Are You Missing a Rich Resource for Your Business?
Seniors Are a Hidden Resource
Are you missing out on a hidden resource? Do you hire a replacement manager only to have them repeat mistakes from the past? New Concept: Hiring Interim Managers gives a company time to reassess the position and determine which skills are needed to fulfill the Corporate Vision & Mission with current data.
It was 1981 and I was ahead of my time. My first business was as an Interim Admin person for corporations and associations. I was an Interceptor, an Admin-on-Call and a Re-organizer. In short, I took a vacated position, analyzed and re-purposed it and helped them hire a replacement. I loved my career! It was exciting. I used all my analytical and admin skills which afforded me the opportunity to learn a variety of businesses from the inside. In my speaking career that knowledge has served my audiences well.
Here’s how it worked:
- Company fired or lost Office Manager, Director, Admin Leader
- Before Hiring a New Manager, Company hired me for 3-6 months
- While re-organizing things based upon Company’s updated Vision and Mission, I learned the position
- Eliminating duplicate work and unnecessary jobs, I was able to identify new positions and activities necessary to meet updated objectives of the company
- Working with the team we wrote Desk Manuals, new Job Descriptions, and a new wish list for the ideal candidate
- Existing team members might be re-purposed or reassigned. We included them in the process to help increase buy-in and excitement
- Next we brought in Search firms to identify candidates for remaining jobs. We interviewed the top 10-15 people sent over
- The CEO/President/Hiring team were prepped on the needs and details of the position being filled
- Final candidates were interviewed and chosen by the appropriate parties
- One or more people were hired and I trained them for the new and improved position
- I then bid them adieu and went on to my next company.
Is your organization headed in the right direction?
Benefits to This System
My client companies benefited from this system in numerous ways. First, any time a person leaves a position, they leave flotsam and jetsam behind. Perhaps they set things up to serve themselves, not the company or the next person in the position. There may have been hidden mistakes, or worse, malfeasance. If they left angry or resentful, they may have poisoned the well if they hired their own replacement.
A new pair of experienced eyes cuts through the nonsense to the most important aspects of the job. Positions held by one person for a long time are subject to Normalcy Bias – “This is just the way it is! It can’t be changed. It’s too hard!” A new person will ask, “Why?” “Why do we do this? What does this mean? Who does this serve? Does this even make sense anymore?”
I looked with fresh eyes at each situation, asking a lot of questions. Together we focused on aligning the position with the Vision and Mission of the organization, ensuring a smoother transition for a new person. We saved companies time, money and energy while reducing painful downtime that comes with transitions.
Look At What Has Changed Before Hiring
When an outsider steps in as Interim Manager, office politics can be reduced. We helped everyone focus on the end game: finding the right person for the position to make the company more successful. Every company in expansion and hiring mode would benefit from a step back. Take time to determine if the position and duties have changed since the last time someone was hired for this job.
Senior executives on the verge of retirement are a precious natural resource
As I reach retirement, I realize my colleagues and I could provide this very service to thousands of organizations across the planet. We senior executives on the verge of retirement are a precious natural resource that companies could/should consider in building your businesses for the future.
Engage seniors for skills and analytical ability. They don’t necessarily need to come from your industry. They could be someone retiring from a competitor or another division as well. While we seniors may not all have the social media and tech skills of our wonderful Millenials, we do have a perspective from 30,000 feet on many aspects of business.
Think about it – #Search Firms, #Job Banks, Corporate #Hiring Personnel, #HR and all those involved in building businesses – reconsider precious natural resources available to you in the form of senior talent. Your Millenials need some grandparents and mentors. We seniors don’t want 60-hour a week jobs. We can be your interim analyst who saves you time, money and energy going forward. We can provide much needed guidance and mentoring to the younger crowd poised to take over the world. Take advantage of it!
To Your Success!
All Rights Reserved. ©2017 Beth Terry, CSP
