Mitch Balzer: Comparison Shopping has No Place in Your Hiring Process!

Not making a decision quickly is one of the biggest mistakes a hiring manager makes. Often the fear of making the wrong hiring decision leaves people in limbo and ultimately turns them off from working at your company.…....Wanting to see a “comparison candidate” is a clear indicator of a broken interview process!

Today’s Quote:

"Passion provides purpose, but data drives decisions."  - Andy Dunn - CEO of Bonobos

Guest Bio:

Mitch Balzer is the Co-Founder & Executive Vice President of Agema Technology Inc, an Orange County based Professional Services focusing on enterprise business systems like Oracle and SAP, Virtualization, and IT Security.  Since starting Agema in 2012 he has overseen many of the Fortune 500 clients in the Information Technology, Government, Insurance, Finance, Utilities and Oil & Gas industries ultimately delivering a 77th ranking on the Inc. 500.  Prior to Agema, Mitch started his career with a national, publicly-traded technical services firm rising quickly through the ranks.  In 2002 he helped start another staffing company driving revenue and delivering a top 100 Inc. 500 ranking before departing to cofound Agema.  Mitch Balzer and Agema also hold a Secret Clearance.

Show Highlights:

• The Comparison Syndrome
• Why this is detrimental to your business
• How to structure your process to avoid this costly mistake

Problem:

Why is this important? FEAR

• Fear of a bad hire for a mid-level manager.
• Want to see another resume, comparison candidate
• **Making a decision on the hire - biggest mistake a hiring manager makes!
• Setting expectations- pre-commitment, you trial close a candidate (at least you should be) when you have them interview by asking will you take this job if offered? You need to do the same with the hiring managers, if a great candidate that fits X, Y, and Z comes in tomorrow can you offer them the job right away?
• Ham & Egg - one good resume with one the recruiter knows isn’t a great fit
• Resources

Why this is Bad for your business?

• Ramifications of waiting – time kills all hires
• Outcome - sent lesser people
• Prioritization of the roles – your openings will be a much lower priority whether its an external or internal recruiter

Rick’s Input

• Stalling the process kills Momentum, Interest & Engagement
• Result of poor planning
  • Defining “WHO” is needed  
• The reason you are unsure is due to the poor interview techniques/process
  • Gathering the right EVIDENCE in the interview

Solutions:

 How to Structure for a decision

• Who has the ultimate authority to make the decision?
  • Disconnect in communication and should be involved in the process
• Clearly defined process. Get commitment to timelines on resume review, interview scheduling/process, and feedback and final decisions on a candidate.
• Feedback channel (ghosting)
• Pulling the trigger!  Close, Close, Close

Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die -Tom Delaney… you all want the best candidate but you can’t be afraid of making a decision.

• If you are not sure… try contract to hire or hourly w2 consultants
• Don’t treat people like everyone else. Keep it tailored to the individual
  • As a recruiter or service provider ask your clients what turns you off and then make sure you don’t’ do that?
  • Also, make sure you know how you can provide the most value to them.

Rick’s Input

• Mindset:
  • Approach each person with Intention to Hire
  • Only Choice
  • Easier to say Yes than No
  • Plan & Know what you need
  • Structure the interview to surface:
    • Cultural / Values alignment
    • Evidence of transferable accomplishments/impact
    • Skills
  • Behavioral interview structure to make a data-driven decision
• Communicate: pace, timing & what happens next
• Unsure?... follow up call to address the issue (next day)

Key Takeaways

• The harsh reality is that all sales/hiring processes have a cadence.  If you have properly qualified your target, and then stay within that cadence, there is a reasonable chance you’ll get to “yes.”  But if not, you are almost certainly going to, eventually, get to “no.”