Talent Management

By: Paul Croteau
Date: August 15, 2010
The Winnipeg Sun
Talent Management


There aren’t too many phrases that continue to ring in people’s ears after they’ve been said, but Clint Eastwood’s catch-phrase “go ahead, make my day”, from the famous 1982 film, Dirty Harry, is certainly one of them. I imagine there’s many an individual recalling just that phrase as oil magnet Tony Hayward finally announced his resignation as CEO of industry giant, British Petroleum (BP). Now, as we well know, most folks wouldn’t normally celebrate someone else’s demise, but in this case, those “little people” as he called them, were only too happy to see this former CEO “get his life back.” 

Mr. Hayward is not the first CEO to leave his job in disgrace because of leadership missteps, nor will he be the last. Believe it or not, the reason for a CEO departure is typically not because of the economy or even a disastrous incident such as the recent oil spill. Rather, it’s all about CEO arrogance. In other words, an over-inflated sense of superiority and self-importance that becomes offensive to others.

CEOs who suffer this “disease” have come to truly believe they are icons. They thrive on being on the cover page of a magazine or newspaper and strive to be noticed at every turn. Their overconfidence blinds them to reality and while they may have been very successful at one point, their arrogance soon leads to inappropriate behaviour, and illogical responses to critical organizational issues. As well, many arrogant CEO’s overreach their maximum capability and then flame out as they fail to meet their business objectives.

In fact, my experience suggests that arrogance will indeed eventually kill the career of a CEO every single time. For those subordinate individuals impacted by CEO arrogance, waiting for the fall from grace might seem like forever, but when it comes, I can tell you that the fall is usually quite hard and quite public. Many a disgraced CEO will never again rise to their former level of prestige.

While there are many other CEO “derailers,” once again my experience has demonstrated that leaders who are cold, aloof and authoritarian, who isolate themselves in an ivory tower and who practice a philosophy of “me first”, will eventually lose their followers. After all, there is just no room for anyone else in the organization to experience success. All the credit goes to the arrogant CEO. 

Typically, in this type of environment, the CEO will rarely take personal responsibility. Instead he/she will minimize any damage that is caused and blame others whenever they can. As well, they will spend too much time, energy and resources on insidious efforts to destroy their competitors rather than focusing on making their own firm the best that it could be. Finally, more than likely, arrogant CEOs will find themselves feuding with other leaders and professionals in the organization as they struggle to discount the ideas of others and push their own agenda forward without debate.

Unfortunately, arrogance isn’t limited to just the CEO because over time, organizations themselves through the influence of their leaders will also adapt this arrogant stance. Their customer service philosophy becomes one of “my way or the highway” leading to a failure to acknowledge mistakes and bullying their customers.

Tony Hayward, disgraced over poorly chosen words and arrogant behavior also represents a good example of the power of global communications. A few brief words and in just one instant, his message spread across the world for everyone to see. His words, his presence and his behavior made headline news in every available communication channel. There was no way he could take back what he said, he could only face the consequences…..dismissal. And yes, he did indeed get his life back.

But remember, Tony Hayward will not be the last.

Research and review by Candace Weselowski, Legacy Bowes Group.

Paul Croteau is Managing Partner of Legacy Bowes Group, Manitoba’s leading Talent Management Solution. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

By: Paul Croteau
Date: August 1, 2010
The Winnipeg Sun

There has been plenty of research over the past twenty years that demonstrates the importance of having the right person in the right job at the right time doing the right things. The challenge is how to identify these candidates and entice them to join your organization. With the shortage of talent in the marketplace, recruitment professionals both internal and external have had to engage in much more social marketing as part of their search strategy.  In other words, recruiters need to be prospectors, hunting for potential candidates, building relationships and matching skills, personality and organizational culture in order to facilitate a successful hire. However, the next challenge for those organizational recruiters is just how to determine the success of a candidate search.

So, what exactly is a successful hire? In my view, a successful hire is one through which a candidate is sourced and selected within a reasonable time frame and who meets the selection criteria set out by the employer. As well, a successful hire is one in which both the employer and employee are happy with their arrangements and the employee is making a solid contribution to the organization as quickly as possible.

