Workplace - Jean Seawright Pileggi: Hiring a Manager?

So…your business has grown, you’ve added employees, services, and new equipment…and now you find yourself spending all of your time managing people. You need help! But wait, don’t just go out there and hire the first person who applies with "management" experience. You need good help! Your culture, team, and hard-earned image and reputation are at stake.

Most people would agree that hiring a manager requires a more in-depth process and greater effort than hiring an employee. After all, your managers ultimately set the tone for your business and culture. Among other things, it takes experience, wisdom, creativity and courage to successfully lead. Your job, of course, is to determine if the candidate in front of you possesses these (and other) important traits necessary for success in your organization. One way to help make this determination is to use pertinent and probing management interview questions — and I’m not talking about goofy psychological questions like, "What do you keep in the nightstand next to your bed?" Spare me.

THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. What I’m suggesting is that you use rock-solid, hit-you-between-the-eyes management interview questions that really tell you about the experience and skills the candidate possesses. Questions like these:

• Tell me about the different staffs you have managed. What was the budget size of the units you managed? What was the organizational structure? How many direct reports did you have and what were their positions?

• Describe the cultures you have managed in. Were they structured? Unstructured? Tell me about the policies and procedures you had to enforce.

• Let’s talk about large-scale changes you have initiated and led — either with regard to the industries you’ve worked in, the organizations where you’ve worked or the staffs.

• What is the most challenging "people" problem you have resolved? What made it so challenging for you?

• What has been your most significant business accomplishment?

• From what you know about our industry, what thoughts do you have about any unique future challenges we may face?

• Tell me about your experience with budgeting, expense control and fiscal management. How do you balance this with the "soft side" of the business?

• Since none of us were born good managers, what steps have you taken in recent years to improve your overall performance?

• Describe your leadership style. Do you have a mentor? Who most influenced you as a leader?

• Have you ever assessed your personal strengths and weaknesses? Tell me about them.

• Give me some examples of strategic, higher-level relationships you’ve built in the community or your prior industries.

• What especially interests you about this opportunity?

• How do you go about hiring someone?

• Describe the management training programs you have participated in.

• What aspect of managing do you find most challenging? Why?

• What was the turnover in your department over the last two years?

• Give me an example of a situation that required you to compromise one of your most basic principles. What happened? What did you learn?

Of course, there are many other good questions, and, based on the application and resume, you will want to develop questions that specifically suit the candidate you are interviewing. The point is — don’t just wing it when it comes to interviewing a manager. Probe deep and don’t quit until you have all the answers.

RED FLAGS. And by the way, one more tip — don’t tolerate bogus responses in the interview or on the paperwork. For example, if a candidate writes "personal" on the application as a reason for leaving a former job, can you ask him or her about the situation? YES! And you should. Too bad if it’s "personal" to the candidate — it’s not personal to you. How about if a candidate does not answer the question related to criminal convictions, should you ask him or her about this? YES! Most definitely! You have the right to inquire about prior criminal convictions and should get the details. And here’s one more: If a candidate tells you that he or she does not want you to contact a previous employer from several years ago, how should you respond? TOO BAD! RED FLAG! You can and should contact all previous employers. (The only exception would be a current employer, whom you should contact after the candidate gives notice.)

In addition to asking targeted interview questions, be sure to obtain a completed application and to conduct and document reference checks, background checks and job-related personality profiles. In the great game of hiring, there will always be risk — your job is to reduce the risk to the extent possible. These interview questions, coupled with a comprehensive hiring process, can help you do just that.