Recently, a client asked me; “What is the single biggest competitive challenge Quorum Associates faces?” I thought for a moment and then answered, “It is the pervasive negative perception of executive search and the tarnished reputation of the executive search business.”
Candidates tell us they feel treated like commodities and traded for a fee. Line managers frequently comment that search firms rarely have real knowledge about their business, their industry and/or the commercial issues facing their industry or company. What’s more, the person who sells the assignment is often not the person who does the work. Line managers, HR professionals and candidates all perceive a general unwillingness by search consultants, including those from the big firms, to invest the time and energy necessary to really understand the client’s business. As a result, positions are not really as represented and candidates are not as expected. The relationship of trust between clients, candidates and recruiters is damaged.
The feelings of clients and candidates applies to all types of search firms, retained as well as contingent; and all sizes of firms, large brand names and small boutiques. Many of the metrics typically used to evaluate search firms have little bearing on the quality of future service provided. A long list of prior assignments is no guarantee of future performance. Standard selection processes such as beauty parades, preferred provider lists and placement history may be convenient and easy to use, but they are, at best, poor measures of future service quality or assignment success. What should line managers, their HR partners and candidates expect from executive search firms?
The only way to establish trust is for clients and candidates to experience a quality search process. And that requires time, energy and commitment on the part of everyone involved in the process. So how does one identify a quality search process?
A quality search process begins with knowledge about the client and a commitment to client service. This means line managers and HR professionals need to find executive recruiters willing to commit the time and intellectual capital to get to know and understand the client’s business and company. Specifically, they need to find search consultants who will do fresh research on the industry, the manager’s line of business and competitors.
HR professionals should remember that when a recruiter says, “I know the market,” he or she often means, “I know some people in your business.” It does not necessarily mean, “I know and understand your business and the challenges and issues you are facing.” Nor does it mean the consultants are willing and able to obtain the knowledge and understanding required to effectively complete an assignment.
A quality search process requires clarity about what the client really wants and why. In our experience, it takes a number of thoughtful and probing conversations to fully explore the scope of what a client wants from a particular role. This requires both time and effort on the part of the line manager, HR and the search consultant. This is not easy, but it is very important because, to get the search right, you have to get what the client really wants right.
The search consultants must be able to write a document which clearly articulates knowledge of the company, clarity about the position, understanding of the culture of the company and the specific performance expectations of the client. Putting the scope of the role down in writing, allows the line manager and the HR partner to be sure the search firm understands what is needed. It also allows everyone involved in the process to clarify any ambiguity, carefully consider exactly what they expect from a position, and resolve contradictions between the expectations for the role and the specific measures of success. A quality recruiter should be willing and able to do this before the search begins.
HR professionals will know this is done properly when the line manager, as well as everyone else involved in the hiring process, can read the final document and say, “This is exactly what we want and if you bring us someone who fits this document we will hire them.” Potential qualified candidates should react to the document by saying, “I know exactly what they want to do, why they want to do it, what it takes to do the job and how performance will be measured. This document is clear and specific.”
Most clients and candidates experience the process of executive search as bumpy and chaotic, which leaves everyone feeling uncomfortable. Many recruiters stumble from candidate to candidate, working their existing network of contacts or some internal database. When these efforts lead to dead ends, the search grinds to a halt. Both clients and candidates are left to question the value provided by the recruiter.
Quality search consultants understand that a strong search process has structure for the search firm and transparency for the client. It allows the client—both line manager and HR professional—to have timely input, provide valuable guidance, help steer and direct the search, and ensure a successful outcome. It requires a team effort. Any issue, confusion or misunderstanding must quickly surface and be resolved. Lack of commitment and engagement by the client is the best way to ensure poor search results. A well-defined process with clear benchmarks and deliverables at each critical step is the optimal way to keep an assignment on track towards success.
There is a point in a search process where focus shifts from the client to the candidate. Culture and chemistry are why a candidate succeeds in a given position. The candidate with the best cultural fit with the company and ease with the style of management will be most likely to succeed. It is always a mistake to place any candidate, who is not a good fit for the company, the manager and the role. And these concerns are just as important for any candidate.
When it comes to candidates, Quorum is in the business of dreams, aspirations and ambitions. If we can match these dimensions with the strategic and tactical objectives of a client, the results are always powerful. Consequently, our focus is on developing a holistic view of candidates, in terms of their lives, not just their professional interests. We also caution candidates, that if for any reason they hear a little voice telling them that something is not right, to tell us. The process stops until that voice is carefully heard.
Fees are probably the most volatile issue. The rage clients feel is profound. They become angry when they have paid an entire fee upfront only to have the search drag on for months with few quality candidates and sometimes no placement. Quality search consultants get paid as they perform. They believe clients should not pay full fees for assignments that are not completed. Honest and fair dealing is important for both the client and the search consultant.
On the other hand, when the circumstances of a position change, clients must be open with the search consultant and the candidates about the change and the reason for the change. Problems and issues with the role or the company need to be disclosed up front as the assignment begins, not once the candidate joins the firm. Many search consultants feel angry when clients and their HR professionals try to hire candidates presented behind the search firm’s back, attempt to renegotiate fees and/or reinterpret retainer agreements after candidates have been hired.
Quorum believes that clients should be charged for work performed based on agreed objectives and benchmarks. In return, clients and their HR partners have an obligation to work openly, honestly and diligently with their service provider to facilitate the completion of the assignment.
There are many good professional search firms dedicated to quality service and strong client relationships. Clients should be open with these firms, share issues and concerns, allow these firms to help them and, finally, let them demonstrate the level and quality of service they can provide. Quorum wants relationships with its clients. This means we will do what is right and best for our clients, and we hope and expect that our clients will do the same in return.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
www.quorumassociates.com
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Which Key Human Resource Function has the Greatest Influence on Management’s opinion of HR?
If one could list the five major functions of a quality HR department, what would those five functions be and which of those have the greatest impact on management’s opinion of HR?
This question was asked in a number of human resource groups on the professional networking site Linked-In. There were approximately 41 individuals who responded to the question and provided a broad range of thoughtful, intelligent answers. We have available on our website, an article that is a summary of the thoughts and comments provided by human resource professionals and consultants.
