Ideally, the founder of a business should be on the ground running it. But busy or absentee entrepreneurs may only get a few hours a week to spend at their business. This necessitates the daunting task of hiring a manager. It is not easy to find someone you can trust with your investments, your valuable clients and your employees. Once a business starts getting many customers, the owner may be too busy with business development to provide adequate leadership to employees on the floor. A manager will lighten the load. Here is how to hire the right manager:
POTENTIAL
The best hiring managers are good at discerning potential. They do not make decisions based on track record alone. High potential employees show higher levels of ability. Ability is a combination of character traits and acquired skills. They also demonstrate high engagement. A highly engaged person is willing to go an extra mile to do their job. They are prepared to stay for the long run, and they believe that they would benefit from working with you. High potential employees have high aspirations. They have a strong desire for promotion, recognition, and financial rewards. Taking a closer look at the person’s skills and passions can give you a clue.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
It is said that people do not resign from bad jobs. They resign from bad bosses. As a leader, the manager will strongly influence everyone else’s performance, enthusiasm and drive. The manager will primarily determine everyone else’s behaviour. This makes emotional intelligence a must have quality for your hire. When looking into the background of a potential manager you have to look at their relationships with their colleagues, bosses and subordinates. Try to find out the kind of effect that they have on the people they work with. Look for previous demonstrations of leadership.
TOP TALENT
Start-UPS can compete with larger companies in attracting top talent. The key is in focusing on what you can offer that a blue-chip company cannot. Position yourself to catch the eye of that high-performing individual who is looking for a less bureaucratic, more agile environment. Some people may be attracted by the possibility of earning valuable stock options. Others want flexibility. A few may be running from a job that is over specialised and wants to take on a greater variety of roles. You can also appeal to altruistic motivations if your company is a social enterprise.
ATTITUDE
Attitude is a lot harder to change than skills. When hiring a company manager, put perspective ahead of skills. A candidate who has a good attitude and an eagerness to learn is worth more than a highly skilled person with a poor attitude. Bad attitudes have a disastrous effect on performance, and what is worse they are contagious. Unlike skills, attitudes are nearly impossible to improve on.
LOOK WITHIN
Never assume that the right manager is somewhere out there. She might be under your nose. Before ringing a recruiter, try to look at the team you already have. Give them tasks that test their leadership skills. If you already work with someone then you probably already know them well and trust them. Should you have reliable, trustworthy people who have already bought into the vision of the company and are committed; do give them a chance.
INTERVIEWS
Interviews are great for selecting employees. They also have an innate weakness. Some people are better at interviewing than they are at doing the actual work. Individuals who are particularly charismatic can blind you to their character flaws or incompetence. In the long run, it is cheaper to spend a little more time and money making sure that you have the right person. Some employers will use aptitude tests or ask the interviewees to perform a task. It is then easy to judge them based on how fast they do the job and how well they do it. Any person who does not put much effort into an interview will probably not put much effort into their job either.
HIRE A MANAGER IN TIME
Entrepreneurs typical work longer hours than everyone else. But even if you are ready to put in the extra hours, there are only 24 hours a day. As you work longer and longer hours, you soon hit the point of diminishing returns. At that point, it is better to delegate. Waiting too long to hire one could cost the business. When you find yourself spending less and less time on business development, it is time to hire a manager. A founder’s time is better spent building strategic relationships that will benefit the business and scouting new opportunities. One tell-tale sign that you need a manager to help with running your company is that you spend a lot of time putting out fires instead of growing your business. It gets harder and harder to keep track of each employees’ progress as your company grows. A manager will give each employee the time and attention that they need to perform.
