On C-Level Recruiting: Letter of the week.

I received a letter from a CEO in my network advising me of a recent situation where he was the runner-up in a COO search.   I edited his letter to eliminate redundancy, but the gist of the content is intact.  My friend’s input is on-point and self-evident.  I think you will find it instructive.

Dear Jim;

“I recently had the opportunity to interview for a COO position with a food company.  I truly enjoyed the Leadership Team and would have loved to be their choice.  I was a very close second place, so I wanted to ensure that my comments aren't formed by disappointment or vindictiveness.  I will share 3 areas of focus, as I believe that they should apply to any selection process, especially at the executive level.  They are:”

     1-  Choosing and preparing the selection process.

     2-  The selection process.

     3-  The decision process.

“This company did work together with an outside resource, it appears, to put together a robust job description.  It was well done and thoughtful.  I believe that this step is clearly the first one to take at any level, but like so many companies, it was never referenced throughout the selection process. “

“Who is to be involved in the process and determine their role and preparation is the next critical step.  Should an assessment be part of the selection criteria, and if so, who is involved in shaping this critical piece?  Do assessments truly improve the selection process?  Finally, does the organization establish an effective and unbiased selection matrix to help it make the decision?  I will answer these questions in the next two phases for this situation, but I am convinced that my experience is very typical with well-intended decision makers.”

“It should be noted that this company does not have an HR department or lead.  I find this fact unfortunate but not all that unusual in smaller, emerging companies.  The internal lead working with the search firm was part of the leadership team but ran another department.  She was pleasant, helpful, and responsive, but she is not an expert in this area.  More reason to use the Search Firm to its fullest.” 

“My first contact with the company was a typical phone screen which I was told would be conducted by the functional lead in charge of this process.  It was an excellent conversation, but honestly, they were not very prepared and there were several awkward transitions between the two interviewers.” 

“Gratefully, I was asked to move forward with the process which meant taking an assessment which they called a "test."  It's always an attention getter for me when this word is used.  It is a clear sign that the leadership team doesn't understand this part of the process and that the tool being used is probably not well thought out.”

“Again, I was pleased to be asked to participate in the final interview process, as one of the finalists for the COO position.   Trying to understand the format, I learned the names and positions of the people who would participate in the f2f interview portion of the selection process.  As it turned out, all seven (7) of these people joined me in the conference room except one member who joined via a conference call.  We talked for over 3 hours without interruption and covered a bunch of meaty topics.” 

“While I really liked the format, I was told that I was the first one to go thru it.  I had the distinct feeling that those in the room really didn't know what their role was to be in this interview. “ 

“While I truly enjoyed this leadership team and the process, the last area to discuss is the decision-making approach.” 

“I come to this conclusion:  the company does not have an internal resource today that could advise the group on how to enrich this process and most importantly, didn't utilize the outside resource that they hired to help them find the best candidate.  Today's CEO's taught the importance of selection processes (talk the talk) but rarely "walk the talk."  In this case, they committed to the time but did not have the expertise to optimize this commitment.  Most importantly, they chose not to use the resource at their disposal that could have helped dramatically.” 

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Current Assignments

1. COO- Northeast-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company - Completed
2. VP Operations - Southeast-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company - New

3. CEO- Northeast-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company - Completed

4. Corporate R&D Chef, Atlanta-based Home Meal Replacement Company - Complete

5. Area Supervisor - Legacy Pizza Chain, Carolinas - Completed

6. Operating Partners - Legacy Pizza Chain - New

7. Controller - Atlanta-based Consumer Products - Digital Company - Completed

8. Sr. Staff Accountant - Atlanta-based Not-for-profit - New