Did You Hire the Right Manager?

You just hired a new manager who has great experience and an excellent track record.  When you made the offer you thought you made the right decision.  Now, afterwards, you begin to question your decision. 
A recent Gallup Business Journal article states that 82% of the time, companies make the wrong decision when hiring a manager.  That’s a lot of bad decisions which affect production and profitability.

So how do you determine if someone is the right manager?  You can always hire outside of the company and look for someone who has an established track record.  However, the article mentions that even this does not always guarantee the best hire.

Gallup Business Journal notes five key abilities and skills to look for in a manager.

• Ability to motivate employees
• Ability to be assertive and drive the right end results
• Ability to hold the team accountable
• Ability to form trustworthy and solid relationships with their team
• Ability to form decisions geared towards production

This is an excellent place to start when assessing talent and Gallup Business Journal also points out that your next great manager could be right in front of you.

Is there someone on the team already who has demonstrated these abilities and skills through their performance?  You could assess this particular person by looking at times when they may have been in a lead role or in charge of a small team or project.

A benefit to promoting from within is the fact that the employee is already familiar with your business and company processes.

If you feel you may have found your next great manager in a current employee, make sure that you understand the employee’s desires and wishes.  Believe it or not, all employees do not dream of making management status some day.

After discussions with the employee, if it still seems like a good fit, take it a step further and have them complete a PEAC, DISC, or other similar type of assessment in order to identify strong and weak points.

Are there skills that the employee could improve through training?  It may be well worth your time to invest in the employee by considering management training programs in order to build and expand on the foundation of management skills they already posses.

Furthermore, the Gallup Business Journal article states that “Bad managers cost businesses billions of dollars each year, and having too many of them can bring down a company.”

With this in mind, it only makes sense to not only hire for skill, but to also invest in your new managers by ensuring they have the training in order to be the great manager that you need.

What are some ways that you ensure you are hiring the right managers?  Please share your comments and tips below.

Image: Santiago Cornejo/Bigstock.com