The purpose of the article is to make the information available to all and allow additional comment and debate. We welcome your continued comments, thoughts, and insights. This report is an attempt to share the comments and views of respondents to a question posed about key human resource functions and their influence on management’s views of HR. The liveliness of the debate and the range of comments indicate that there are a number of issues that need to be better understood.
As some readers may be aware, Quorum Associates is engaged in a study of human resource professionals. The purpose of the project is to develop a better understanding of the challenges and issues human resource professionals face in today's environment. This project entails a series of short and simple digital surveys conducted by the independent national research firm Action Research Institute. A full and detailed analysis of the results of the first survey has been sent to participants and is available in PDF format to those who join and complete the study.
The responses to the question at the beginning of this article are a helpful check on some of the assumptions Quorum is making in developing the surveys. Furthermore, we are trying to listen to some of the unspoken factors that influence the relationship between management and human resources.
We want to thank everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts, views and experience—and encourage continuation of this discussion. We invite all human resource professionals to participate in our study.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
This question was asked in a number of human resource groups on the professional networking site Linked-In. There were approximately 41 individuals who responded to the question and provided a broad range of thoughtful, intelligent answers. We have available on our website, an article that is a summary of the thoughts and comments provided by human resource professionals and consultants.
The purpose of the article is to make the information available to all and allow additional comment and debate. We welcome your continued comments, thoughts, and insights. This report is an attempt to share the comments and views of respondents to a question posed about key human resource functions and their influence on management’s views of HR. The liveliness of the debate and the range of comments indicate that there are a number of issues that need to be better understood.
As some readers may be aware, Quorum Associates is engaged in a study of human resource professionals. The purpose of the project is to develop a better understanding of the challenges and issues human resource professionals face in today's environment. This project entails a series of short and simple digital surveys conducted by the independent national research firm Action Research Institute. A full and detailed analysis of the results of the first survey has been sent to participants and is available in PDF format to those who join and complete the study.
The responses to the question at the beginning of this article are a helpful check on some of the assumptions Quorum is making in developing the surveys. Furthermore, we are trying to listen to some of the unspoken factors that influence the relationship between management and human resources.
We want to thank everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts, views and experience—and encourage continuation of this discussion. We invite all human resource professionals to participate in our study.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Driving Performance through Clear Measures of Success – How to Get Rid of Annual Employee Evaluations
Chris Scott, owner of Infinity Performance Solutions recently said “Managers and employees actually cite performance appraisals or annual reviews as one of their most disliked tasks because too often they are not done well.” Scott lists a number of reasons why employee evaluations do not work. In his view, evaluations are often a one-time event. Consequently, they try to do too much by covering too broad a range of topics and issues. They become an excuse for not having conversations throughout the year. They tend to be overly formal. So in turn, no one says what he or she really thinks. Since they cover so much, they take too much time. Lastly, they can be enablers for bad managers who do not engage with staff throughout the year. Mr. Scott is right in his assessment. Clients, candidates and human resource professionals groan as they head into annual evaluation season; they cannot wait for it to be over. Since everyone hates it so much, why do it?
Why are evaluations of any kind important? Because they give everyone the chance to learn, grow and improve performance. Perhaps, the process is turned around. Instead of doing the evaluation at the end, do it at the beginning. And instead of discussing past performance, discuss future measures of success. Here are some ideas about how to do that.
First, what do you really want people to do? This is not a trivial question. Most managers have difficulty answering this question. So let’s rephrase it: “If at the end of the year I were to ask you how team member “A” performed, and you answered that she was the best member of the team because she completed and accomplished “blah, blah, blah,” what would “blah, blah, blah be?” There are a couple of key words here: “completed” and “accomplished.” This means that the manager’s appraisal is based on concrete and specific tasks that were competed and accomplished. It also specifically implies that the manager and the team member understood what needed to be completed and accomplished at the beginning of the year.
The most valuable information any manager can give a team member is specific information about what needs to be accomplished, why it is important to the organization and what constitutes work “completed.” In addition, timelines for delivery are also important. Managers should be able to define and prioritize each task in terms of when they should be reasonably completed. If there are nine key tasks to be accomplished during the year, perhaps two should be completed in the first three months, three in the next three months, three in the three months following that and one more in the last three months of the year. This is not a one-sided conversation from manager to team member. It is a two-way conversation that ends in consensus and explicit agreement. I would never accept an evaluation of my performance that was based on measures of success that I did not understand or agree to. However, once mutual consensus and explicit agreement is reached, it is a different story. I understand what is expected and have agreed to deliver.
Clear measures of success, with time frames for delivery, provide a second important component of team member development. As the work continues, there are multiple opportunities to check on progress, discuss challenges and opportunities and review what has been achieved to date for quality and completeness. It also permits discussion around skill development, both technical and interpersonal. The team member and the manager can identify areas where additional professional development is needed, and provide that training to the team member on a timely basis.
If done correctly by the manager, the team member gets feedback continuously throughout the year, not just at year-end. The team member and the manager have a running conversation about the team member’s performance. Furthermore, by making sure the teams HR partner is involved, training and development programs can be implemented quickly for maximum benefit. At the end of the year, there are no surprises—evaluations have been taking place throughout the year and are fully completed by year-end. The typical annual evaluation conversation, which normally takes place, is now a positive and constructive discussion the measures of success for the following year.
There are a few structural pieces that need to be in place. The measures of success that are set for the team member are based on the measures of success that were set for the manager. Clarity, concreteness, consensus, and explicit agreement about measures of success are necessary from the team member up the chain of command and from the CEO and the Board back down. Additionally, the identified points of professional development for the team member must be taken seriously by both the team member and the manager. The team member successfully completing his or her agreed training and development is just as important as any other measure of success. The team member’s successful training is also an important measure of success for the manager, as is the manager’s successful training for his or her superiors.
Lastly, this structure should be integrated into the compensation plan. If I complete all my measures of success, including my professional development goals, then I should know what my compensation will be. Since I agreed to my measures of success, I have little to argue about when I do not meet them. Since the manager’s performance is linked to the team member’s performance, then the manager’s compensation is also impacted by the team member’s performance. This integration of performance and compensation continues up to the CEO and the Board.
