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.

Why These Candidates

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“I guess I have my receptionist and a lower level supervisor making those decisions,” Byron replied. We were talking about how resumes were initially reviewed from a job posting.

“So, what could you do differently to get a different result?” I asked.

“But, I don’t want to waste the time of my hiring manager,” Byron protested.

“Let me get this straight. The open position is for a high level supervisor with a Time Span around nine months? This position reports to a manager who reports to you?” Byron nodded his head affirmative.

“You are right,” I continued. “I don’t want to waste the time of your hiring manager. Your hiring manager will have difficulty making this hire anyway.”

“What do you mean? Ron is the hiring manager,” Byron replied, still backpedaling.

“Yes, but Ron gave you these three resumes, right?” Byron nodded again. “How would you rate capability for these three candidates?”

“Well, they are clearly unqualified for the position. They are barely supervisor material, more like team leaders. Their Time Span is nowhere near nine months.”

“So, why did Ron pick these people over other candidates?”

“You are right, he did say these people were the only ones within our budget.” Byron’s face betrayed puzzlement. He suddenly no longer believed Ron’s reason. “But, the pay bands for this position were clearly above the salary requirements for these three candidates.”

I allowed a few quiet seconds before I picked up the next step. “Let’s get Ron in here and see if we can shed some light on what is happening. Remember, I am looking to determine who the best person is to drive these resumes.” -TF

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This week, we are tracking our mailing list to get a more accurate headcount of readers. Please click here once you have read today’s post. You will land on our website and that’s all we need for the count. Thanks. -TF

Who Makes the Decision?

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“So, Byron, tell me again. Irene, your receptionist prints out all the resumes from the job posting. She puts them in two stacks, one out-of-town, one local, checks for two years experience and then delivers them to one of your supervisors.” I was looking at the way Byron was handling resumes for an open position. He was bit dismayed at the lack of quality candidates.

“Yes, the supervisor has been with us for almost two years, so he knows the job and can cull out the unqualified resumes. Then he takes the good ones to the hiring manager. It works pretty well. That way the hiring manager doesn’t have to waste his time,” added Byron.

“You said it works pretty well at saving time for the hiring manager, but it culls out all the quality candidates.” I was baiting Byron.

Byron’s face suddenly flushed. “That’s not what I said. I said there weren’t any quality candidates out there.”

“But you said you culled out the under qualified candidates and the overqualified candidates. Who do you have making those initial decisions?”

Byron could see that I was troubled by the way resumes were initially reviewed. He wanted to respond more positively, but the reality was setting in. “I guess I have my receptionist and a lower level supervisor making those decisions,” he finally replied.

“Should we look at a different approach?” -TF
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We are tracking our mailing list to get a more accurate headcount of readers. Please click here once you have read today’s post. You will land on our website and that’s all we need for the count. Thanks. -TF

Tough to Find Good People

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“It’s really difficult to find good people out there, these days,” complained Byron. “Look at these resumes.”

He pushed the stack over to me. I glanced at the page on top.

“I will take your word, that none of these resumes meets the standards you are thinking for the job. Tell me, how did these resumes make it to your desk?”

“Oh, we have a good process to weed out the bad ones,” Byron replied. “By the time they get to me, I should only see the top three or four candidates. But none of these people are qualified.”

“Do you think some overqualified people got cut from the stack?” I asked.

“Oh, sure, our people know what we are paying for the job and they can spot someone who is overqualified as easily as those who are under qualified.”

“And who is involved in this process?”

Byron’s head turned to the side and his eyes went up to the far wall behind me. “Well, the hiring manager.”

“So, the hiring manager directly receives the emails from your job posting?”

“Well, no,” Byron backpedaled. “I don’t want to burden him with looking at all the resumes, so we have them sent to a generic email box. Irene is our receptionist, and she opens the emails and prints out the resumes.”

“And she delivers all of them to the hiring manager?”

“Well, no, she, well, first she sorts them, so they are organized. She puts all of the ones from out-of-town in one stack and all the local ones in another stack. I think she also checks to make sure they have two years experience. I don’t want the hiring manager wasting his time.”

