Something Negative Was Posted Using Social Media. Now What?

Q. One of our employees posted something very inappropriate regarding one of our managers on their Facebook account. Another person showed this to the manager, who became very upset. Our HR department is telling me I can’t fire this person as it is a freedom of speech issue.  Is this true? What about the manager’s rights and our rights as a company to protect our employees?

This is a very hot topic in the hiring and firing world today. Companies need to be very concerned about things like this happening. Unfortunately, most of the time companies are caught completely off guard when this happens. Yet, given the explosion in social media every company that has employees should be prepared on how they will handle this. Consider starting with some sort of social media policy.

I asked Laura Fleming, a labor attorney and partner with the Newport Beach law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth for her advice.

This is a very sensitive issue that depends upon the nature of the Facebook posting.  Under the National Labor Relations Act, all employees — whether or not they are members of a union – have the right to join together and discuss the terms and conditions of their employment.  Thus, employees who complain about management, whether offline or online, may be engaging in protected activity.  Whether a Facebook post is protected depends upon (1) whether the employee is voicing an individual or a collective gripe; and (2) whether the post relates to the terms and conditions of employment, or  is simply an inappropriate personal attack.  Posts which are supported by co-workers, and which relate to the terms and conditions of employment, are likely protected.

Sometimes it can be very difficult to tell the difference between protected and non-protected comments by employees online.  Thus, before taking action against the employee, I recommend that you consult a labor attorney.

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Retaining your best talent is always the best thing any company can do. Download our FREE  Non-Monetary Rewards and Recognitions Matrix. It will help you retain your best people without additional compensation. CLICK HERE to download under the Free Resources section.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

3 Sales Managers In 3 Years. Whose Fault Is It?

Q. In the last three years we have hired and fired three sales managers. The last one lasted only 3 months. They all seem to have the right experience, skills and they interview well. Once on board though they either don’t seem to deliver the sales or don’t fit. Any suggestions on how to get it right on the next go around?

This is not always due to a bad hire. I find it is often due to poor alignment of the job expectations and communications with the new sales person. It might be different in your case, but clearly something is out of alignment for this to happen three times.

Start by making sure that the expectations for the sales manager are clear, measurable, time based and in writing.  I would recommend having these laid out in 3, 6 and 9 month intervals. This allows both you and the candidate to measure progress and adjust accordingly.

Secondly, I find that when a new hire is let go in such a short period of time communications is a big issue. A candidate should never be surprised when let go. There should be regular one-on-one meetings with their boss during the first 4 months. These should be at least monthly if all is going well and possibly weekly if things need to be recalibrated.  When these regular meetings don’t happen, the candidate often believes everything is going great or my boss would have told me it wasn’t. So instead of fixing the problem, it continues. Then the candidate is terminated and is justifiably confused, as they thought all was well.  These meetings are a critical component of the on-boarding process and often help save a good hire from turning into a bad hire.

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Retaining your best talent is always the best thing any company can do. Download our FREE  Non-Monetary Rewards and Recognitions Matrix. It will help you retain your best people without additional compensation. CLICK HERE to download under the Free Resources section.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Does Your Company Have A Bad Reputation In the Market?

Q. A few years back our company had a bad reputation in the industry. Since then we have changed management and most of the issues are long gone, but our reputation still lingers. We have been told this is affecting our ability to hire people. Recruiters have told us some candidates won’t go forward after hearing the name of our company. How do we go about changing that without spending thousands on a PR firm?

Since the first place most people go after hearing the name of a company is the Web site, I would start there. Most Web sites are all about the company’s products or services, other than the “About Us” section which is generally a history lesson on the company.

Consider having a career page, have the CEO do a short video about all the good changes that have happened in the last few years, have current employees give testimonials about the improvements that have taken place, ask a few customers and vendors to be included, and finally share the vision of the company with the readers so they see the difference. Do the same thing on Facebook but here have a dialog with the readers. Let your employees comment and have the CEO comment and reply to comments made by others. You might even hit the issue head-on by stating, ”We know many still view us the way we were a few years back, but take a look at the new company and all of the changes we have implemented to change that reputation.” Let the readers know you know and you have fixed it.