Establishing clear measures of success for each member of a team, before the year begins, has a number of additional benefits. First, it gets rid of the end-of-year evaluations that everyone hates. Strong performers will clearly and objectively stand out. Weak performers can be identified early, given the necessary training and support and the opportunity to raise their performance. This also permits Human Resource and Organizational Development professionals to develop, with each employee, clear multi-year career plans, tied to the longer term strategic objectives and management succession plans of the company. Lastly, it puts in place a structure that invests in and reinforces the value the company places on its most precious assets, its people.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
Why are evaluations of any kind important? Because they give everyone the chance to learn, grow and improve performance. Perhaps, the process is turned around. Instead of doing the evaluation at the end, do it at the beginning. And instead of discussing past performance, discuss future measures of success. Here are some ideas about how to do that.
First, what do you really want people to do? This is not a trivial question. Most managers have difficulty answering this question. So let’s rephrase it: “If at the end of the year I were to ask you how team member “A” performed, and you answered that she was the best member of the team because she completed and accomplished “blah, blah, blah,” what would “blah, blah, blah be?” There are a couple of key words here: “completed” and “accomplished.” This means that the manager’s appraisal is based on concrete and specific tasks that were competed and accomplished. It also specifically implies that the manager and the team member understood what needed to be completed and accomplished at the beginning of the year.
The most valuable information any manager can give a team member is specific information about what needs to be accomplished, why it is important to the organization and what constitutes work “completed.” In addition, timelines for delivery are also important. Managers should be able to define and prioritize each task in terms of when they should be reasonably completed. If there are nine key tasks to be accomplished during the year, perhaps two should be completed in the first three months, three in the next three months, three in the three months following that and one more in the last three months of the year. This is not a one-sided conversation from manager to team member. It is a two-way conversation that ends in consensus and explicit agreement. I would never accept an evaluation of my performance that was based on measures of success that I did not understand or agree to. However, once mutual consensus and explicit agreement is reached, it is a different story. I understand what is expected and have agreed to deliver.
Clear measures of success, with time frames for delivery, provide a second important component of team member development. As the work continues, there are multiple opportunities to check on progress, discuss challenges and opportunities and review what has been achieved to date for quality and completeness. It also permits discussion around skill development, both technical and interpersonal. The team member and the manager can identify areas where additional professional development is needed, and provide that training to the team member on a timely basis.
If done correctly by the manager, the team member gets feedback continuously throughout the year, not just at year-end. The team member and the manager have a running conversation about the team member’s performance. Furthermore, by making sure the teams HR partner is involved, training and development programs can be implemented quickly for maximum benefit. At the end of the year, there are no surprises—evaluations have been taking place throughout the year and are fully completed by year-end. The typical annual evaluation conversation, which normally takes place, is now a positive and constructive discussion the measures of success for the following year.
There are a few structural pieces that need to be in place. The measures of success that are set for the team member are based on the measures of success that were set for the manager. Clarity, concreteness, consensus, and explicit agreement about measures of success are necessary from the team member up the chain of command and from the CEO and the Board back down. Additionally, the identified points of professional development for the team member must be taken seriously by both the team member and the manager. The team member successfully completing his or her agreed training and development is just as important as any other measure of success. The team member’s successful training is also an important measure of success for the manager, as is the manager’s successful training for his or her superiors.
Lastly, this structure should be integrated into the compensation plan. If I complete all my measures of success, including my professional development goals, then I should know what my compensation will be. Since I agreed to my measures of success, I have little to argue about when I do not meet them. Since the manager’s performance is linked to the team member’s performance, then the manager’s compensation is also impacted by the team member’s performance. This integration of performance and compensation continues up to the CEO and the Board.
Establishing clear measures of success for each member of a team, before the year begins, has a number of additional benefits. First, it gets rid of the end-of-year evaluations that everyone hates. Strong performers will clearly and objectively stand out. Weak performers can be identified early, given the necessary training and support and the opportunity to raise their performance. This also permits Human Resource and Organizational Development professionals to develop, with each employee, clear multi-year career plans, tied to the longer term strategic objectives and management succession plans of the company. Lastly, it puts in place a structure that invests in and reinforces the value the company places on its most precious assets, its people.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Power of Positive Deviance – Stimulating Change by Doing What’s Deviant
Most of the work Quorum is involved in entails helping clients address or solve problems that have both a critical strategic or competitive component and a deep cultural component. Clients will often say that they need an individual who can effect change, but do so within the cultural norms of the company. That might translate as something needs to change, it must come from within and it needs to happen quickly and effectively, using the resources at hand. Organizations or communities have a remarkable ability to self preserve, even if doing so means the perpetuation of damaging or self-destructive behavior. This is one of the major reasons why effecting meaningful long-term organizational change is so incredibly difficult. This situation is what many human resource professionals, organization development professionals and quality executive search consultants work with on a daily basis. When clients and their HR partners, reach the point where they are looking outside their organization for key talent, there is an unspoken paradox inherent in that effort. They want someone who will be different and yet the same.
To effectively resolve this paradox, Quorum engages clients and their HR partners in a dialogue about their strategic or tactical needs. We discuss the problems and issues that need to be addressed, cultural as well as commercial. We are aware that a given community will react differently to different candidates, even though they have the exact same credentials and experience. It is the ability of a candidate to be received into and accepted by a community’s existing culture that is critical to their success. If this paradox of difference can be resolved, then our experience indicates that the results can be powerful long-term positive change.
There is a formal idea, actually a methodology, which uses the power of “different yet the same” to effect substantial, long-term change. It is called Positive Deviance. It comes from work in the field of nutrition, and was first applied in an attempt to address malnutrition in Haiti and, subsequently, in Vietnam. It is an approach that is consistent with how Quorum approaches client issues and executive search.
Positive Deviance identifies behaviors, existing resources, and effective solutions, that may currently exist in a community yet is unobserved or different from normal community behavior or practice. Positive Deviance uses these existing alternative behaviors, resources or solutions to solve community problems. It is called deviance because it applies practices that deviate from the norm within a group and or a community. It is called positive because it discovers, examines and applies solutions that are already working for a few members of the community. It is an approach that works from the bottom up, from the few to the many. It identifies solutions from within the community rather than having them imposed from without.
Positive Deviance, as first applied in the field of nutrition, entailed a process of inquiry and action that looked for children who are well nourished in communities where most children are malnourished. Positive Deviance examines the behaviors, beliefs and practices that enable the well nourished child to cope and thrive, in comparison to the behaviors of the rest of the larger community. Further, this methodology looks for Positive Deviants—poor members of the community who have well-nourished thriving children while most of the neighbors do not. This is pretty powerful stuff!
