LET THE BUYER BEWARE

Don Andersson

"Let's face it," said Tony Hendrickson, vice president of sales."When we are filling a key vacancy or selecting a key resource in today's marketplace, we have lots and lots of choices." "There's an abundance of professionals who are looking. Most arehungry for a new opportunity. That means we can be selective in whomwe retain and hire. We can really afford to be picky." "My challenge is to know how to make the best choice from among the many I have available. Today's market presents added opportunities to the buyer who needs to be reminded that having a wide choice is no guarantee a wise one will be made."

Indications the economy may be becoming slightly more positive are peeking through the surface. Some vacancies are beginning to be filled and those involved in sculpting and restocking the executive pool need to heed the caution first articulated thousands of years ago - caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!

Too often, they are not! Whether it's filling a critical organizational vacancy, selecting a consulting resource or signing a professional speaker - decision makers frequently relegate defining the choice criterion and the selection itself, to others.

What is the real cost if a poor selection is made? If you fill a vacancy with a highly skilled individual who lacks the ability to work successfully within your organizational culture, what will it really cost to terminate them and begin again? What will it cost to employ a consulting resource who listens carefully, correctly identifies internal issues, and generates hope for corrective actions and whose counsel is resisted and ultimately rejected? What's the real price you will pay if you hire a keynote speaker or seminar leader who does not relate to your audience, provides little fresh insight or who breaks the trust your organization has placed in her or him?

The real cost is not limited to the immediately obvious price a poor choice extracts. With the hidden costs of its attendant loss of morale, time, effort, opportunities, and possible brain drain, a poor choice has a multiplying impact on your investment. If you are the one with decision making responsibility, a poor choice can also leave egg on your face. Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!

The cost of making an appropriate choice is significantly decreased if you click here to continue precisely define your target, clarify and prioritize your expectations, appreciate the uniqueness of your culture, and keep your decision makers on the same page.

Define your target

Generalized targets are frequently elusive and invariably contribute to failure. Specificity requires greater effort. Shifting the responsibility to another is an abandonment of responsibility. Let the buyer be accountable - as well as aware.

When I help organizations define what it will take to fill a specific vacancy, I frequently encounter decision makers who resist the effort required to obtain an appropriate fit. Due to lack of time, because of an often unwitting choice to continue in voluntary ignorance or the crowding impact of other priorities, they shift accountability to others.

It's easier to simply assume that everyone will recognize the right choice when it appears. It's also more likely to squander time and money in pursuit of an undefined set of expectations. The truth of an earlier advertisement is still valid - either we are willing to pay the price to reach a wise decision up front, or later, we will pay a much higher price. Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!

"Too often, too few fail to realize that if one doesn't hit their target, it's usually not the target's fault."

Clarify and prioritize your expectations

On a professional and a personal level, I've many times failed to meet the other's expectations. They've assumed I had a clear understanding of what they wanted and I've assumed I knew. Acting on such assumptions is rarely wise. Greater clarity is a necessity.

Different perspectives create different expectations. Expectations can be mutually exclusive and frequently they remain unarticulated and unmet. To trust in dumb luck to produce desired results through hard work and great intentions is futile. You've got to let the other know what you expect or prepare to be disappointed. Remember, few of us are proficient at mind reading.

Since more expectations exist than can be accommodated at any given time, it's also important they be prioritized - and they will be - either by intention or reaction.

“She told me that this was top priority so I worked hard at getting it done. Demands on her changed and shifted what she expected from me. I could have given my attention to her new requirements - only she never told me.”

Expectations you have of your current or newly selected human resources will change. Priorities will shift. Work is a fluid process. Most people will rise to the challenge if they are informed. Never assume your new needs and expectations will be met - at least until you have clearly articulated them. As the one who invests your resources, that's your responsibility. Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware.

Appreciate the uniqueness of your culture

No two organizations are shaped by the same culture. Different arenas within the same organization can vary greatly. Each has its own unique priorities, values, procedures, process of making decisions and covert centers of power and influence that must be navigated on the way to success.

“I just don't understand what happened," commented Joy Thomas, Senior Vice President of Human Resources. "His star quality and his ability to take charge was the reason we pursued him. He was just what we thought we wanted - but his star quality has vanished. He's just not making it in our organization.”

Different cultures require different skills and the difference is too often overlooked in the selection of new hires. Technical skills are quite easy to spot. It's the interpersonal and team skills required by a particular culture that get ignored - and if you don't hire for fit, you will hire for failure. Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!

One of the most helpful contributions you can make to the success of any new employee is to clearly describe the culture in which they are to thrive.

Hiring individuals with needed technical skills is critical and it's not enough. Your choices must also have the ability to quickly assimilate and smoothly navigate cultural nuances if they are to succeed!

If you want to take charge of your interviewing we invite you to consider our How To Interview Questions Screen For Business Culture Fit and for the small cost of $15.00, improve your interviewing and screening process as you learn how to:

• objectively select the best executive for your organization,
• assess the effectiveness of your current selection process,
• recognize five common assumptions guaranteed to undercut your selection process,
• determine when a position should be filled, and when it should not,
• define three different sets of skills you must possess for any position,
• design an objective screening process,
• objectively distinguish between the candidates you are considering,

your professional development (at the cost on only $15.00) and lean how to:

• objectively select the best executive for your organization,
• assess the effectiveness of your current selection process,
• recognize five common assumptions guaranteed to undercut your selection process,
• determine when a position should be filled, and when it should not,
• define three different sets of skills you must possess for any position,
• design an objective screening process,
• objectively distinguish between the candidates you are considering,

Additional resources: Coaching, Mentoring

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