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The most significant factor contributing to the successful close of a search assignment is thecollaboration between client and consultant. Collaboration captures all those elements in a client relationship that are conducive to a great placement. For the consultant, the main goal of client management is to achieve the highest degree of collaboration.
Openness, transparency, and the absence of hidden agenda's are key to achieve constructive working relationships. Great managers will seek to "partner" as quickly as possible, by times even before a proposal or contract is signed. It is not unusual CEO's or GM's for whom I am mandated to fill a critical and sensitve position request to meet on an informal basis, over a breakfast, lunch or cup of coffee, to receive relevant feedback, solicit idea's, and provide guidance. They see us as trusted advisors.
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After a mandate given by the HR executive of a corporation, we often come across "the insecure manager", a business owner or hiring manager in that company whom we need to deliver talent. Insecure managers need to managed themselves by the search consultant, by times to absurd extent. I can't prevent myself by times to stare in dumb fascination at how some hiring managers avoid or even work to destroy collaboration: they are manipulative, insincere, unfair and display all those traits in abundance during candidate interviews. In some of those cases we were mandated by HR several months later to replace them with more competent individuals - and mostly we do not lobby for their removal or replacement.
Some are afraid to bring strong people on board, as a strong team member can be a threat to their position, challenge their management capability, or will lay bare their very weaknesses through the value they create. They cannot properly assess whom and what they want because they do not know themselves, and they spend more time on keeping up appearances than actually deliver value to their employer.
Signs one is dealing with an insecure manager:
- They do not listen or share information proactively. This because they always know better or believe we are only CV providers. They look at the search process as a commodity transaction were not too much of their personal time should be wasted on. In general they answer requests for feedback with significant delays, and make themselves available only after great effort on behalf of the search consultant.
- Indecision, often fueled with a wild goose search for "negatives" perceived in candidates, they then blow up to an insurmountable hurdle which conveniently prevents them to hire the suggested professional. They want higher, more "senior" profiles; which are then dismissed as "too senior". They want a particular set of experience; which they then evaluate as not relevant, and single handily either broaden or limit the required qualifications weeks into a project.
- Arrogance and contempt. In one case a hiring manager booked a conference room in a hotel, with a bill board attached " Company X hiring interviews". Candidates were appalled at the lack of discretion; the mechanical, questionnaire style of interview, which they interpreted as lack of respect. Furthermore this individual started without exception a "stress interview", which some candidates found insulting after the work invested to convince them "Company X" was a good reason for them to to change careers. In one case, this for a US multinational client priding itself to be one of the best employers in the technology sector, candidates walked out of a third interview round complaining of the arrogance and rudeness of the Vice President who flew in to meet the candidates qualified by his direct reports, including a country manager and regional director.
- Lack of integrity. They promise a candidate he will be hired and then disappear - in one case a candidate declined an offer from another (PE portfolio) firm based on the verbal and written promise of the owner of a Romanian software firm who had retained us. Another shortlisted candidate was hired without us being informed. This CEO then re-negotiated with us the terms of search contract he initially signed, and when we requested payment for services delivered he was nowhere to be found. We were paid 8 months after due date, and only after intervention of our lawyers. In one other case a CEO candidate who resigned from his employer in the US to return to Turkey, only to be told two weeks before his start date the main shareholder of the client organization had changed his mind - based on his interpretation of the time taken required to finalize the contract draft as tardiness and sloppiness on candidate side.
The great manager pro-actively collaborates, and seeks a practical and effective partnership. They fully understand the value talent can bring to their business, and partner as extensively as possible. Without exception, these managers collaborate across their relationship spectrum, both professionally and private.
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