The key question is, then, what is it that enables some members of the community, the Positive Deviants, to find better solutions to pervasive community problems than their neighbors who have access to the same resources? Is it possible to identify community behaviors that are directly related to perpetuating the problem to be addressed? If so, then is it possible to enable the community to discover successful uncommon behaviors and strategies practiced by the Positive Deviants?
The Positive Deviance Initiative (PDI) has learned that “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than to think your way into a new way of acting.” The presence of Positive Deviants clearly demonstrates, to the whole community, that successful solutions exist, within their community and culture—right now, today. Consequently the methodology takes the following six steps. First, define the problem, its perceived causes and related current practices (situation analysis), and define what a successful outcome would look like (described as a behavioral or status outcome). Then determine if there are any individuals/entities in community who already exhibit desired behavior or status (Positive Deviant identification). Discover what uncommon practices/behaviors enable the Positive Deviants to outperform/find better solutions to the problem than others in their community. Based on this discovery, design and implement activities enabling others in the community to access and practice new behaviors (focus on doing rather than the transfer of knowledge). Follow up by discerning the effectiveness of such activities or projects through ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Lastly, disseminate successful behaviors and process to appropriate other individuals or communities (scaling up).
What is wonderful about this approach is that it is not some theoretical academic exercise. It has been and continues to be successfully applied, by concerned organizations and professionals around the globe, to address some of the most difficult problems in the world today: hunger, infant mortality and AIDS/HIV, to name a few. It works for real people, with real problems, in the real world.
Most of the literature on Positive Deviance mentions a few key reasons why Positive Deviance is so effective. Positive Deviance begins with community recognition of a problem and accepting that the means for change may already exist within the community. A “hero” or “champion” does not provide solutions such as those of external experts (aid workers, NGOs, consultants or corporate headquarters), but rather come from within the individual group or community. The approach is positive and immediate because it uses solutions whose effectiveness is plain to see. It does not externally impose best practices, which may or may not work in the given situation. It begins with action that encourages understanding that leads to new ways of thinking. It uses behaviors, resources and knowledge that already exist and are available to all within a group or community. Because it comes from within the existing culture, even though the behaviors are different, it is resistant to negative social system reactions.
The practitioners of Positive Deviance are parallel to the candidates Quorum brings to clients. They can be accepted by the community, find existing solutions within the community and help the community put those solutions into place. This is much more that simply bringing a technical or experiential expertise to bear. It is about working within the cultures of a community and helping a community find and implement its own solutions.
The first steps in the Quorum Search Process, that define the position, the culture, and the measures of success comprise the “define step” in Positive Deviance. We also want to know about the client’s team. Who is successful? This is defined as who gets things done and makes things happen, and why. What are they doing that the client wishes others would do? Is there anyone prepared to challenge the status-quo or institutional orthodoxy? Who has ideas and looks at things differently? These people are the Positive Deviants. Open and honest disclosure of issues and challenges tends to attract quality candidates. Once hired, they will take the time to find out what each team member does and how they do it. This is often an early measure of success. In doing so, they discover those uncommon practices and behaviors that enable the existing Positive Deviants to outperform and find better solutions than others on the team. This discovery process also identifies those who simply cannot or will not change.
Clear and concrete measures of success establish an understanding of what performance will be measured and how it will be measured. Those practices and behaviors that lead to superior performance and problem resolution can be highlighted, shared with other team members and integrated into what the others do on a daily basis. This in turn allows other members of the team to be successful. Once they experience success, they will learn. As they learn, they are increasingly motivated to experiment with new ways of doing things or apply these new practices and behaviors to other issues or problems. All this in turn becomes a positive feedback cycle of change and improvement.
At the end of a number of months, when we go back to the hiring manager and ask how the candidate (new employee) has performed, we have specific benchmarks to evaluate the degree by which the candidate has exceeded expectations. Best of all, we get positive feedback about the candidate from others in the company, indicating real change is taking place within the existing larger culture of the community.
Pretty powerful stuff!
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
For more information on Positive Deviance I have included some references for your review. Both of these sites have extensive references to books, publications, and articles about Positive Deviance.
The Positive Deviance Initiative – Website: www.positivedeviance.org
Positive Deviance Resource Center – Website: www.pdrc.or.id
To effectively resolve this paradox, Quorum engages clients and their HR partners in a dialogue about their strategic or tactical needs. We discuss the problems and issues that need to be addressed, cultural as well as commercial. We are aware that a given community will react differently to different candidates, even though they have the exact same credentials and experience. It is the ability of a candidate to be received into and accepted by a community’s existing culture that is critical to their success. If this paradox of difference can be resolved, then our experience indicates that the results can be powerful long-term positive change.
There is a formal idea, actually a methodology, which uses the power of “different yet the same” to effect substantial, long-term change. It is called Positive Deviance. It comes from work in the field of nutrition, and was first applied in an attempt to address malnutrition in Haiti and, subsequently, in Vietnam. It is an approach that is consistent with how Quorum approaches client issues and executive search.
Positive Deviance identifies behaviors, existing resources, and effective solutions, that may currently exist in a community yet is unobserved or different from normal community behavior or practice. Positive Deviance uses these existing alternative behaviors, resources or solutions to solve community problems. It is called deviance because it applies practices that deviate from the norm within a group and or a community. It is called positive because it discovers, examines and applies solutions that are already working for a few members of the community. It is an approach that works from the bottom up, from the few to the many. It identifies solutions from within the community rather than having them imposed from without.
Positive Deviance, as first applied in the field of nutrition, entailed a process of inquiry and action that looked for children who are well nourished in communities where most children are malnourished. Positive Deviance examines the behaviors, beliefs and practices that enable the well nourished child to cope and thrive, in comparison to the behaviors of the rest of the larger community. Further, this methodology looks for Positive Deviants—poor members of the community who have well-nourished thriving children while most of the neighbors do not. This is pretty powerful stuff!
The key question is, then, what is it that enables some members of the community, the Positive Deviants, to find better solutions to pervasive community problems than their neighbors who have access to the same resources? Is it possible to identify community behaviors that are directly related to perpetuating the problem to be addressed? If so, then is it possible to enable the community to discover successful uncommon behaviors and strategies practiced by the Positive Deviants?
