According to Danny!
September 26, 2008 9:12 am Hiring Practices
Dear Danny,
I have a Controller candidate who has been working two days short of six months! My guarantee period with the company is six months, but there has been a change in management, and the person who originally hired her is no longer there and the person who is now her manager doesn’t like her work or personality and wants to replace her.
The new manager does not seem very easy to work with. What should I do? Do you have something in your contract that stipulates a change in management clause? The previous manager loved the placed candidate! I realize I will have to work on the mandate however would you add a fee or just bite the bullet?
According to Danny replies:
Many of my clients include clauses in their guarantees designed to force the company to remain accountable to how they treat the candidate on an ongoing basis. Once they start, we have, in a sense, delivered!
From that day forward, fall outs become more about how the candidate feels the company did not live up to promises, than about how the candidate is not effective. So some guarantees will essentially say if the candidate doesn’t perform, or if we find they are not able to do what they and references said they could, we take the heat; but if you go Chapter 11, change the compensation or duties or location of the job, or if you RIF them due to loss of business, you take the heat and there is no guarantee and we replace for another fee.
I have not seen anyone attempt to add the clause that if someone other than the person who originally managed them is appointed to manage them the guarantee is null and void. I can’t imagine a client being hamstrung in this way.
As much as you don’t want to hear this because clearly the new manager appears difficult at the least and out to get your candidate at the most, you need to stop rationalizing. Your guarantee, which is too long by the way - more than double the average- is in effect. Two days or two hours doesn’t matter. You must stand by it.
For all new business, time to rewrite your guarantee.
September 29th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
This is an opportunity to work with the new manager. I find that any management change is like starting over. This is positive! Start finding a replacement for backup in case of a fall off and start building a relationship with the new manager! Go for it! Beth
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:43 am
I would go above the new manager, something you always need to do, anyway. Never settle for knowing only the first manager above your placed candidate. HA’s come and go all the time; what you’ve described is not unique.
Since you indicate she has a personality of her own, seek to get agreement with an executive above her to get her to cool her jets. After all, you can explain, they’ve hired someone who has done fine all this time, knows the company’s ropes/systems and all will be lost, especially time spent on this if they toss the baby with the water.
If you can get the upline executive to understand the new manager is a pain, you may be able to get support from above. Maybe even trigger the executive to send that new manager into the cornfield.
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:54 am
Regarding Guarantee Periods:
I’m sure we’d all like to give six month Guarantees, I’ve said to clients I’d like to give twelve month Guarantees since after all, a professional placement has a rationale for both sides’ benefit.
However, unless you are dealing with Intuit or any other company where it is either their way or no way, I’d limit Guarantees to ninety days. It is your job to sell that concept in advance, as you must already know.
Also, had you been staying in touch regularly with both client and candidate? If this was a surprise move- the change in managers- then you left yourself open to this.
Either your candidate ought to have kept you appraised at the first or you ought to have been keeping tabs at a higher level of authority, as I suggested earlier.
At the first sign of impending change, you were supposed to be there, putting that fire out before it got started by soliciting agreement with the executive staff that no ‘currently satisfactory’ hires will be affected.
Did not the new manager meet with your candidate? That would have been the day you were supposed to get that call so you could intercede and create that relationship before it fell apart, not after.
In my book, my candidate would have been coached by me to be sure there is peace between her/him and the new manager.
At the first sign of change, that would have been when you might have been on the phone with that new manager, doing a little risk assessment/reduction.