Finally, you will need to get out in the community. Attend networking groups, industry association meetings, conferences and trade shows to promote the “new company.” I would invite recruiters into the facility so they can see and hear the difference. As a recruiter I have had candidates say the same thing to me many times. Knowing the company allows me to address those concerns head-on with candidates. I find candidates open up once they learn the facts about the new company.

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Retaining your best talent is always the best thing any company can do. Download our FREE  Non-Monetary Rewards and Recognitions Matrix. It will help you retain your best people without additional compensation. CLICK HERE to download under the Free Resources section.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

How Many Interviews Should It Take To Hire Someone?

Q. How many interviews should a company have when hiring someone? Our company has 9 or 10 people meet the candidate. Some candidates complain it is too long. Is there a normal number of interviews before hiring someone?

It isn’t the quantity of the interviews but the quality of the interviews that counts.  When jointly interviewing with my clients I find that the problem is that each person is asking the same basic questions as the previous interviewer. Many of them are not all that relevant to the job. So they really aren’t learning anything new and neither is the candidate. These are just “get acquainted” interviews which don’t serve a great purpose.

If you want to have this many interviews, your people should be trained in how to interview. Interviewing is not something one picks up along the way in their career. Or at least it shouldn’t be. I would recommend bringing in a good training program. Then, once your managers learn how to interview, you can assign specific aspects of the job for each one to probe deeply on instead of just repeating the same old questions everyone else has asked.  For example, maybe one interviewer focuses on the leadership skills, another interviewer focuses on the team building, another focuses on how the candidate’s experience aligns with the needs of the job and so on. Now there is value to each interview. Since each person is focusing on a specific issue there is also time to probe deeply, get the candidate to provide examples and do a thorough vetting of the candidate. It also provides adequate time for the candidate to ask questions.

The key is training your team so the interviews are not routine and canned, but rather each interviewer is skilled in the art of interviewing and has a purpose for the interview.

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Retaining your best talent is always the best thing any company can do. Download our FREE  Non-Monetary Rewards and Recognitions Matrix. It will help you retain your best people without additional compensation. CLICK HERE to download under the Free Resources section.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard 

4 Ways To Counter a Counter Offer

Counter offers should be expected, as nobody wants to lose their best people.  It is a lot easier to make a counter offer than to try to find a new person. Especially one that is top talent.

In some strange way a counter offer is a good thing. It signals that the candidate’s current company values them and they don’t want them to go. The hidden assumption in this is that the person is top talent. That is a good thing. The bad news is, now what? How should the new company handle the counter offer? Should they offer more money? Match the counter offer? Walk away and start the hiring process all over again? Negotiate with the candidate? There are lots of options, none of which are all that great.

Here are 4 ideas on how to avoid the counter offer.

1) The best way to handle a counter is by avoiding the candidate receiving a counter offer. It has been my experience that few companies ever discuss the potential counter offer with the candidate. It just never comes up. This is a mistake. The hiring manager should begin discussing the potential of a counter offer as soon as there is genuine interest in the candidate. This may be at the end of the first interview.

I have never yet heard a hiring manager say to a candidate, “We want to proceed with you and would like to bring you back to meet more people. I want to respect their time and yours. If we proceed, I’m curious as to how you will deal with a counter offer should your current company make one?”

This is important because now you are starting to tie the person down. Few candidates even think about the counter offer. By asking this question you are beginning the process of getting the candidate to commit to you. They are starting to put their word on the line.

After every interview you should continue to tie the candidate down by adding more ropes. Continue to bring up the potential of a counter offer. Before the offer is made, the hiring manager should once again ask the question, “We are going to proceed to the offer, however, before I do that I would like to understand more about how you will deal with a counter offer should it happen?” Follow up with, “ We only hire top talent. I view you as that and I know if you were on my staff, I would be concerned if you left. What will you say to the CEO when called into their office to discuss what it will take to keep you? What will your comments be?”

Once the offer is made you can add one more tie. “I want to make sure you don’t burn any bridges when you leave your company. What are you going to say to your boss when you give notice?”  What you are looking for is if the candidate left the the door open to a counter or are they telling their boss thanks for the time together, but my mind is made up; I’ve given my word and I’m completely committed to this new opportunity.