The Positive Deviance Initiative (PDI) has learned that “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than to think your way into a new way of acting.” The presence of Positive Deviants clearly demonstrates, to the whole community, that successful solutions exist, within their community and culture—right now, today. Consequently the methodology takes the following six steps. First, define the problem, its perceived causes and related current practices (situation analysis), and define what a successful outcome would look like (described as a behavioral or status outcome). Then determine if there are any individuals/entities in community who already exhibit desired behavior or status (Positive Deviant identification). Discover what uncommon practices/behaviors enable the Positive Deviants to outperform/find better solutions to the problem than others in their community. Based on this discovery, design and implement activities enabling others in the community to access and practice new behaviors (focus on doing rather than the transfer of knowledge). Follow up by discerning the effectiveness of such activities or projects through ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Lastly, disseminate successful behaviors and process to appropriate other individuals or communities (scaling up).
What is wonderful about this approach is that it is not some theoretical academic exercise. It has been and continues to be successfully applied, by concerned organizations and professionals around the globe, to address some of the most difficult problems in the world today: hunger, infant mortality and AIDS/HIV, to name a few. It works for real people, with real problems, in the real world.
Most of the literature on Positive Deviance mentions a few key reasons why Positive Deviance is so effective. Positive Deviance begins with community recognition of a problem and accepting that the means for change may already exist within the community. A “hero” or “champion” does not provide solutions such as those of external experts (aid workers, NGOs, consultants or corporate headquarters), but rather come from within the individual group or community. The approach is positive and immediate because it uses solutions whose effectiveness is plain to see. It does not externally impose best practices, which may or may not work in the given situation. It begins with action that encourages understanding that leads to new ways of thinking. It uses behaviors, resources and knowledge that already exist and are available to all within a group or community. Because it comes from within the existing culture, even though the behaviors are different, it is resistant to negative social system reactions.
The practitioners of Positive Deviance are parallel to the candidates Quorum brings to clients. They can be accepted by the community, find existing solutions within the community and help the community put those solutions into place. This is much more that simply bringing a technical or experiential expertise to bear. It is about working within the cultures of a community and helping a community find and implement its own solutions.
The first steps in the Quorum Search Process, that define the position, the culture, and the measures of success comprise the “define step” in Positive Deviance. We also want to know about the client’s team. Who is successful? This is defined as who gets things done and makes things happen, and why. What are they doing that the client wishes others would do? Is there anyone prepared to challenge the status-quo or institutional orthodoxy? Who has ideas and looks at things differently? These people are the Positive Deviants. Open and honest disclosure of issues and challenges tends to attract quality candidates. Once hired, they will take the time to find out what each team member does and how they do it. This is often an early measure of success. In doing so, they discover those uncommon practices and behaviors that enable the existing Positive Deviants to outperform and find better solutions than others on the team. This discovery process also identifies those who simply cannot or will not change.
Clear and concrete measures of success establish an understanding of what performance will be measured and how it will be measured. Those practices and behaviors that lead to superior performance and problem resolution can be highlighted, shared with other team members and integrated into what the others do on a daily basis. This in turn allows other members of the team to be successful. Once they experience success, they will learn. As they learn, they are increasingly motivated to experiment with new ways of doing things or apply these new practices and behaviors to other issues or problems. All this in turn becomes a positive feedback cycle of change and improvement.
At the end of a number of months, when we go back to the hiring manager and ask how the candidate (new employee) has performed, we have specific benchmarks to evaluate the degree by which the candidate has exceeded expectations. Best of all, we get positive feedback about the candidate from others in the company, indicating real change is taking place within the existing larger culture of the community.
Pretty powerful stuff!
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
For more information on Positive Deviance I have included some references for your review. Both of these sites have extensive references to books, publications, and articles about Positive Deviance.
The Positive Deviance Initiative – Website: www.positivedeviance.org
Positive Deviance Resource Center – Website: www.pdrc.or.id
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
In-Bounding and Coaching - The Best Insurance for Recruiting Success
Think about the last time your company purchased a piece of capital equipment or computer system. Assume the purchase price was between $150,000 and $300,000. Then let’s add in the cost of installation, service contracts, additional hardware and software, and insurance. People will need to be trained on how to use the new equipment or computer. Lastly, there is the cost benefit analysis to monitor the investment against predetermined parameters.
Now think about the last time your company hired a senior executive. Assume the salary and bonus was between $150,000 and $300,000. Add the direct costs of employee benefits and pension, and a multitude of indirect costs. And these are recurring costs where as the purchase price of the machine or computer is paid once.
When a costly piece of equipment or computer hardware is purchased, measures are taken to ensure correct installation. It is tested and checked to make sure it is working properly before putting it on line. Staff is trained to operate the new equipment and to understand why the company brought it in, but what about the investment in a new executive? Typically, when new executives arrive on the job, they are shown to their office, introduced around the company, meet with human resources, are taken to lunch, and then left to “get on with it.”
It is common for companies to view capital expenditures differently than employee compensation. They feel that senior executives should not need the same care and attention as a large capital investment. The long-term success of a new senior executive is often determined within the first 60 days of employment. First interactions with the rest of the senior management team are critical. Usually the new executive has no knowledge of the history or dynamics of the team. Consequently, these interactions are fraught with danger. In large companies, it can be compared to walking through a mine field, and sometimes new executives do not know they have blown themselves up for six months. If new executives are allowed to self-destruct, the investment becomes worthless. So how can a company protect its investment in a new executive hire?
There are two very effective ways to help ensure the long-term investment in a new senior executive. The first is a strong in-bounding program and the second is coaching. In-bounding is a program that maps out the first 45 – 60 days the new executive is with the company. It is designed to help the new executive integrate into the company quickly and successfully. In-bounding formalizes a process that is often left to the individual hired and to chance. Coaching helps the new executive better understand culture, personalities and style of the new company, and adjust to a new environment.
In-Bounding
In-bounding should be a custom-designed program that helps new employees understand the company, the management, their peers and their reports. It should carefully map out everyone this individual needs to meet and what information the executive needs to know in order to have a full understanding of the company. In the beginning, this program would include a detailed schedule for the first two or three weeks with the company. It would provide a brief summary of the background of people to be met, their respective roles in the company, and how and why they and their department will interact with the new executive and his role. Having met the senior management team, the new executive should also meet key direct reports of each senior manager. This will serve to develop an understanding in the company of why the new executive was hired and to help the new executive understand how to get things done in a new company.
