Think back to any bad job you’ve ever had. Was it because of a bad manager? If your answer is yes, it probably won’t surprise you to hear that 82%* of businesses fail to hire a manager they can count on.
That’s no good because if you think about all that managers do, you’ll realize how important they are to the success of any business: They handle day-to-day operations, develop company culture, work closely with customers, and hire, train, and coach employees. So if your manager isn’t up to par, they have the potential to disrupt your small business operations in a big way.
But it can be hard to tell the difference between a great interviewee and someone who’s real manager material.
So, how do you hire a manager who will help you meet your business objectives and be a great leader to your employees? And how do you suss out the good apples from the bad? In this article, we’ll explore four ideal manager qualities to look out for, plus provide some common interview questions to help you find an ideal hire.
Hiring experienced and talented managers is crucial for the success of any business. Managers are responsible for leading teams, overseeing operations, and making important strategic decisions. Having the right managers in place can help drive productivity, innovation, and growth. On the other hand, ineffective managers can hamper progress and drain morale. That’s why it’s so important to hire managers wisely.
Here are some tips on how to recruit and hire excellent managers for your company
Define the Managerial Role
First, take time to clearly define the managerial position you need to fill. Consider the department the manager will oversee, the number of employees they’ll manage, the responsibilities and duties involved, and the skills and experience required. Outline the must-have qualifications such as years of management experience, leadership abilities, communication skills, problem-solving skills, relevant education and certifications, etc. Being clear on the role will help you assess candidates effectively.
Look Internally First
Check if you already have someone on staff who would be a good fit for the manager role. Promoting from within has many advantages – it boosts employee morale, retains institutional knowledge, and is cost-effective. Identify star employees who show management potential and discuss the opportunity with them. However, don’t promote someone who isn’t fully qualified just to fill the role.
Post on Relevant Job Boards
Advertise the manager job opening both on general job sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor as well as industry-specific boards. Targeting niche job boards can help attract qualified candidates. Make sure your job listing is comprehensive, highlighting duties, requirements, salary range, and company culture
Leverage Employee Referrals
Encourage your staff to refer qualified candidates from their networks. Employees often know talented professionals who would thrive in your company. Offer referral bonuses to motivate employees. Referrals tend to yield strong applicants as your staff only recommends people they believe will perform well.
Partner with Recruiters
Retain executive recruiters or staffing agencies that specialize in placing managers and executives. Experienced recruiters have vast networks and resources to find qualified candidates. Be clear on the must-have qualifications so they don’t waste your time with poor matches.
Interview Extensively
Conduct panel interviews, working with department heads and team members. Gather insights from multiple staff members who will work with the manager. Assess critical thinking, conflict management, leadership, communication skills etc. thoughtfully. Consider doing case study interviews to evaluate problem-solving abilities.
Check References Thoroughly
Have lengthy discussions with the candidate’s former managers, direct reports, and colleagues. Probe into their work ethic, strengths, weaknesses, leadership style, interpersonal abilities, and reasons for leaving. Fake references are becoming common, so verify identities carefully.
Review Portfolios
Ask candidates to present a portfolio displaying their achievements. For example, a product manager could present sample products they’ve developed and launched. This provides tangible proof of their abilities.
Make an Offer Promptly
Once you decide on the best candidate, make an offer right away. Highly sought-after managers get multiple offers. Convey enthusiasm and share details on compensation, benefits, start date, etc. Avoid delays.
Onboard Strategically
Have a robust onboarding program to integrate new managers seamlessly. Introduce them to the team and company culture. Outline their roles, responsibilities, and goals clearly. Offer training and support to ramp them up for success. Check in regularly during the initial months.
Key Takeaway: Devise a comprehensive recruitment strategy leveraging job boards, employee referrals and recruiters. Be selective during the interview process, thoroughly checking references and portfolios. Onboard new managers effectively so they can quickly achieve full productivity. Investing time upfront to hire and recruit exceptional managers will pay off tremendously in the long run.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Managers
While hiring managers is vital for business success, many organizations make missteps during the recruitment process. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
- Hiring too quickly without proper vetting
- Neglecting to check references thoroughly
- Assuming the candidate with the most experience will be the best fit
- Not properly defining the managerial role and requirements
- Failing to assess leadership abilities and emotional intelligence
- Hiring for culture fit over skills fit
- Not including team members in the interview process
- Promoting top performers into manager roles they aren’t suited for
- Insufficient onboarding and training post-hiring
Avoid these pitfalls to ensure you select and onboard managers meticulously. Rushing the process or hiring the wrong fit can lead to high turnover, low productivity, and financial loss.