This may sound like overkill but it sure beats having to deal with all the issues if a counter offer happens.

2) Never get into a compensation war. You won’t win. If the candidate accepts more money now, they will never be satisfied. They are opportunistic and will leave you at the first opportunity they get  for more money or they will hold you hostage by constantly asking for more money.

We always recommend making your best offer and leave it at that. Let the candidate know you are making your best and only offer. Remove the chance of getting into a wage war. We have rarely seen them work out successfully.

3) Too often companies make an offer and that is the last contact with the candidate until they walk in the door two or three weeks later. This a a major mistake. Did you pick up on the word “major?”

For the next three weeks whatever energy, excitement, enthusiasm, and bonding that built up during the interviewing process begins to wane. The current company has all this time to express their love for the candidate, how much they appreciated their work, how much they will miss this person, and on and on.

You have to be in the game.  After the candidate gives notice you should contact them. Ask how it went and probe how they feel now that they gave notice? How did their boss respond to the news? The biggest thing to know, have they made the announcement to their team and the company? If they haven’t, or their boss asked them to wait until next week before announcing it to the staff, get ready, a counter is imminent.

The notice period is your opportunity to begin the candidate’s mind transition to your company. Meet with them, give them some work to start, invite them to staff or company meetings, include them in emails, and begin the process of putting them in their new job.

4) Understand exactly why the person wants to leave their current role.The real reason is rarely the first reason they give. Don’t accept the first canned answer. Probe to understand what is motivating this person to seek a new position. This is key if a counter offer happens.

Rarely will they tell you money. Usually it deals with some other reason, they are not happy in their current role, they lack career growth, the position isn’t challenging, their boss isn’t allowing them to take on new projects, or they have reached their limitations in the current company. Does your position address these issues? If it does, this is ammunition to use if a counter offer happens. You can now remind the candidate why they told you they are leaving. Since it wasn’t about money, how will a counter offer address their issue?

Since you asked the candidate in the interview why they want to leave their current employer and they gave you a bunch of stuff about career growth, and said that money wasn’t the reason for leaving and then they accepted a counter offer based on money, chances are they lied to you.

Now you can respond, “We made you what we think is a good offer and our best offer. You indicated you weren’t leaving due to money and now it appears that isn’t the case. Our culture is built around high integrity, trust and values. It would be a good thing for you to accept the counter offer, as you probably wouldn’t fit in our culture.”

Even if you do everything perfectly, the candidate may fall prey to the counter offer. You are dealing with people and nothing is100%. All you can do is work to avoid the counter offer before it happens. Most of the time you will win, but not always.

You can explore our audio library, download free examples of compelling marketing statements, download a summary of our research project that identifies the biggest hiring mistakes, and get our culture assessment tool by clicking the links. All of these are free.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. Please forward this to your contacts on Facebook, LinkedIn, or anyone you think would benefit from this article.

Brad Remillard

It Takes Too Long To Hire Someone

Q. Our hiring process takes too long. By the time we start the search and hire someone it might be 3 or 4 months. Any suggestions on how to reduce the time it takes to hire someone?

Depending on the level of the person this may not be all that long.  I find the biggest problem with the process taking too long is that hiring managers often move into “desperation hiring” mode. They not only want a person, but after 3 months they need a person. So they compromise just to put someone in the job. This is not only bad for the company, but can lead to hiring the wrong candidate and missing the right candidate.

When I work with companies struggling with this issue I find that the best way to shorten the hiring process and avoid desperation hiring is to have a queue of candidates. Most managers don’t start the hiring process until they need someone. Yet, the vast majority of time most managers know way in advance that they will need to hire someone. Granted, one can be blindsided with a person leaving unexpectedly, but that is usually the exception not the rule. So I recommend starting the process as soon as you know you will need to hire someone, whether 1 month or 6 months in advance. Start by letting your employees know, post it in the LinkedIn groups, attend networking groups and trade associations, go to functional association meetings and make an announcement, and start getting the word out. The point is, don’t wait until you need someone to start the process. Candidates don’t look for a job on your schedule, when you need someone. They look on their schedule. Start the hiring process as soon as you know you will need someone.