In addition to meeting key employees, the new executive should be walked through key business processes. Those senior managers responsible for each key segment or function of the business should personally provide this overview. The new executive should understand how the company goes to market, manufactures or provides its goods or services, develops and designs new products or services, and the relationship with key customers. This will facilitate for the new executive an understanding of key opportunities and challenges that will need to be addressed. It allows the new executive to develop a deeper understanding of the company so he or she can add immediate value.
Coaching
Organizations are organic, behaving like living organisms. Personalities, internal culture, egos and territory are all carefully protected. It is quite easy for a new executive to say or do something that seems completely neutral, but may, in fact, set off red alerts in other senior managers. This is where coaching can be of enormous value. Coaches should be very familiar with the company, but not an “insider.” They need their independence to be respected by the company in order to provide the new executive with an objective and confidential source of advice. The ability to discuss events, conversations, issues and concerns with an objective, well-informed third party can be crucial to the success of the new executive.
The coach can help the new executive understand how other managers react to new ideas, articulate the internal culture and how it work, and lay out potential “mine fields.” Behaviors and attitudes that were encouraged and successful at a former company may not work at the new company. In one recent example, a client, with a deep and complex culture, hired a talented key executive from another company and accepted the advice to also provide coaching. Over the course of three months, the coach was able to help the new executive adjust her own personal and management style to better fit with the culture of the new company. Consequently the executive learned how to raise issues and be heard, and quickly proved to be especially effective. She is considered to be one of the best hires the company has made.
The Role of Human Resources
The role of human resources is important as they should play a critical part in the development of the in-bounding program. Working closely with the hiring manager, they can develop a plan that accelerates the value a new hire brings to the company. Just as importantly, they create the foundation for success and, therefore, help the company protect its investment. They can also provide the coach with important details and background information about the company and the management. Human resources should facilitate open communication and understanding in order to provide the coach with an appreciation of the nuances of the culture and its various management styles. By providing this consultative service, human resources can step into a virtuous cycle with management and strengthen their role as a valuable partner with the business.
In-bounding and coaching are important parts of a larger human capital effort. Some companies recognize that their people are just as valuable, if not more valuable, than their equipment and facilities. The care and feeding of these important assets is very important. These companies at the boardroom level understand the importance of organizational and human capital development. They approach it strategically from the top down and back again.
More and more potential candidates demand to know that a hiring company will commit to their success and development. They recognize the importance of knowing what processes and services a prospective employer has in place to help them grow and develop as professionals and as managers. They want to know how their success will be measured. In-bounding and coaching are two key elements of the successful integration of a new executive into your company. It’s the best insurance you can buy.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLc
Now think about the last time your company hired a senior executive. Assume the salary and bonus was between $150,000 and $300,000. Add the direct costs of employee benefits and pension, and a multitude of indirect costs. And these are recurring costs where as the purchase price of the machine or computer is paid once.
When a costly piece of equipment or computer hardware is purchased, measures are taken to ensure correct installation. It is tested and checked to make sure it is working properly before putting it on line. Staff is trained to operate the new equipment and to understand why the company brought it in, but what about the investment in a new executive? Typically, when new executives arrive on the job, they are shown to their office, introduced around the company, meet with human resources, are taken to lunch, and then left to “get on with it.”
It is common for companies to view capital expenditures differently than employee compensation. They feel that senior executives should not need the same care and attention as a large capital investment. The long-term success of a new senior executive is often determined within the first 60 days of employment. First interactions with the rest of the senior management team are critical. Usually the new executive has no knowledge of the history or dynamics of the team. Consequently, these interactions are fraught with danger. In large companies, it can be compared to walking through a mine field, and sometimes new executives do not know they have blown themselves up for six months. If new executives are allowed to self-destruct, the investment becomes worthless. So how can a company protect its investment in a new executive hire?
There are two very effective ways to help ensure the long-term investment in a new senior executive. The first is a strong in-bounding program and the second is coaching. In-bounding is a program that maps out the first 45 – 60 days the new executive is with the company. It is designed to help the new executive integrate into the company quickly and successfully. In-bounding formalizes a process that is often left to the individual hired and to chance. Coaching helps the new executive better understand culture, personalities and style of the new company, and adjust to a new environment.
In-Bounding
In-bounding should be a custom-designed program that helps new employees understand the company, the management, their peers and their reports. It should carefully map out everyone this individual needs to meet and what information the executive needs to know in order to have a full understanding of the company. In the beginning, this program would include a detailed schedule for the first two or three weeks with the company. It would provide a brief summary of the background of people to be met, their respective roles in the company, and how and why they and their department will interact with the new executive and his role. Having met the senior management team, the new executive should also meet key direct reports of each senior manager. This will serve to develop an understanding in the company of why the new executive was hired and to help the new executive understand how to get things done in a new company.
In addition to meeting key employees, the new executive should be walked through key business processes. Those senior managers responsible for each key segment or function of the business should personally provide this overview. The new executive should understand how the company goes to market, manufactures or provides its goods or services, develops and designs new products or services, and the relationship with key customers. This will facilitate for the new executive an understanding of key opportunities and challenges that will need to be addressed. It allows the new executive to develop a deeper understanding of the company so he or she can add immediate value.
Coaching
Organizations are organic, behaving like living organisms. Personalities, internal culture, egos and territory are all carefully protected. It is quite easy for a new executive to say or do something that seems completely neutral, but may, in fact, set off red alerts in other senior managers. This is where coaching can be of enormous value. Coaches should be very familiar with the company, but not an “insider.” They need their independence to be respected by the company in order to provide the new executive with an objective and confidential source of advice. The ability to discuss events, conversations, issues and concerns with an objective, well-informed third party can be crucial to the success of the new executive.
The coach can help the new executive understand how other managers react to new ideas, articulate the internal culture and how it work, and lay out potential “mine fields.” Behaviors and attitudes that were encouraged and successful at a former company may not work at the new company. In one recent example, a client, with a deep and complex culture, hired a talented key executive from another company and accepted the advice to also provide coaching. Over the course of three months, the coach was able to help the new executive adjust her own personal and management style to better fit with the culture of the new company. Consequently the executive learned how to raise issues and be heard, and quickly proved to be especially effective. She is considered to be one of the best hires the company has made.
