Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

Second Biggest Mistake in Hiring

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“I kind of like this guy,” Graham stated confidently. “I know it’s the first interview, but he sounded sharp.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“Impressive resume, and he was well-prepared. He had an answer to every question about his work experience.”

“Almost like he practiced before you got in the room?” I smiled.

“If you mean prepared, yes,” Graham defended. “He had a specific story for every question I asked.”

“What was the piece of paper you held in your hand during the entire interview?”

Graham sat back. “His resume, of course. I always have the resume in front of me.”

“And what about the role description? Did you have a copy of the role description in the room?”

“Yes, we have a role description, but the interview is about the candidate. I find the resume is more helpful than the role description, to explore their work history.”

“So, let me get this straight,” I nodded, “the candidate seemed sharp, he had a very specific story for every question you asked about the work history on his resume?”

Graham nodded with me. “Yes.”

“And every question you asked, was based on the resume submitted by the candidate? The central piece of paper in your hand during your interview was the resume?”

Graham continued to nod.

“So, now that the interview is over, when do you intend to ask questions related to the role description you prepared?”

Biggest Mistake in Hiring

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“The thing I am trying to figure out with this candidate,” Anita wondered aloud, “is whether they are over-qualified or under-qualified for the position we have?”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well, if they are over-qualified, they will get bored with the decisions that go with this job. And the problems they face will seem small and insignificant. The work will not be interesting to them.”

“And if they are under-qualified?” I pressed.

“If they are under-qualified, they will be overwhelmed. There will be twenty things to get done in the short space of an hour, problems and decisions. They will get behind, hung up in a detail that derails everything. They will micro-manage a small segment of the job, because that is their comfort level, while there is a forest fire raging outside the door.”

“So, what exactly are you looking for?”

“I feel like Goldilocks,” Anita replied. “This porridge is too hot, this porridge is too cold, this porridge is just right. I am looking for just right. I will know it when I see it.”

“You have accurately described what happens when there is a mismatch in the role. You understand what you are looking for, but you don’t know how to look.”

Anita’s eyes grew wide and a small grin crossed her face. “It’s easier to see someone who is over-qualified for the role. My biggest mistake is hiring someone who is under-qualified. They work for a couple of months, and then it becomes glaring. They underperform, get defensive, throw other people under the bus. As a manager, I try to coach, but in the end, I made a mistake. The person couldn’t handle the level of work in the role. I just wish I could figure out the person in the interview.”

“What if you are starting in the wrong place?” I suggested.

“What do you mean?” Anita asked.

“Instead of trying to figure out the candidate, let’s start by figuring out the level of work in the role. What are the decisions made in the role? What are the problems solved in the role? What is the level of work in the role? The biggest mistake most managers make is underestimating the level of work in the role? That is why, so often, we place candidates in the position and watch them flounder before our eyes. Our first mistake was failing to identify the level of work required.”

“How do you do that?” Anita wanted to know.

You Are Not a Manager So People Can Report To You

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“Yes, but shouldn’t these people be reporting to me?” Ted asked.

“That depends. Functionally, their roles produce results you are interested in, but are you prepared to be their Manager?” I replied.

“I think so. I think they can report to me. I think I can hold them accountable for producing those results. I think I can check up on them to make sure they are working,” Ted proposed.

I smiled. “I know, you think being a manager is all about people reporting to you, and you, telling people what to do. But are you prepared to be their Manager?”

Ted gave a glance sideways.

“Your most important role,” I continued, “as a manager, is to bring value to the problem solving and decision making of your team. Are you bringing value by telling them that their reports are due on Friday and then reminding them Monday morning that their reports are late?”

Ted was still staring, but putting the pieces together. “Well, no, not when you put it that way.”

“Then, how, as their Manager, do you bring that value? And are you committed to bring that value? Are you willing to commit the time to bring that value? The answers to these questions will determine whether you should be the manager of this team.”

