate that and focus on “fit”.
47. 7 Steps
1 . Create
a clear, consistent
agenda for the board
All focused on the same goal
1 . Establish
Realistic
Expectations
2. Explain why people will
move here.
Power - size
Control – equity/influence
Prestige – psychic cash
48. 7 Steps
3. Agree on a sourcing strategy
Well defined yet diverse source
environment
4. Agree
on the positioning of
the company
Consistent, well suppor ted and
logically attractive
4. Conduct
a complete
candidate analysis
Employ best practices to assess
leadership/fit/etc.
49. 7 Steps
6. Negotiate the of fer
Be the lead in negotiating
compensation expectations
internally and externally
7. Create an emotional link
Make the chosen candidate feel
“connected”
51. How to Select
When selecting a search firm here are
the clues to look for:
1.Low Volume Market Strategy: a situation
where your business is important to the search
firm and won’t get lost among other bigger
searches.
2.The best evidence is how much repeat
business they do.
3.Do they just want the big ones or will they
help you as much as they can at all levels. Will
they refer you to another firm for areas of
search they aren’t interested in.
52. How to Select
4. A 100% completion mentality, and track
record.
5. A high level of participation in each
search by the firm’s principals.
6. A "we are all in this together" attitude.
7. A guarantee that the search consultant
will be dedicated to the project until
successful completion.
8. Fiscal stability ensures that a high
volume of new business is not an
absolute must.
53. How to Select
Ask for a written marketing
plan
Review previous cases
Multiple Par tners
Ask about one that failed
and why?