The Role of Human Resources
The role of human resources is important as they should play a critical part in the development of the in-bounding program. Working closely with the hiring manager, they can develop a plan that accelerates the value a new hire brings to the company. Just as importantly, they create the foundation for success and, therefore, help the company protect its investment. They can also provide the coach with important details and background information about the company and the management. Human resources should facilitate open communication and understanding in order to provide the coach with an appreciation of the nuances of the culture and its various management styles. By providing this consultative service, human resources can step into a virtuous cycle with management and strengthen their role as a valuable partner with the business.
In-bounding and coaching are important parts of a larger human capital effort. Some companies recognize that their people are just as valuable, if not more valuable, than their equipment and facilities. The care and feeding of these important assets is very important. These companies at the boardroom level understand the importance of organizational and human capital development. They approach it strategically from the top down and back again.
More and more potential candidates demand to know that a hiring company will commit to their success and development. They recognize the importance of knowing what processes and services a prospective employer has in place to help them grow and develop as professionals and as managers. They want to know how their success will be measured. In-bounding and coaching are two key elements of the successful integration of a new executive into your company. It’s the best insurance you can buy.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLc
Friday, February 13, 2009
An Invitation to Participate in the Human Resource Professionals Research Project
Quorum Associates ( www.quorumassociates.com ) is beginning a research project to learn more about the issues facing Human Resource Professionals. We are looking to recruit Human Resource Professionals to participate in and be a member of our Human Resources Professionals Research Project.
The purpose of the project is to develop a better understanding of the challenges and issues Human Resource Professionals face in today's environment.
This is not an attempt to sell anything or solicit business. It is exclusively for the purpose of understanding the world of Human Resource Professionals. This project will entail a series of short and simple digital surveys. All surveys will be conducted by the independent national research firm Action Research.
We would like to invite you to join this project and share your thoughts, observations and advice. At the conclusion of each survey, a summary document will be sent to all participants.
I wish to repeat that this is not an attempt to sell anything or solicit business. It is exclusively for the purpose of understanding the world of Human Resource Professionals.
To participate in this project, please sign up though the Opt-in form.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
The purpose of the project is to develop a better understanding of the challenges and issues Human Resource Professionals face in today's environment.
This is not an attempt to sell anything or solicit business. It is exclusively for the purpose of understanding the world of Human Resource Professionals. This project will entail a series of short and simple digital surveys. All surveys will be conducted by the independent national research firm Action Research.
We would like to invite you to join this project and share your thoughts, observations and advice. At the conclusion of each survey, a summary document will be sent to all participants.
I wish to repeat that this is not an attempt to sell anything or solicit business. It is exclusively for the purpose of understanding the world of Human Resource Professionals.
To participate in this project, please sign up though the Opt-in form.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
Hiring the best: It’s more than interviewing good people
Hiring managers want to hire the best, of course, and often use face-to-face interviews as the primary path for hiring decisions. Defining “the best” may be more difficult than it seems. Five individuals with identical credentials and experience may not have equal chances of succeeding in a given position at a given company. Success or failure in a new position goes beyond credentials and experience and into the culture, personality and temperament of the company as well as the perception of the position by both the candidate and the company. What can line managers and human resource professionals do to ensure that on the day of the interview they really are looking at the best candidates for the job?
Line managers, in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, are charged with building good teams. In any workplace there are internal assumptions and terminology that are believed to be well understood. Consequently, as discussions for a new position take place, these assumptions and terminology are included without critical review. The hiring manager and the human resource partner are deeply imbedded in the organization. They use language that is clear and understood between them. There is no perceived need for further clarity. These internal codes are almost sub-conscious and very difficult to detect. When someone from outside the organization reads or hears about a position, those assumptions or terminology are translated into another context, not necessarily the same as that of the hiring manager.
An executive search consultant, listening carefully to a discussion between the HR professional and the line manager, identifies those internal codes and helps the client understand how a thoughtful candidate will hear and understand a position description. Writing a detailed position document for a client allows them to understand how positions will be perceived by candidates. In addition, reframing the internal language allows clients to hear their own assumptions and terminology. This enables them to make critical revisions to the nature and scope of a position description and to be clear about expectations. When there is a shared and clear understanding of expectations, it is much more likely that the candidate will meet them.
Successful individuals want engaging, strategically important and rewarding work. Understanding why a position is strategically important to an institution frames the larger context of any position. A clear discussion about the tactical issues associated with the larger strategic objectives provides candidates with an understanding of the level of institutional commitment to the role and whether the opportunities and challenges are engaging. Clear concrete measures of success, with specific delivery periods, allow candidates to evaluate how thorough management has been in developing the position. When measures of success are specific, and clearly relate to the strategic and tactical objectives of the institution, potential candidates’ reaction to any position will be much more positive. The thoughtfulness of it demonstrates to the candidate the importance of the position within the organization.
Line managers and their supporting HR professionals should be as candid as possible about challenges and issues within the organization. It is human nature to avoid discussing anything that might be perceived negatively. Organizations have external reputations that are based on interactions with third parties and former employees. Negative perceptions and experiences tend to travel faster than positive views as people “warn” friends and colleagues. Regardless of the challenge or issue, it is important is that these issues are well understood and discussed openly.
In one instance, a global investment management client was seeking to hire a country manager. Many candidates found the position interesting but perceived the designated country of operations as a career dead end. The client, on the other hand, felt its name and reputation should more than compensate for the location of the position. After a frank and open discussion, including a review of both internal and external candidate reactions, it became clear that the role needed redefining to include career advancement outside of the host country.
Potential candidates need to be sure a position is right for them. They will try to determine how the role fits with their professional development and if they have the right experience or skill set to be successful. They may have some knowledge of the hiring company and a sense of whether or not they are a “fit.” This last point is very important. This is where the culture of a company becomes critical. Cultural attributes are difficult to define and even harder to communicate. So now the candidates understand the range and scope of the role. They have an understanding of the issues and challenges that need to be faced. But they still do not know what it will feel like to work in the client organization. They need and want to understand the culture and temperament of the business. The word culture raises a wide range of complex issues. Many companies spend a significant amount of money to define their culture and values. So how can line managers and their HR partners help an outsider understand the environment within the company?