Charles “Red” Scott – RIP

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If you are lucky, you will meet someone in your life that changes your life. I was lucky.

In 1995, I found myself across a breakfast table from Charles “Red” Scott. We soon learned, like in the first five seconds, that we were both children of the great state of Texas, both born in the same part of east Texas, Paris, Texas and Tyler, Texas and both attended the University of Texas. Though Red graduated before I was born.

If you are lucky, you will meet someone in your life that changes your life.

Red interviewed me for a job. Not really a job, but a life-long venture, to be a teacher, to be a learner to a very special group of people that I had not met. Yet.

He asked me if I was lucky.

That was his favorite interview question. He told me how his life was changed on the turn of a dime. From a small town in east Texas, he was the president of his high school class. Leader of his class, that automatically earned him a ride at the University of Texas. I would follow a couple of decades later.

His birthday was the same as Texas Independence Day. And Red was independent. I think Red was lucky to be born that day.

And I was lucky to have known Red.

Charles “Red” Scott left us yesterday. He left behind many friends and a loving family. Yesterday, he left me, behind. And from behind, I can only look ahead. We will miss you, Red. I will miss you. You were a great teacher.

In December, the doctors told him not to buy any green bananas. He knew and we knew that life was moving on. As much as we braced for the day, told ourselves it was inevitable, when it came, it came. That brave face, our brave face, stopped and felt the rush of sadness.

Today, I will venture to find the greenest bunch of bananas, and I vow to outlive them, if I can.

Quick-list on Levels of Work

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
Tom, I just read the One Most Important Thing and it does cause some thinking and wondering how much many of us are doing this all wrong. I am the owner of a business but have been in some form of leadership or management for over 15 years and I don’t ever remember a real comprehensive approach to hiring or even with the detail you offer. I am reading your new book, Hiring Talent right now and hopefully can glean much of what needs to happen in our own company. I wanted to ask you about how long you see this taking to really create a different and better culture within an organization that perhaps never used any of these tools? It almost seems a little overwhelming to be honest with you. We are going from doing none of this to doing what we should be. I may be in touch with you often for some guidance.

Response:
How long does it take for a child to learn to walk. As long as it takes. And it is always a work-in-progress. I believe the most important element of this process is you. Hiring Talent is a mindset about work. It’s a different way of looking at work and the candidates you select from your talent pool.

Most managers never consider the level of work when thinking about a new role or filling an existing role. All the tasks and activities get lumped on a list with the tagline – “and anything else we can think of.”

Level of work is the key to understanding the capability required for success in the role. Here is my quick-list on levels of work.

  • S-I – Individual output, longest task – 1 day to 3 months
  • S-II – Coordinate team output, longest task – 3 months to 12 months
  • S-III – Create, monitor, improve system output, longest task – 12 months to 24 months
  • S-IV – Integrate multiple systems and subsystems for “whole” system throughput, longest task – 2 years to 5 years
  • S-V – Create, monitor, improve value chain between internal “whole” system and external market, longest task – 5 years to 10 years.

Any questions?

This Encourages the Candidate to Lie

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“So, how did you miss this critical piece of information during the interview?” I asked. Ted was beside himself for a recent hire.

“That’s the thing. I gave him some theoretical examples to find out what he would do in a couple of specific situations. He answered the questions pretty well,” Ted replied.

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“He answered the questions pretty well, theoretically speaking, but he had never actually performed the work himself. It is almost like he read a bunch of articles in a trade journal. He knew the buzz words and conceptually how things worked, just no real experience.”

“So, what do theoretical questions do for you, as a manager conducting an interview?”

“Quite frankly,” continued Ted, “it just encourages the candidate to make stuff up and lie to me.”

“Indeed.”

Not Part of My Job

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“It happened again,” Ted explained. “I told myself that the next time we needed to hire someone, I would be prepared for the interview.”

“And?” I asked.

