The Question Every Firm Leader Dreads

The phone rings.  Your important client is on the line. 

“Our Controller quit – we’re hiring another one.  Can I send you a couple of resumes to have a look – I need to know who we choose will be good for us.” 

Now you’re implicated if the new hire doesn’t work out.  How do you respond? 

As a firm owner, I always dreaded these call – the client is rightly wanting to make use of the relationship they have with your firm to make sure they hire a good person.  There’s probably nothing in this for you.  If you know someone in your network, you can sometimes help out – but it’s all a bit fraught.  Undoubtedly, if you get it wrong, and the new hire is useless, the client will turn around and ask you why you didn’t spot the problem, especially if it’s their level of technical skills that proves to be short. 

We had a client call us the other day with exactly this scenario.  With our help, they identified that the Part / Non Qualified Accountant (Corporate) Test was a close match to the job description.  They were able to get the client to test all the candidates they had with this.  It quickly became obvious their preferred candidate had some very poor technical knowledge, while another candidate who had not impressed at interview was very strong.  By asking the second candidate to complete our Accountant Personality Questionnaire, it was clear why interviews were not easy for them, but a further discussion with them that focused on how they work with others and build relationships gave the client the confidence that they would actually work well in the role.  Interviews in isolation can give misleading signals. 

Outcomes:

Hiring in an important finance function role is scary for many small and medium sized businesses.  Make those dreaded phone calls a source of strength and a way to show capability – lean in!