5 Secrets of Hiring a Great Senior Manager
Finding a senior manager is no easy feat. Whoever you hire is going to have a profound effect on your employees and business as a whole.
It’s estimated that a bad hire can cost a business as much as $25,000 in lost productivity, and some estimate that cost can be as high as $50,000. That’s why hiring right the first time around is crucial.
How to Find a Great Senior Manager
When you’re looking to bring on a new employee, they need to be able to do the job, fit in with company culture, and have a future at the company. Getting all of these qualities in one person can be tough, but that’s why we’re here to help.
Want to make sure that you find the right senior manager for your company? If you follow these five tips, you’ll be happy with your new hire.
Don’t Be Dazzled By Titles
Having C-level titles may make someone seem like a great job candidate, but you should let a long list of impressive sounding titles impress you much.
A CEO title at a multinational 1,000+ employee business is impressive, but it doesn’t hold much clout at a small startup that was founded by college friends.
Job titles can mean different things at different companies, that’s why you should ask them more about their duties. That’ll paint a much better picture of their roles at previous jobs than a trumped up title could.
Ask the Right Questions
The interview process is going to be critical for finding the right person. But too many people spend it asking questions they don’t need answers to.
If you want to have an effective interview, don’t ask questions you can find the answers to on their resume. It takes time, and it may make the candidate feel like you didn’t spend enough time with their resume before the interview.
Ask competency interview questions so you can gauge how they’d handle their role.
Also be sure to ask hypothetical questions about how they’d handle tough situations if they were already acting as a senior manager. That lets you learn about their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Talk to References
A lot of employers are pleased just knowing that their potential hire has references and don’t spend much time talking to them.
Don’t simply send them an e-mail and be happy with the nice few sentences they send back. Take time to talk to them so you can learn more about candidates.
You can find out nearly everything you want to know about a potential hire in a quick 5-10 minute conversation.
Pay Attention to People Skills
Someone in a senior management role is going to spend a lot of time interacting with employees and other senior level roles. That’s why it’s important to make sure that the person you hire has excellent people skills.
See how they interact with secretaries and other people they may encounter during their interview.
Be Ready to Negotiate
You may have a list of qualities you want your candidate to have, but your candidate has the same list for their next employer.
