Common mistakes made by companies

The biggest

hiring

mistake that I see clients make is:

1.

Fail

ing t

o recognize a sense of urgency to fill their open positions.  They have a tendency to drag out the hiring process because of either bringing in too many stakeholders to become part of the hire, or because

they

overanalyz

e

the decision because of a concern about making the wrong decision.  They say overusing consulting firms

is

a CEO’s worst enemy, well strategic positions that are open with no urgency to fill them are a company’s worst enemy.  Not only is the productiv

it

y severely hindered, but good candidates will not stay engaged with the opportunity.

Other errors that companies make

:

2.

Companies that hire for fit before competencies for the open position.  The world is changing and many skillsets are now needed from people who organizations have never hired

in the past

.  Birds of a feather flock together but they

sometimes

fly

south.  The very specific

“fit” and

former culture at Kodak comes to mind. 

3.

Lack of i

nvest

ment

in onboarding policy and structure.  The smoother the transition for an individual

, t

he faster they adapt and the more likely that they

will

become insiders within the company

will

occur.

4.

Lack of thought put into search firm selection.

If using a search firm to fill your next strategic position, find out who is reaching out to the candidates.  Ask the candidates you interview who they spoke with at the search firm.  You don’t

want to

put your searches in the hands of the lowest bidder, but you also don’t want young

Johnny

Smith in the cubicle of one of the large search firms in charge or finding your next CMO.

Farewell,

Mike