Tips for Assessing Management Candidates
The interview and selection process is key to identifying managers who will excel in your organization. Here are some tips:
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Ask about their management style – Do they lean more towards directing vs. coaching? What approaches have worked well in the past? Look for self-awareness.
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Discuss conflict resolution – How do they handle disputes between team members or address underperformers? Look for maturity and people skills.
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Review past team results – Probe into measurable accomplishments like productivity gains, cost reductions, sales increases etc. achieved by their team.
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Ask situational questions – Present real on-the-job scenarios and ask how they would handle them. Assess analytical skills.
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Do panel interviews – Gather multiple perspectives to gain a well-rounded view of the candidate.
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Require a presentation – Ask them to present on a relevant topic to evaluate communication abilities.
Using these tips when interviewing can help you pick managers who are not just experienced but are also a great culture add for your company.
Developing Existing Managers
For businesses looking to promote from within, it’s wise to develop managers early on through training, mentorship, and leadership opportunities. Here are some pointers:
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Provide management training – Offer courses, workshops, and online classes to build leadership skills. Training in areas like conflict resolution, performance management, interviewing skills, communication, and coaching is invaluable.
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Start small – Allow promising employees to lead small projects, head committees, mentor new hires, cross-train in other departments, and run team meetings. These opportunities let them showcase management abilities.
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Assign a mentor – Pair up-and-coming managers with an experienced mentor they can learn from. Mentors can advise them on leadership styles, decision-making, relationships, career growth and work-life balance.
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Allow contact with executives – Exposure to company executives through meetings, presentations, and event participation helps broaden perspectives.
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Give feedback – Provide regular constructive feedback so emerging managers can continue honing their skills.
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Offer ongoing education – Support participation in leadership development programs, seminars, conferences and networking groups to continue progress.
Making such investments in current staff to groom the next generation of managers will pay off tremendously down the road. The company benefits from smooth succession and lower turnover.
Signs It’s Time to Hire an Experienced Manager
While developing internal talent is ideal, sometimes it becomes necessary to hire an experienced manager from outside the organization. Here are some signs it may be time to recruit an external candidate:
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Poor performance – The department is struggling with missed goals, quality issues, low productivity, high costs etc.
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High turnover – There’s low morale with employees constantly quitting. An experienced outsider could rebuild culture.
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Need for innovation – The department needs a fresh perspective from someone with broad experience and new approaches.
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Rapid growth – Expansion has outpaced internal resources making external talent essential.
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Lack of internal candidates – No one on staff is sufficiently prepared to take on a manager role currently.
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Need for specialized skills – The role requires niche skills not possessed by existing employees like cybersecurity expertise.
Pay attention to these signals that your company would benefit from the hiring of a proven manager from the outside. Prioritize recruiting to obtain the leadership abilities required to steer the department or organization to the next level. The infusion of new energy and expertise can catalyze progress.
**Key Takeaway:**Foster emerging managers within the company through training, mentorship and leadership opportunities. But be strategic about when recruiting externally is better for the organization’s needs. Leverage experienced managers to drive innovation, improve performance, or obtain specialized skills when required.
Qualities of Exceptional Managers
When recruiting managers, it’s important to understand the qualities that make a truly outstanding manager. Here are some top traits and abilities to look for:
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Strategic thinking – Strong analytical skills to develop plans, solve problems and drive growth
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Emotional intelligence – Self-awareness, empathy, ability to connect with reports
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Communication – Clear, compassionate, honest, and transparent communicator
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Coaching – Develops people through mentoring, training, and constructive feedback
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Agility – Adapts easily to change and enables team to be nimble
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Technically proficient – Possesses solid knowledge of industry, systems, and tools
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Project management – Can coordinate complex projects efficiently to meet targets
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Decision-making – Makes timely decisions using data,
Excellent communication skills
It can’t be overstated: Managers need outstanding communication skills. The fact is, they interact with employees, customers, and vendors the most out of anyone. They make sure everyone’s informed about and aligned on what needs to get done from day to day. They listen to employee feedback and coach them through their challenges, as well as communicate the overall business vision and expectations to team members.
So, how can you find candidates who have excellent communication skills that are up to your high standards? Here are a few questions you can ask:
- How do you communicate with employees at the start of each work day?
- How would you handle a customer who said your employee overcharged them?
- How would you coach an employee who’s having a tough day at work?
- How would you describe our brand to a new employee?
- How would you describe our business mission?