“Scott came down the hallway. He said the candidate had talked to four other people and everyone liked him. I didn’t even know we had interviews scheduled. He asked if I had fifteen minutes to talk to the candidate, just to see if I liked him, too. Funny, I liked him, too.”

“So, what’s the problem?” I pursued.

“Everyone liked him, but here we are, two months down the road and I find out he doesn’t have any experience in one of the most critical parts of the job. He just told me point blank that he has never done this before. Worst part, he tells me he doesn’t even see that as part of his job. If we need that done, he suggests we hire an expert or a consultant to help out.

“Just what we need, another consultant, because we failed to conduct a proper interview.”

The One Most Important Thing

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I had been hammering Kristen about creating a role description for an open position on her team. I don’t think she is lazy, but like most managers, she treats recruiting like a part-time job. In a year’s time, she may only have four openings on her team of 19, and she rarely sits on a hiring panel for other teams.

“What’s the one most important thing you do?” I asked. “In a year’s time, looking back, what one thing have you done that has had the most impact on your company?”

Kristen was thinking. She had some stuff up on her walls, some recognition plaques, a framed letter from a customer. “I don’t know,” she started. “My highest contribution? I guess it’s just making sure my people are always busy and not wasting time. That’s what managers do.”

“No, on your team of 19, you have two supervisors, that’s what they do, keep people busy. What is the most important thing you do?”

“I guess I never really thought about it. No one ever asked me, or told me. In fact, when I got promoted last year, the only difference is that I go to management meetings once a week. I spend the rest of my time dealing with problems and issues. Who wants time off? Who is arguing with whom? Why someone is constantly running behind? Why things don’t come out right? Motivating my team? I stay pretty busy doing all that.”

“What would you have to do differently, so that you did none of those things?” I challenged.

“Well, there’s no way. The people I have on my team just wouldn’t be able to get along and stay productive without me in there.”

“So, what would you have to do differently?”

It’s More Than Reading the Resume

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Kristen gazed at the job posting from Monster. “Can I use the job posting as a start for the job description?”

“You can, but only as a start,” I replied. “Even most job descriptions aren’t very useful because they are poorly written. Before we actually write the job description, let’s talk about its purpose. It will help us construct something that is actually helpful.”

“Well, the main thing is to have something to give the candidate, so they know what job they are applying for,” Kristen smiled.

“Like I said, that’s a start. Specifically, what’s the benefit to you, as a Manager?”

“So, I have something to talk about in the interview?” Kristen floated.

“Does it help you, as the Manager, understand the kind of person you are looking for?”

“Yes, but don’t I get that from the resume?”

“Only half. You only get the right candidates when the resume and the job description match. That’s why you can’t make a selection, just by reading resumes.”

“So, the benefit to me, as a Manager, is that I will know when I have a match.”

“That’s one purpose. How else is the job description helpful?”

Kristen’s Recruiting System

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Kristen put away the behavior profile. “Okay, you’re not going to look at this. You want a role description. But you want more than a role description, you really want a system?”

“Yes, a system,” I replied. “Let’s sketch out these elements, put each element into a circle, then put arrows between each circle, to indicate the workflow. You may add and take away elements as we go along. This picture will represent your system.

  • Identify the work
  • Identify the necessary roles to do the work
  • Identify the necessary roles to make sure the work gets done
  • Assemble a role description, broken into Key Result Areas, including tasks, goals and level of work
  • Create ten questions specific to each Key Result Area (6 Key Result Areas = 60 written questions)
  • Write a Job posting
  • Resume review
  • Screening phone calls
  • Telephone interviews
  • Face to Face interviews
  • Skills Testing
  • Selection Matrix
  • Reference checks
  • Background checks
  • The Offer
  • Drug Testing
  • Offer (confirmation)
  • Orientation
  • Training
  • Task assignment
  • Assessment
  • Training (more)
  • Career path, development program

“Now we have documented the steps in your recruiting system. What’s next?”