You've bitten the bullet and made some tough changes during
the past year. Maybe you've downsized, shuffled your deck of
senior managers, shifted your business model, shut down a satellite
office--and read all about it in the local newspaper. But
you've survived, and your company is getting stronger every
day. You can even afford to fill a key position again, and you have
someone stellar in mind. So what's the problem?
This person isn't sold on working for you, that's what.
Hiring after a major reshuffling can be a Catch-22 for companies.
You need the best people you can get your hands on to rebuild your
business, but these rainmakers are uneasy because your company
looks about as stable as a kite twisting in the wind. You have to
get this person past your company's past. But how?
"A lot of times an organization finds itself in a situation
where it's restructured or downsized, and the whole public
knows," says Tricia Nickel, president of Chicago headhunting
firm Padigent. "How do they get people to come help them and
be excited about it?"
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Michael Beirne, founder and CEO of McLean, Virginia-based
Novaforge, was in a similar position of having to prove himself
when he changed his company from business incubator to corporate
espionage and terrorism security firm after September 11. It was
"a 100 percent change of direction," says Beirne, 30.
"We're trying to grow something new."
In the process, Beirne eliminated two positions from
Novaforge's staff of four and wanted to hire a general manager.
But the high-caliber person he was eyeing for the position was
turned off-and turned Beirne down. "This person wasn't too
comfortable with the change [to our business model]," he says.
"They said they need to hold off for a while and see if this
thing actually takes root."
Coming Clean
To attract talented people, Nickel says, you've got to have
confidence and be honest. She has worked with entrepreneurs who
were so embarrassed by the past, they couldn't effectively push
the company's new direction. To sell a rainmaker on your
company, you have to make peace with the past. When asked the tough
questions, the worst thing you can do is gloss over your
company's history. Be upfront about problems you've had in
the past, and then sell the opportunities. Your message has to be:
Join us now because we've learned from our mistakes and
we're going places. The rainmaker who is right for your company
will see your problems as a welcome challenge, not as a huge
drawback.
But in the process, don't neglect to mention the challenges
you still face. If you laid off two-thirds of your work force last
year and morale is as low as it can go, you'd better say
so.
"You need to lay out what all the challenges are, what the
issues are, and say through your interview process, 'Here's
one of the major issues we're facing. How would you tackle
this?'" Nickel says. "You have to be prepared to put
it all on the table." If you don't, your new rainmaker
could be headed out the door when he or she realizes you provided
only half the picture.
Beirne lays out all the risks of his new venture while he's
interviewing. While he says such openness about the company might
have cost him the general manager he ideally wanted, it's kept
this person checking in often to see how things are going-an
opportunity for Beirne to keep courting him. He hasn't been
unsuccessful in his talent quest, either. He's hired a great
product manager since last September. Novaforge has now expanded to
seven employees and is projecting $3.5 million in sales this
year.
Change Is Good
If you've made major changes and are recruiting again, now
is the time to start an aggressive employee referral program that
rewards your employees for recommending great people. Follow up all
leads within 24 hours. "It has to be a formal program,"
Nickel says.
In fact, your staff is critical to recruiting on the rebound.
One of the first things high-caliber people do is look around to
see with whom they'll be working. Boasting a great board of
directors or at least one professional manager can make the
difference in landing talented people, says Larry Wizel, a partner
with Deloitte and Touche's Tri-State Technology, Media and
Telecommunications Group in New York City, which helps young
technology companies fill management-level positions.
Beirne doesn't see big change as a bad thing. It's all
in how you sell it. "Every good company is always changing.
Look at what you've done in the past with all the variables and
risks. If you've done it once, you can do it again," he
says. "You'll find good rainmakers out there."
Chris Penttila is a freelance journalist in the Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, area. Contact her at
chris@sitting-duck.com.
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