“And then she delivers them to the hiring manager?” I asked, trying to get the details of the sequence.

“Well, not exactly,” Byron continued. “Irene then gives them to one of the supervisors to cull over. I really don’t want the hiring manager wasting his time on unqualified resumes.”

“I see,” I nodded. “I think I am getting the picture.” -TF

Sixty Questions

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I am preparing for an interview for a Stratum III position, 12-18 months Time Span. I understand the Time Span interview process from your workshop. It will help identify the Time Span capability of the candidate. But, how do we know the candidate was successful in the previous job?

Response:

Indeed. This past Wednesday, I talked about the Four Elements of Success. Not only do you have to interview for Time Span, you also have to interview for the three other elements.

I recommend a behavioral interview approach, always focused on past behavior. Here is a list of starter questions.

In (Area #1) what goals were established?
What were the tasks and activities that supported those goals?
What resources did you have available to support those goals?
How did you develop those resources to support those goals?
How often did you review progress toward those goals?
What were the results during the past 12 months toward the achievement of those goals?

In the interview, depending on the Stratum of the position, I recommend approximately 60 prepared questions during a 90 minute interview. For each prepared question, I usually ask two drill down questions for a total of 180 questions.

That typically gives me a pretty good idea of success. -TF

Predictive for Failure

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I have been following the past few days where you have been talking about Time Span. Yesterday, you talked about the four elements of success. I am interested in the last element. The one, where you talk about negative temperament. What is that?

Response:

We have all known people with a specific negative temperament. It is not something observable all the time, but it is there and almost predictable in its display. In his book Executive Leadership, Elliott Jaques describes those personality traits that might have significant impact in disabling a manager from being effective. Here is how the list begins: “obsessive, joyless, hopeless, heartless, frigid, frenzied, destructive, anti-social, gluttonous, bigoted, paranoid, dishonest.”

So, while Jaques endorses no personality profile for success (because there is an unlimited variety of successful profiles), it is these negative personality traits that are most predictive for failure in the role of a manager. -TF

Four Elements of Success

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
Yesterday, you talked about evaluating capability using Time Span. Just because someone has the capability, does that ensure success in the role?

Response:
Capability is one of four elements necessary for success in the role. This methodology is rooted in the research of Elliott Jaques and documented in several books (like Requisite Organization). I start my evaluation with capability, because if the person is not capable (measured by Time Span), then the other elements are moot.

The second element is the necessary skill or experience. This element may be enhanced by training, coaching and experience.

The third element is commitment. Commitment may naturally occur through interest or passion for the work, but may artificially be stimulated by an external circumstance. Understand that artificial commitment is usually not sustainable over the long haul.

The fourth element is related to behavior, but arrives through what Jaques describes as negative temperament. A psychologist might call it dysfunctional behavior. While there are many positive behaviors that might contribute to success in a role, Jaques was concerned about the negative behaviors that would prevent success.

It should be noted, that there are many assessment tools in the marketplace looking for the “perfect profile” of positive behaviors. Jaques describes these assessments as “parlor games,” indicating suspect correlations with success, most no better than 60 percent.

Jaques concern centered on the occasional negative behavior, which most certainly prevents success in a role. This, he says, does not require the use of a behavioral assessment. The negative behavior sticks out like a sore thumb and everyone knows it. -TF

Just Right

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“So, how do we measure Hector?” Eduardo asked. “I’m all ears. I understand how to measure the Time Span of the tasks that Hector is responsible for. And, the longest task is three months. But, how do we measure Hector?”

“It is really very simple. You now know the Time Span of the longest task in the role that Hector plays. Here is the question.

“Does Hector, in your judgment as his manager, have the capability to perform the tasks in his role as freight supervisor? Or does he have the capability to perform tasks with a longer Time Span, or does he fall short in his capability to perform those tasks?

“It’s like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Is the porridge too hot? Too cold? Or is it just right?”

Eduardo squinted, “That’s it? Too hot, too cold or just right?”

I nodded, “Which is it?”

“Well, Hector does most of the job okay, but when it comes to the more complicated stuff, he falls short.”

“So, to recap your judgment, as his manager, Hector falls short?” I repeated.

