superstars

by

How to Search for Superstars

In a previous column in this series on the initial steps of a turnaround, I wrote about the need to hire superstars. Of course, we’d all like to run a company made up only of the A-team, but never is it more critical than when we are trying to get a company turned around.

Look at it this way. If your car fell into a small ditch, your neighbors could probably give you a hand and push you back on the road. But if your car takes a dive into a deep ditch? You need a strong team of professionals to get you going again.

The companies I work with as a Turnaround Authority are in a deep, deep ditch. So I need the best possible team to get us out.

Often the superstars saw the company beginning to fail and have long ago jumped ship, further accelerating the downward spiral.

When I’m brought in, generally I’ve got a team full of B and C players and that isn’t going to get the job done. If we don’t have A+ people in key positions, we are doomed for failure.

I have to go out and find those superstars. I want to hire people smarter than me. I need people who can think outside the box and help come up with and implement creative solutions. I need people who are proactive and can get things done.

It can be a particular challenge to recruit superstars to a company that is in a turnaround situation. They often don’t want to come, or if they do, want a lot of money to do so. I like to find the ones who accept the position because they are up for the challenge because I know they are highly motivated to help us meet our goals.

So how do I find these superstars? First, I think about whether I want to use a search firm or not. That generally depends on the level of the position I need to fill. If I’m trying to hire for a $250,000 annual salary slot I will generally use a search firm, but for a $50,000 job I may not.

I’ve worked with people that balk at spending the money it costs to use a search firm. They are stressed out beyond belief, need someone ASAP to help run their business, but yet don’t want to invest the money to get someone in quickly to relieve that stress and get the company going again.

These people are not seeing clearly. They are not valuing their own sanity or the time they will have to spend during the hiring process. Headhunters are expensive but using one can be the best way to recruit the people you need.

Search firms allow you to cast a wider net, save you the time of interviewing, have expertise and connections in your industry and can help bring someone in quickly to relieve the burden on the other employees.

With these folks who insist on trying to hire a high-level position on their own using, I get them to agree to a timeframe during which they can try to find someone. If they don’t fill the position by a certain date, they agree to hire a search firm.

A lot of firms have turned to social media for hiring and it’s changing the world of recruiting. They use LinkedIn to ask for referrals, search for candidates by using keywords and for a fee, can post jobs on LinkedIn.

In a clever twist, Pizza Hut recently conducted 140-second interviews to fill its Social Media Manager of Greatness, going after candidates who can think at the fast-paced speed of social media.

Social media can also be used to find qualified “passive candidates,” those people who are employed but may be open to changing positions.

There are many ways to hire those superstars you need. The main thing to remember is that in a turnaround situation, you need them on your team as soon as possible.

by

Who Will Stay and Who Will Go?

In this second of a series on the initial steps of a turnaround, the topic is how we decide who stays with the company and who will be let go.

In last week’s column, “The Initial Steps of a Turnaround: Nothing is Sacred,” I wrote that even if Grandpa Joe invented the rocking widget that started the company, if it’s no longer profitable that product line will be shut down. And if Grandpa Joe is still around and collecting a hefty salary while he spends the day perfecting his fly-fishing technique, he has to go as well.

In previous columns I’ve written about how I’ve had to fire business owners’ relatives and favorite long-time employees. It’s never an easy or enjoyable task but often has to be done to salvage the company.

300px-Blank_org_chart2So how do I decide who continues to collect a paycheck and attend the annual company picnic and who needs to pack up their things and go?

In an ideal situation, we will have time to assess the company’s situation, create a realistic budget, and then turn to the issue of downsizing staff if necessary.

I ask for the organizational chart and then take all the names off of the chart. I take the name of every person on that chart and put it on a separate piece of paper. Then I ask the senior management, “If you could start over again, how would you arrange the company? What positions are needed today to run the company?”

In good times companies tend to get fat. They add assistants, cars, desks, sometimes even buildings. Then as times get tough these positions and assets often remain even as the company’s financial situation begins to deteriorate. It’s a vital step to review the company’s organization in a fresh way.

That process may involve eliminating some positions, consolidating three jobs into two, or having people report in a different manner. Once we rearrange the organizational chart, we go through the names of the people on the pieces of paper and place them in the positions on the chart according to which person is the best one to handle that job, keeping in mind that we need the company’s best performers, its superstars, in the most challenging positions.

When that exercise is completed there will be names left that are not on the chart. And these are the ones we have to get rid of. They no longer have a role in the restructured company.

As for those superstars. In a number of situations the best employees have already left and those superstar performers are not available within the current pool of employees. So once we have stabilized the personnel that are remaining, provided new opportunities for some of the current people and gotten the company on the correct financial path, we need to conduct a search to find those key people.

We can’t run a company with all average people. We need to create a “Lake Wobegone” situation, where like the children there, all the workers are above average.

In the next post I’ll discuss how to search for superstars.