And once you find that perfect candidate, here’s how you can set them up for successful communication:
- Create a manager-specific onboarding handbook: You can send new managers their onboarding paperwork alongside their job offers. Ask them to familiarize themselves with all the documents so you can review them together and answer any questions on their first day.
- Set up regular 1:1 meetings and check-ins: Your manager needs a manager, too. They’ll need someone they can voice their concerns to, discuss business goals with, and receive assessments and casual feedback from. Sometimes managers have these kinds of relationships with owners, while other times there are several different managerial-level staff members that can work together.
- Use a team communication app: A free app like Homebase team communication lets managers message employees, remind them when their shifts are about to start, and even track their performance. And they can do it all from their mobile phones.
An ideal manager should be quick on their feet when problems arise and have a proven track record of solving issues in their previous roles. But how can you make sure a candidate has problem-solving skills in the interview process? Don’t you need to see them in action to find out?
No, all you need is behavioral interview questions, which you can ask to find out how a candidate responds or has responded in specific workplace scenarios. Here are some examples you can use to inspire your own behavioral interview questions:
- Tell me about a time when you motivated other team members at work. What was your strategy?
- Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake at work. How did you handle it at the time, and how did you resolve the issue in the long term?
- What’s one thing you’d do to make new employees feel welcome?
- Tell me about a time when you had several things to do at once. How did you organize or prioritize them?
Change is a constant in the small business world. Sometimes you’ll experiment with a new process only to find out that it wasn’t worth your time. Or you’ll try out new products and services that don’t get the customer traction you thought they would. And even if you have a strong company culture, it’s not uncommon to have employee turnover issues in certain industries like food service or retail.
That’s why managerial flexibility is key, especially if your small business is growing fast. So, what does a manager with great flexibility and adaptability look like?
- The ability to wear a lot of different hats: Good managers have to be okay with the fact that their workdays won’t be predictable. They should enjoy facing a range of different challenges and get excited about working in a dynamic environment where they can learn lots of new skills.
- Industry changes: Does your candidate understand that they’ll be expected to keep up with industry trends and shifts? For example, technology and software solutions for your point of sale (POS) or inventory management systems may change from year to year. A good manager should be aware of that fact and be ready to adapt to new ways of working when necessary.
- Business changes: As your business grows, will your manager be able to rise to the challenge of managing a larger team? And how will they deal with an expanding customer base?
- Operational changes: When it comes to policies and procedures, every business needs to go through the growing pains of trial and error. What works during your first year in business probably won’t work in the second or third year. With that in mind, reflect on whether your managerial candidate is open to updating processes and trying new, more efficient ways of doing things.
How do you spot a bad manager?
You can spot a bad manager by looking out for some of these typical “red flag” traits during the interview process:
- They’re unprepared for the interview and haven’t taken the time to think of any scenarios from their past work experience that demonstrate their managerial qualities.
- They don’t take feedback or suggestions well. If your candidate can’t think of a specific example of feedback they’ve received or behave like they’ve never gotten constructive criticism, they’re displaying ego and inflated confidence rather than humility and honesty.
- They haven’t thought about their career goals. If your applicant hasn’t put any time into thinking about their own goals, how do you know how they’ll progress within your business? And how will they help their direct reports set their own professional objectives?
- They display micromanaging behavior or mention that they have a hard time delegating tasks and letting employees work autonomously.
- They don’t ask you any questions about the position and don’t seem interested in learning about what makes your business unique.
How to master recruiting | Mads Faurholt-Jorgensen | TEDxWarwick
How do you hire a hiring manager?
When hiring and recruiting managers, follow these steps: 1. Gather information on the role As a hiring manager, you may determine the description, qualifications and scope of managerial roles within your organizations. Consider the specific business needs the new manager can address.
Do you need a recruitment strategy?
Every company wants to have the best talent on its payroll. To effectively accomplish this, you need a recruitment strategy that helps you identify, hire and retain people. Of course, there is more than one way to recruit talent. In this article, we dive into the most effective recruitment strategies used in today’s market.
Why do hiring managers use recruiting software?
Hiring managers use recruiting software as an integral part of the recruiting process but also use it to manage new hires. Once given an offer, great recruiting software automates onboarding with the right forms and videos to help get the latest recruit in the system and comply with the rules.
What role do hiring managers play in recruiting & onboarding effective leaders?
When recruiting and onboarding effective leaders, hiring managers play an important role within their organizations. There are several managerial roles that may require specific recruiting and hiring processes. Learning how to conduct such recruiting and hiring processes may help you find managers who are a great fit for your organization.