Finding the metrics to evaluate success is certainly a challenge.  Over the years, metrics have been developed to evaluate the time to fill a position, or the cost to hire, but in my view these neglect to measure the quality of the hire and the impact of the hire on an organization. For instance, what value has the new employee provided and how can this be evaluated? My advice is to utilize a mixture of measurements that will allow you to determine the success of your recruitment. Some of these measures include the following:

Job performance/quality of hire – no matter what organization, complex job roles may require up to one year of experience before an employee is working at a level of high performance. Even straight forward jobs require three to six months. Therefore, you need to be sure to evaluate the performance of the new employee at three month, six month and one year intervals. Develop specific criteria and compare performance against that standard.

Manager satisfaction – managers are the first to know if their candidate is performing or whether or not the employee is fitting in. Have the manager rate the recruitment process and the candidate fit on a scale of 1-5. Then evaluate progress at the 90 day point as well as six months and one year.

Candidate satisfaction – I also highly recommend staying in touch with the candidate/new employee at the 90 day mark and every six months until they are fully settled in. Their evaluation of job satisfaction from the point of view of how accurately the job role and culture was described is critical and valuable information.

Candidate source – employers often don’t think of exactly where they can actually find good candidates. Focusing on specific sources of candidates rather than conducting a shotgun approach to your recruitment will bring much more success. Metrics that include calculating the number or percentage of hires for each source as well as the length of tenure each candidate might spend in their job is valuable information for the future.

Employee referral rates – many organizations today are offering bonuses to employees who refer candidates to their employer. Start recording statistics regarding the success of these hires. After all, your long term loyal employees understand the culture and can envision their contacts working for your organization. Data on referral rates can identify those individuals within the organization who offer a good understanding of your needs.

Determining recruitment success can be a challenge and quite frankly, is often neglected all together. However, it is my experience that those organizations that spend time reviewing their processes and determining why one recruitment is a success while another is not, stand a better chance of recruiting long term employees who fit and who more quickly contribute to the organization.

Research and review by Candace Weselowski, Legacy Bowes Group.

Paul Croteau is Managing Partner of Legacy Bowes Group, Manitoba’s leading Talent Management Solution. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 204-934-8821.

 

By: Paul Croteau
Date: July 18, 2010
The Winnipeg Sun

It’s happened again! Another employer has been stung by ineffective hiring processes. Recently, a news report relayed the story of a social service agency Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who hired a new employee with what appeared to be “impeccable” credentials, only to find out they had been fired from their previous job. The CEO’s response to this unfortunate situation was to create some sort of policing mechanism that would flag individuals who have been terminated from a previous employer. While this suggestion might sound ideal, it is entirely impractical. 

Instead, hiring the right person for your organization begins with implementing an effective recruitment and selection process. This includes clearly defining the selection criteria, creating checklists with which to benchmark candidate resumes, conducting face-to-face interviews and checking references. As well, an effective process includes some sort of psychometric assessment. These strategies are outlined in detail below.

Detailed resume review
First of all, pay very close attention to the resume. Many hiring managers only take a 30 second glance and if the resume looks good, they will call the individual in for an interview. Take your time. Look for inconsistencies, look for patterns. Look for the length of tenure at various jobs. Does this match the pattern in your industry? Are there any glaring and/or even subtle time omissions? In other words, is all of the work life being accounted for? Be sure to ask questions about any issues in your interview.

Use behavioural interviewing
This technique allows you to develop specific questions that are directly related to each job competency. This method demands a candidate provide real examples of their work that shows they have ‘been there, done that”.  If a candidate is hiding something such as being terminated from their previous employment, this can often be identified in the interview process because they will be asked about their “most recent” challenge, accomplishment, etc.  This allows you to probe further.

If they are “covering up” some past indiscretion, their body language will give them away. Pay attention to signals such as eye movement, tone of voice, and pacing of the answer. A candidate who is lying will struggle to respond and their body language will become protective. This creates a subtle sense of “disconnect” in the eyes of the interview. When this happens, pay attention as there is always something amiss.