Reviewing experiences of recent hires, whether successful or not, can help to articulate different dimensions of the institution’s culture and temperament. Discussing how decisions are made and how issues are raised within the organization discloses important aspects of the company culture. Asking how bad news is received is a good way to learn about the temperament of a company. There are a few ways to facilitate this understanding. In the first instance, it starts with line managers and their immediate reports. Listening to the line manager describe each member of his team; how and why they are valued, providing a balanced assessment of key skills and abilities, and defining specifically what it is that makes them effective both within and outside the department. This should include a discussion of the line manager’s management style, how the manager gets comfortable with members of the team, and how trust is built or broken.
It is also important to understand what challenges the line manager has with the institution and what are the most effective ways of managing those issues. The HR business partner can provide insight into how other managers negotiate their way through the institution and deal with similar issues. By listening carefully to these conversations and synthesizing them, it is possible to define the culture and temperament of an organization that rings true to the line manager and HR professional, yet is clear to someone unfamiliar with the company.
The issues discussed here are neither easy nor trivial. However, what they yield is a deeper understanding on the part of clients and candidates about the goals, objectives and expectations for a given position. The time and energy invested in the deeper understanding of the company allows potential candidates to decide quickly if the opportunity presented is right for them and to subsequently make a solid, well-informed decision to accept a position.
Quorum markets clients to potential candidates. Each client has a story to tell and marketing that story is a part of attracting high quality candidates. By the time candidates reach the interview, the client will still have a difficult decision. But rather than having to decide if they would hire any individual, they will have to decide which individual to hire, since they’ll want to hire them all.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
Line managers, in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, are charged with building good teams. In any workplace there are internal assumptions and terminology that are believed to be well understood. Consequently, as discussions for a new position take place, these assumptions and terminology are included without critical review. The hiring manager and the human resource partner are deeply imbedded in the organization. They use language that is clear and understood between them. There is no perceived need for further clarity. These internal codes are almost sub-conscious and very difficult to detect. When someone from outside the organization reads or hears about a position, those assumptions or terminology are translated into another context, not necessarily the same as that of the hiring manager.
An executive search consultant, listening carefully to a discussion between the HR professional and the line manager, identifies those internal codes and helps the client understand how a thoughtful candidate will hear and understand a position description. Writing a detailed position document for a client allows them to understand how positions will be perceived by candidates. In addition, reframing the internal language allows clients to hear their own assumptions and terminology. This enables them to make critical revisions to the nature and scope of a position description and to be clear about expectations. When there is a shared and clear understanding of expectations, it is much more likely that the candidate will meet them.
Successful individuals want engaging, strategically important and rewarding work. Understanding why a position is strategically important to an institution frames the larger context of any position. A clear discussion about the tactical issues associated with the larger strategic objectives provides candidates with an understanding of the level of institutional commitment to the role and whether the opportunities and challenges are engaging. Clear concrete measures of success, with specific delivery periods, allow candidates to evaluate how thorough management has been in developing the position. When measures of success are specific, and clearly relate to the strategic and tactical objectives of the institution, potential candidates’ reaction to any position will be much more positive. The thoughtfulness of it demonstrates to the candidate the importance of the position within the organization.
Line managers and their supporting HR professionals should be as candid as possible about challenges and issues within the organization. It is human nature to avoid discussing anything that might be perceived negatively. Organizations have external reputations that are based on interactions with third parties and former employees. Negative perceptions and experiences tend to travel faster than positive views as people “warn” friends and colleagues. Regardless of the challenge or issue, it is important is that these issues are well understood and discussed openly.
In one instance, a global investment management client was seeking to hire a country manager. Many candidates found the position interesting but perceived the designated country of operations as a career dead end. The client, on the other hand, felt its name and reputation should more than compensate for the location of the position. After a frank and open discussion, including a review of both internal and external candidate reactions, it became clear that the role needed redefining to include career advancement outside of the host country.
Potential candidates need to be sure a position is right for them. They will try to determine how the role fits with their professional development and if they have the right experience or skill set to be successful. They may have some knowledge of the hiring company and a sense of whether or not they are a “fit.” This last point is very important. This is where the culture of a company becomes critical. Cultural attributes are difficult to define and even harder to communicate. So now the candidates understand the range and scope of the role. They have an understanding of the issues and challenges that need to be faced. But they still do not know what it will feel like to work in the client organization. They need and want to understand the culture and temperament of the business. The word culture raises a wide range of complex issues. Many companies spend a significant amount of money to define their culture and values. So how can line managers and their HR partners help an outsider understand the environment within the company?
Reviewing experiences of recent hires, whether successful or not, can help to articulate different dimensions of the institution’s culture and temperament. Discussing how decisions are made and how issues are raised within the organization discloses important aspects of the company culture. Asking how bad news is received is a good way to learn about the temperament of a company. There are a few ways to facilitate this understanding. In the first instance, it starts with line managers and their immediate reports. Listening to the line manager describe each member of his team; how and why they are valued, providing a balanced assessment of key skills and abilities, and defining specifically what it is that makes them effective both within and outside the department. This should include a discussion of the line manager’s management style, how the manager gets comfortable with members of the team, and how trust is built or broken.
It is also important to understand what challenges the line manager has with the institution and what are the most effective ways of managing those issues. The HR business partner can provide insight into how other managers negotiate their way through the institution and deal with similar issues. By listening carefully to these conversations and synthesizing them, it is possible to define the culture and temperament of an organization that rings true to the line manager and HR professional, yet is clear to someone unfamiliar with the company.
The issues discussed here are neither easy nor trivial. However, what they yield is a deeper understanding on the part of clients and candidates about the goals, objectives and expectations for a given position. The time and energy invested in the deeper understanding of the company allows potential candidates to decide quickly if the opportunity presented is right for them and to subsequently make a solid, well-informed decision to accept a position.
Quorum markets clients to potential candidates. Each client has a story to tell and marketing that story is a part of attracting high quality candidates. By the time candidates reach the interview, the client will still have a difficult decision. But rather than having to decide if they would hire any individual, they will have to decide which individual to hire, since they’ll want to hire them all.
Francis Goldwyn
Managing Director
Quorum Associates LLC
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