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Retaining your best talent is always the best thing any company can do. Download our FREE  Non-Monetary Rewards and Recognitions Matrix. It will help you retain your best people without additional compensation. CLICK HERE to download under the Free Resources section.

I welcome your thought and comments.

Brad Remillard

It Is Harder To Find People When Unemployment Is High. Here’s Why.

Q. We have run ads on the job boards for two manager level positions and only received about 30 resumes. We expected to have more resumes than we could review in a reasonable time frame.  There has to be a good reason for such a low response rate. For years when we were hiring for these same positions we received over 150 resumes.

This is a common misunderstanding by companies. As a recruiter, companies just don’t believe it when I tell them finding top talent is much harder when unemployment is high and easier when unemployment is low. I can sum up why in one word, “fear.”

This happens because even with 12% unemployment in California, only a very small percentage of those people will actually be qualified for your position. Variables to consider include location, compensation, industry, the right skills, years of experience, cultural fit and so on. This means that there really isn’t that huge of a pool of candidates to choose from in the unemployed arena.

That then leaves those currently working. But stop and think about those working for a minute. They are thinking, “The devil I know is better than the one I don’t know.” Do you believe they want to take the risk of changing jobs, having something not work out and then face unemployment for 6 months? Not very likely. Chances are they know people that have been unemployed for a long time, so working candidates bunker down. Staying with a company where they may not be happy is a whole lot better than unemployment. As a result, most employed people are not looking or even interested in considering something.

Contrast this with times of very low unemployment. There is no fear. The candidate figures that if the new job doesn’t work out, no problem, I will find another in no time so they are willing to consider other opportunities.

Don’t underestimate “fear” in your analysis.

This is why it is imperative for companies that want to hire top talent in bad economic times to be proactive in hiring and not reactive. Most companies have the philosophy that when they need someone, that magically out of thin air the stars will align and top talent will beat a path to their doorstep. WRONG. Top talent and those passive candidates work on their, not your, time table. Most companies hiring today are hiring because the position is critical, not just needed. So it is imperative it be the right hire and they get it right the first time.  To do this you must change from reactive (looking only when you need someone) to proactive, always looking and building a queue of candidates, so when you need someone you already know where they are. Until you do this  you will continue to hire from a very limited pool of candidates.

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

If you want to know if your hiring process is reactive or proactive you can download our free Hiring Methodology Assessment matrix. Take the assessment and then you will know the strengths and weaknesses of your process. CLICK HERE to download then click the LEARN MORE link at the top of the page.

If this was helpful please pass it along to others. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

How To Lower Your Risk When Hiring Salespeople

Q. We hire sales reps to be out in the field. Some are not even in Southern California. Hiring successful salespeople seems to be the most difficult hiring we do. How can we ensure they aren’t just selling us in the interview?

This is one of the most asked questions I receive from my clients. It all starts with expectations. I find that often the expectations when hiring sales people aren’t very realistic. The company wants the salesperson to start booking sales right away, bring a book of business with them, have quotas none of their other sales people attained when hired or they expect the salesperson to start making cold calls on day one. All of these are good things, but for many companies not realistic. I would start with a reality check on your expectations for the first year. Ask yourself, “How many new salespeople have met these sales goals?” If the answer is none, then you might have to realign your expectations.

There are a couple of things I like to do when hiring salespeople. I like to find out what they have done to become better at selling. So I like to know what continuing education they have received in sales training, what books on selling they have read recently, and have they or do they use formal training to become better at their job. Most salespeople have never received much formal sales training, never read a book on selling, or how to get to the decision maker. So what do they do to become better salespeople? I think salespeople should have continuing education similar to most professions.

If making sales presentations is important for your salespeople ask them to come in and make a sales presentation. They will probably tell you in the interview that they make a lot of sales presentations. Great, ask them to do the presentation for you. Then you can evaluate if it is at the standards you expect for your company’s sales force.

Finally, I have a client that actually pays the person he is seriously considering to take a day off and they spend the day in the car making sales calls together. He gets to see and learn a lot about the potential hire. This is really putting the candidate in the job before hiring them.