“But, I knew that already,” Eduardo complained.

“Yes, you did, but you did not have a way to measure what you already knew. Now, you know that Hector falls short in capability at three months. If you define the Time Span of the shorter tasks he completes, you will have a very precise measure of his capability.”

Eduardo was quiet, then spoke. “Hector handles the one month stuff well. But falls short on the three month stuff. Hector’s Time Span is on the up side of one month, but the short side of three months.”

“So, now, is the question. How is this helpful to you as his manager?” -TF

The Gearing Process

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“Where do we start?” Eduardo asked.

“Where do you think we should start?” I replied. We were trying to determine whether Hector was big enough to handle his current job.

“We are trying to measure his capability. That’s the goal of this session,” Eduardo established.

“Yes, so what Unit of Measure have we talked about when it comes to defining the tasks involved in his job?”

“Well, we have talked about Time Span,” he said.

“And, what was the measure of the longest task in Hector’s job?”

“We said, one month. Hector is in charge of shipping, but it’s more than just getting freight out the door. He is responsible for proper crating, working with vendors to select the proper crating materials, collecting information about product damage in transit. It is really a big job. Some of the problems that have to be solved involve testing in-house, you know, crash testing and then field testing.

“I don’t think one month is accurate. I think, to be successful, the longest task is three months. It takes that long to solve some of our material damage issues in that department,” Eduardo concluded.

“Okay, three months is the longest task required. To be successful running the shipping area requires the ability to work three months into the future, without direction, using his own discretionary judgment?”

Eduardo nodded, “Yes, I need Hector to carry the ball to whole way. I may check up on him more frequently to see if he still has the ball, but I need him to supervise the resolution to some of these issues without me. If I really have to get involved, then Hector is not doing the necessary work.”

“So, success in the job requires a Time Span of three months?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“That is Step One. Firmly establishing the Time Span of the longest task, establishing the required Time Span for the role.

“Are you ready for Step Two? The next part is to measure Hector.” -TF

Measuring Capability

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“And what about Hector?” I asked.

The look on Eduardo’s face was unmistakable. He was not happy with Hector. In the two minutes that Eduardo had been talking about Hector’s job performance, I could tell he was disappointed.

“You are right,” he said. “Just because we are better able to define Hector’s job by using Time Span, doesn’t mean that Hector has the capability to do it.”

“Do you think it is a matter of capability?”

“I don’t know,” Eduardo replied.

“How can we measure Eduardo’s capability?” I pressed.

“Measure? What do you mean? I hardly think an IQ test is going to help us.”

“You are right,” I responded. “An IQ test is a lousy predictor of whether Hector has the capability, whether he is big enough for the job. So how can we measure, if he is big enough for the job?”

“Well, the only way our company decides that, is this math test you take when you apply for a job here. It takes a couple of minutes and you get a score, but I don’t know if that’s it.”

“Eduardo, what if I told you that your scores are no better than Hector’s scores? Would you look for a different way to measure capability?”

Eduardo’s eyes perked up.

“Meet me here on Monday, and we will look at an entirely different way to measure capability.” -TF

The True Scope

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“So, it helps to understand Julie’s job,” I observed. Eduardo and I had been talking about how attaching Time Span to each task in a job, helped to understand the scope of the job.

An epiphany was occurring inside Eduardo’s head. “Yeah, think about freight,” he started. “Hector is our freight supervisor, and his area is a mess.”

“How so?”

“Well, he usually gets all the day’s shipments out. It’s a big job, because we have to carefully crate everything. That’s part of the problem, often our crates don’t hold up and our product gets damaged in transit. We have close to ten freight claims going at any one time.

“Hector thinks he is responsible for one day’s work each day, when the Time Span required is much longer. He should also be responsible for investigating and resolving all of these freight claims, figuring out which of our crate components failed, and making changes to the process to reduce transit damage. He needs to work with our vendors to buy different crate components that do a better job. All of that seems to get lost in the shuffle, but it is really Hector’s responsibility. Instead of a one-day Time Span, his job is more like a one-month Time Span. He has some serious follow-up to do.

“It is only when I describe the job’s Time Span as one month that I begin to see the true scope of the job.”