Hiring the heavy hitters

You’ve put years of blood, sweat, and tears into growing your business. You’ve taken it from a thought, through development and are now standing at the precipice of greatness. There may be nothing standing in your way to achieving long-term success; however, there may be something missing. Perhaps it’s time to add firepower.

Steven Cohen, principal at GreenMark Consulting Group of Richmond, Va., says knowing when to hire your first key executive is no easier than growing the company.

“Determining the ideal time to hire a person with executive-level experience usually occurs when the owner of the business has realized that his or her experience level no longer meets the current needs of the business or when he or she realizes their time is better suited to working on the business – versus in the business – running the day-to-day operations,” Cohen says. “Today, with operations being such an integral part of a company’s success, business owners usually see hiring an operations executive as one of the first key hires. Many times, this key hire is brought in from outside of the company, mostly for the reason the level of talent does not currently reside in the company.”

“Many companies are [operating] under a self-performing model or under a managed-service model or maybe even a combination of both,” Cohen says. “Technology has become an integral part of managing our business models, and customers are continually becoming more demanding with their needs.

George Hedley is a licensed professional business coach with Hardhat Presentations and best-selling author of “Get Your Business To Work!” He says it takes a strong manager to generate sales and another to manage the operations. By not hiring executive-level talent, the company risks staying stuck in the same position. The advantage gained from an outsider with high-level business acumen is clear.

“Experienced managers already have the training on how to get things done,” Hedley says. “They also bring their systems and strategies with them. Plus, you can delegate with little effort, allowing the business to do twice as much revenue and profit.”
 

The search

Adding an executive sounds like a good idea, but where do you begin the search? You can start within the industry, according to Hedley, as suppliers are often plugged in.

“You must also advertise on websites like www.indeed.com that blast out openings to all of the job-opening sites,” Hedley says. “Hiring great people takes time and effort. Be prepared to plow through lots of resumes to find the one who is perfect for your company. Start with phone interviews with the best applicants to weed out the obvious bad fits. Then do face-to-face interviews before you hire. Then hire the right person on a 90-day trial to make sure they are the right one.”

Suzanne Evans, a New York Times best-selling author and owner/founder of Suzanne Evans Coaching, which helps businesses and entrepreneurs grow their teams and revenues, agrees with the importance of referrals and the Internet, but keys on a visual angle.

“I suggest looking through a video search as that should show the consultant in action, as well as possible clients discussing their work with the consultant,” Evans says. “Always ask for references and call to ask specific questions.”

Evans believes a company’s own success can exceed its ability to grow operations based on an internal experience level of knowledge. At that point, an owner may need additional mentoring or consulting to allow the company to catch up with its own growth.

Also a proponent of networking, Cohen points to another reason to know your competition — talent acquisition.

“Employee poaching is becoming more commonplace and is nothing more than one company looking at another company’s talent and luring that person away with a promise of a greater opportunity,” Cohen says. “
 

Cost and ROI

Evans says the cost of bringing in an executive-level position can range from a few thousand dollars to consult on and help solve a quick problem, to several hundred thousand, adding, “you get what you pay for.”

As for the return on investment: “You want to have a specific understanding of your problem and the desired outcome,” she says. “Together, with a coach or a consultant, you then want to determine a timeframe and measurable outcomes. ROI looks different for each situation, but having a plan, a measuring meter, and a guide should happen for each situation.”

She also believes business owners can rarely see what they are already looking at from new vantage points, which, then, hinders growth.

“Outside eyes allow you to see three things: an unemotional perspective; what you might not want to see; and insights from other businesses that you might not have insider access to,” Evans says.

If you’re wondering how much adding this position is going to cost, you’re asking the wrong question, says Hedley.

“How much is it going to cost you if you don’t hire a pro to help your company grow?” he asks. “The longer you try to do it all yourself, the longer your business stays stuck. To hire a pro costs whatever the market dictates to attract and keep the best people available.”

Spend more to make more

ROI is a simple equation, according to Hedley.

“The more you spend, the more you will make. Better talent is better than cheap talent,” he says, offering an actual equation. “Add the additional cost of the manager to your annual overhead cost and divide by your gross profit to determine the additional sales you will need to make your overhead and profit goal with the added overhead costs.”

Broadly speaking, Cohen points to accountability and the ability to deliver as the best ways to measure ROI, as well as looking at an array of financial metrics such as profitability, customer satisfaction and customer retention.

“For me, a key executive’s value comes in how much money they either make the company or save the company,” Cohen continues. “In the position of operations, this is paramount. His or her ability to harness human capital to perform at its peak in meeting operational metrics is imperative at all times.

“You also need to factor in some other costs and savings, which are a bit harder to quantify,” Cohen cautions. In addition to time and cost savings, customer satisfaction, retention and market growth, the operations executive also plays a key role in helping improve the other areas of a business.”

While those intangibles are difficult to quantify, they will impact your bottom line.

Rob Thomas is a Cleveland-based writer.