Learn exactly how to define expectations for salespeople by joining the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Is your hiring process designed to attract top salespeople? If you answered, “No” then download our free Hiring Methodology Assessment Matrix to discover how you change from “No” to “Yes.”  CLICK HERE to download, then click the LEARN MORE link at the top.

If this was helpful, please pass it along to others. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Your Reputation Can Impact Hiring Top Talent

We were retained to conduct a search for a VP of Marketing. The position had been open for more than six months, during which time the company had interviewed ten people who showed little interest in the position or the company. In fact, one offer had been turned down. At first glance this seemed strange, since it was a good company offering reasonable compensation.

Shortly after contacting prospective candidates working for competitors and in related industries, the mystery became clear. The company had a reputation for high turnover, lack of innovative products, poor leadership and low pay. One candidate stated, “It’s known as a “burn ‘em and churn ‘em company.” Another candidate stated, “I’m interested in hearing about the position as long as it isn’t X company” of course it was X company. All of these issues had been true three years back, but new management had since come on and started changing things. The reputation, unfortunately, lagged behind.

In conjunction with the company we put together a marketing plan beginning with changing the Web site. We encouraged the company to address the baggage of the past while emphasizing the changes that had been made The redesigned site also included testimonials from happy employees, information about the improved company benefits and management’s new commitment to employees. Another section discussed the company’s new products and how they were performing in the marketplace, as well as the company’s dedication to R&D. Finally, we changed how potential candidates were treated when they came in for interviews. All interviews were now viewed as a PR event.

As a result, even if a candidate didn’t end up getting the job, they still walked away with a completely different image of the company. Most walked away now wanting the job.

We ultimately filled the search with a candidate who originally told us she didn’t even want to interview. In fact, she told us the same thing three times before finally agreeing to an interview. She came away overwhelmed by the change and impressed with the new management. She was eager to go to work for the reborn organization.

Understanding your company’s reputation is an important issue when conducting a search. Regardless of your reputation, developing a compelling marketing plan is key to a successful search. Ensuring your company’s image is well received by candidates will help you attract more top candidates and reduce the cost per hire.

Start with your Web site, as this is the first place all candidates go once hearing the name of the company.

Remember all interviews are a PR event.

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.”  Just CLICK HERE  and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Retaining your best talent is always the best thing any company can do. Download our FREE  Non-Monetary Rewards and Recognitions Matrix. It will help you retain your best people without additional compensation. CLICK HERE to download under the Free Resources section.

If this was helpful please pass it along to others. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Can Your Candidates Demonstrate Initiative Before You Hire Them?

Q. What questions do you find are helpful for getting to the candidate’s motivation and cultural fit?

 One question that I believe addresses these issues is centered around understanding the candidate’s drive or initiative. Granted there are others, but I think this particular one deals with both.

Just about all jobs require some level of initiative. Most managers want a person that is willing to take initiative in their job. It is a lot easier to hold someone back than it is to try and push them forward. We believe all top talent is self-motivated and will take initiative.

The question I like to ask candidates is, “Can you give me an example in your current or last position where you demonstrated high initiative?” or “Can you give me an example in your current or last position where you did something you weren’t required or asked to do, but you did it because you believed it needed to be done?”  These are excellent phone interviewing questions.

Depending on the level of the person the answer will vary. I wouldn’t expect that same initiative from a truck driver as I would a VP level person. It also deals with the speed of one’s culture.  After hearing the answer you might think this is high initiative or you might think, “If that is high initiative in their organization, in ours that would be considered standing still.”  Regardless of the answer, you’ll know whether or not they demonstrate this trait at the right level for your position and your organization.

Finally, I find this to be one of the best phone interviewing questions. If the candidate can’t provide an example of initiative or doesn’t meet the standard you are seeking, do you really need to bring them in for an interview?

Join the other 10,000 CEOs, key executives and HR professionals and download a FREE copy of our best-selling book, “You’re NOT The Person I Hired.” Just CLICK HERE and under the FREE Hiring Resources section you can download our free eBook.

Retaining your best talent is always the best thing any company can do. Download our FREE Non-Monetary Rewards and Recognitions Matrix. It will help you retain your best people without additional compensation. CLICK HERE to download under the Free Resources section.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard