What began as a chief operating officer (COO) search for a $20 million healthcare services company ended with some unexpected results: A new senior project manager, a waiting-in-the-wings COO and a profound new understanding of how to hire the right people. This case study illustrates the importance of thinking about your company’s long-term needs.

Executive recruiter Mark S. James, CPC, of Hire Consulting Services LLC, was the catalyst for this new strategy that allowed the company to meet both its current and future talent needs. When James began work on recruiting, he asked the company to name the five or six critical success factors for the new COO. “I asked them, as I do all my clients, What does this person need to do to be successful in the next six, 12 and 18 months in order for you to feel you’ve made the right choice?” he says.

Performance profile

James employs the principles detailed by Lou Adler in Hire With Your Head: Using Power Hiring to Build Great Teams. Power hiring is a structured, five-step process that begins with developing a performance profile for the job under consideration, defining just what James asked his client to share with him. “It’s a complete departure from a traditional job description that simply describes duties and scope of responsibility,” says James. “Instead, it requires companies to set measurable goals for each new hire and thus makes it more likely that new employees will be working toward the critical objectives of the company.”

When the hiring managers at James’s client took a hard look at their long-term needs, landing a major contract to provide healthcare services for a large mid-western state quickly emerged as a top priority. James identified several strong COO candidates, including one who had the precise skills needed to lead and direct the bidding process. When he introduced this candidate, the fit was apparent immediately. And as interviews continued, a new solution emerged: Rather than hiring the candidate as its COO, the company proposed bringing him on board as an interim senior project manager to direct the presentation of the state contract bid, to which the candidate was amenable. As a result, the company has a top-notch project leader who is also under consideration for the COO role, although officials have put that search on the backburner till that project is complete.

Testing candidates

“The process forced them to think about their most critical objectives,” says James. “The search for the COO did not have the pressing urgency of the state contract and they liked the concept of ‘test-driving’ the candidate, under fire, to gain more insight into how he fits with the company culture. So it’s a win-win situation.”

James found that using this approach results in better hires because of a clear correlation between organisational goals and measurable outcomes. Hiring authorities find themselves thinking about the role, the organisation, and their immediate and long-term objectives more comprehensively than if they focused solely on filling the position based on a traditional job description ? and they often end up with a better hire.