Mis-Hiring Senior Executives. It’s An Epidemic.

Posted on May 19th, 2009 by Dave Stein

I’ve been on a rant about too many CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and boards of directors not really understanding what sales leadership is all about and therefore continuing to hire (and promote) people that can’t get the job done.  That’s why sales is last on line in many companies with respect to quality, discipline, process, measurement, attrition, and productivity.  The bad news is that ineffective sales managers and their ineffective VPs of sales aren’t going to fix the situation.  It’s got to be fixed from above with far more effective recruiting for those sales leadership positions.

I was buoyed today when I read an article, “The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad” from the most recent Harvard Business Review.  From the email I received:

In 32% of 500 companies surveyed in 2008, candidates for senior executive positions went through only 1 to 5 interviews, while 12% of firms subjected candidates to 21 or more. Shockingly, only half of those recruited for the top three tiers of management were interviewed by anyone in the C-suite. And fully half the companies relied primarily on the hiring manager’s gut feel, selecting a candidate believed to have “what it took” to be successful in any job.

Let me say it again.  Mis-hiring is an epidemic.  Gut feel doesn’t work.  One more time: Gut feel doesn’t work.

Photo credit: © Emmanuel MARZIN – Fotolia.com

Filed under: Hiring

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14 Responses to “Mis-Hiring Senior Executives. It’s An Epidemic.”

  1. Sue Massey, on May 19th, 2009 at 11:02 am Said:

    I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

  2. Dave Stein, on May 19th, 2009 at 11:15 am Said:

    Thanks, Sue.

  3. Kell Strickland, on May 21st, 2009 at 9:43 am Said:

    I agree that a gut feeling will not ensure a successful hire, but what will? I don’t believe that engaging in 21 interviews will do the job either.

    People are primed for interviews, particularly those applying for senior level positions. They generally know what will be asked and, most importantly, they know what answer the interviewer is looking to hear.

    The only real way to judge an applicant’s competency is through some sort of probationary period. Although, that will create a slew of HR issues.

    There is no right or wrong answer to great hiring practices. I think that the success of a new hire will come down to the old adage “Only time will tell”.

  4. Jeff Ogden, on May 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 am Said:

    Interesting post. Hiring for the wrong reasons is a real problem. The result is a hire and toss away process.

    Companies ought to look long and hard at success factors, which do NOT include working for the competitor or being successful carrying a bag.

    Good example is my friend, Robert Greifeld, CEO of NASDAQ/OMX. By all rights, he never should have been hired. His background was all tech, not finance. But he was just on the cover of Forbes as “Company of the Year.” How does a company find an outside the box exec like Bob?

  5. Dave Stein, on May 22nd, 2009 at 5:50 am Said:

    Hi Kell,

    A hiring process, including profiling, structured, behavior-based interviewing, vigilant reference-checking and psychometric testing will greatly reduce mis-hiring.

    Dave

  6. Lynda Stakel, on May 26th, 2009 at 4:43 am Said:

    At this level, do we really need Sales Managment as much as strong leadership in other he disiplines that
    affect our time and sales strategy?

    What I mean is, professional Sales Executives know where to find business and how to secure it. What keeps sales people from devoting the time and concentration required to maximize potential, are the failure points in an organization that force sales into the role of “customer advocate” . Customers/ organizations should not have to escalate or have the sales relationship leveraged just to get a proper invoice or a resolution to a departments inability to follow the customers agreed upon proceedures.

    Value in leadership for the sales professional comes from the management in departments that hold their people accountable to get the job done so that sales does not have to get overly involved with anything that does not produce growth and revenue.

  7. Dave Stein, on May 26th, 2009 at 5:10 am Said:

    That’s an important point, Lynda.

  8. Ares Vista, on May 27th, 2009 at 10:52 am Said:

    The only sure way to hire a good employee is to create one. Excellent, thorough training and clear expectations will allow your employees to fill their roles effectively. Choosing the right people is usually an instinctual decision, but getting any employee to produce is attainable for any business.

  9. Dave Stein, on May 27th, 2009 at 11:44 am Said:

    Ares, I disagree. First, you can’t create a good employee from someone who doesn’t have the DNA required for success in the job. Second, even if you could, few business can afford the time and money to wait until someone is able to fill their roles effectively.

    With that said, perhaps in your company things are different.

    Dave

  10. Adrienne Wiggins, on June 9th, 2009 at 9:49 am Said:

    Dave, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Understanding the “DNA” of a candidate is what allows “outside the box” executives to be hired successfully on a regular basis. The right assessments can greatly increase the success rates of new hires by an organization — even at the executive level.

    As for Sales Leaders, since so many are hired/promoted solely based on their stellar sales numbers, they often come ill-equipped in experience, training, and core behavioral tendencies to be developers of people and advocates for their teams. If better pre-hire and succession assessments were utilized and more management training opportunities were offered to sellers, fewers mis-hires would plague our sales organizations.

    Keep up the great blogging!

  11. Dave Stein, on June 9th, 2009 at 11:50 am Said:

    Thanks, Adrienne.

  12. Bill Lynch, on June 10th, 2009 at 7:44 am Said:

    Interesting commentary regarding what doesn’t work but wide of the mark, I fear, in terms of what does count. Hiring someone on the basis of having produced superior numbers is indeed a common mistake but “creating” your own is often simply not feasible for smaller firms, neither is psycho testing.

    The plain fact is that the “C” executives in most firms seeking executive sales talent are not equipped to evaluate/differentiate among and between the better talent supplied by excutive search firms. And the search firms are far from objective, they typically want to win a placement.

    A compelling, verifiable track record is the only meaningful and objective place to start assessing the calibre and capabilities of the person sitting in front of you. Even a moderately skilled salesperson will arrive prepared to address/deflect even insightful/probing questions. Check the references and have the person articulate just how he or she achieved the grand results portrayed in the resume.

  13. Dave Stein, on June 10th, 2009 at 8:38 am Said:

    Thanks for the comment, Bill. Just one point. Psychometric test is very effective and very affordable. Every sales hire as well as manager applying for a job should have to take a psychometric test.

  14. SalesJournal.com » Preventing the Mis-Hire, on June 26th, 2009 at 5:22 am Said:

    [...] a recent posting, fellow blogger Dave Stein commented on what he views as an epidemic:  the mis-hiring of sales executives. Dave notes that too [...]

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