Conduct thorough reference checks
Ask your candidates for references that can comment on each of their competencies. This includes an immediate former boss, a colleague and/or someone who reported to the individual if they were a manager. When you are speaking to the references, don’t just ask about job duties. Ask the same behavioural questions to confirm the candidate’s answers. Ask the reference if they would hire the individual in their firm again.

Apply a work style assessment
One of the key tools to conducting an effective recruitment process is to apply a psychometric assessment with the finalist candidates. Today, there are a wide variety of assessment tools that can specifically address the potential to lie, steal or have problems with drugs and alcohol. At the management level, there are comprehensive assessment tools that identify leadership and communication style. These are inexpensive tools and should be used on a regular basis. They will help to identify additional red flags and will help to ensure the successful candidate fits into your corporate culture.

Experiencing what could be called a “wrongful” hire can be devastating to the both the hiring manager and the organization. It is a time consuming and costly mistake for all concerned. If this has happened to you, then it is time to conduct an audit of your processes and to put new safeguards in place.

Source: 21 Percent of Job Seekers Dropped After Reference Checks Survey, June 23, 2010, Office Team.

Research and review by Candace Weselowski, Legacy Bowes Group.

Paul Croteau is Managing Partner of Legacy Bowes Group, Manitoba’s leading Talent Management Solution. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

By: Paul Croteau
Date: July 4, 2010
The Winnipeg Sun

The role of a chief executive officer (CEO) is the most important role in an organization. It’s a senior leadership role with a good deal of responsibility and in most cases, a high profile. Chief executive officers are expected to represent their organization at business and social functions and you will often see these individuals on a volunteer board in the community.

Yet some executives get so focused on their own work that they forget the importance of being “out there”, being known and recognized. In other words, they become insular and isolated. While that is not much of a problem while you still hold the role of CEO, it becomes a very big problem when an executive candidate is engaged in a job search.
As a leading executive recruitment professional, my advice is to always prepare for that next job because you never know when the opportunity will arise. You do this by building your own personal brand. Brands for cars, food and clothing are well known and have been very successful as are personal brands for famous authors or celebrities. While it takes time, creating a brand for yourself can also be successful.

Start by carrying a business card. If you are currently out of work, create a business card that also includes three key words that outline your skills or provides a personal brand statement. Do you have a niche that you represent?  Make sure that your resume is up to date at all times. Use the skills based resume that allows you to highlight what you have to offer as well as the accomplishments, rather than where you worked.

To be honest, most executives neglect this aspect of career management and then when the time comes, they can’t recall the specifics of their accomplishments. They may take themselves for granted and not effectively identify their key skills. If possible, work with a career coach to develop an effective resume that sells you, not your current and/or former employer.

The next strategy for personal branding, although long term, is to become well known in the community. This is accomplished through networking and volunteer leadership. Join an industry association or a university/college alumni group. Take a leadership role within that group which will allow you to meet people from all walks of life and all industry sectors. Volunteer for a charity. Once again, take a leadership role. Then extend your personal branding into the fast growing social networking strategies. Provide a personal profile. If you are job hunting, include your resume and a covering letter.

Next, become a continuous learner. Read, read, read. Read every newspaper you can, examine the trends and issues that arise. Look for business announcements of new appointments, new products and/or awards. Contact these people and offer your congratulations. If possible, call them up and meet them for lunch to discuss common issues. Never mention that you are on a job hunt. Talk only about your skills, interests, experiences and items that are of common interest.  Then keep in touch periodically in order to stay connected.

While it is important to keep in mind that executive search firms work for corporations rather than candidates, you still need to network with these professionals. Know who the search professionals are, what specific areas they work in, how they work and what kind of reputation they have. Submit your resume for their electronic databank and meet them for a preliminary interview so that they can put a face to the name, so to speak.

The opportunities for up and coming executive level professionals should be quite plentiful in the next six months as many baby boomer leaders are beginning to choose retirement over working full time. Those executive level candidates who have built a strong personal brand and are well known will have the best chance at securing that next step in their career.

Paul Croteau, B.Comm., CMA, FCMA is a partner with Waterhouse Executive Search Partners, a Canada-wide executive search firm. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 204-934-8821.