Every organization wants to make great hiring decisions yet many Thai companies are killing their chances by taking far too long to make a decision. Maybe you know what I am talking about…you get contacted about an opportunity that sounds really exciting, however three months later you’re still interviewing and you now find yourself no longer interested in the job. It happens everyday and quite frankly, it’s always struggling companies or those that have the wrong people making hiring decisions that are guilty of making this mistake.
One of the factors that contributes to the never-ending job interview is the hiring manager who feels the more candidates a company interviews, the better its chances are of making a great hire. Nothing could be further from the truth as this kind of “cattle call” interview process only wastes time and offends the best candidates. For successful people who are already employed with a top company, informing them of a “phone screening” in which the company has several “slots” will end any enthusiasm they had about the job. Furthermore, any hiring manager that has more than ten people in their candidate pool for a senior level role does not know what they are looking for and this will ultimately result in a bad hire.
An analogy that people can relate to which illustrates my point is vacationing with the person who kills all the pleasure and joy of traveling by spending all their time looking for the absolute best deal. We all know someone like this…you have a place in mind that you would like to travel to and you find a good rate on airfare and a great hotel at a fair price but rather than booking the vacation at that time, the “deal maker” spends day and night on the internet for the next three weeks looking for a better deal only to learn that all the good packages are gone. Eventually, you wind up with a lower quality hotel and airline for a much higher price.
For many Thai companies, they don’t realize that the longer a job stays vacant, the less desirable it becomes. That’s why the best companies in Bangkok know that it’s important to have a clear strategy of what and who they are looking for prior to even announcing the job vacancy. In talking with companies in Thailand, we always tell them to have a mental short list of people for all their executive roles should the day come when a key person leaves or needs to be replaced. Think of it as a “fire drill” in the sense that you should know exactly what to when it’s announced that a key executive role needs to be filled. In comparison, poorly managed companies always get caught off guard and find themselves spending weeks putting a plan together after the person has left the company. Sadly for them, they never understood the phrase, “time is money”.
In targeting employed successful executives at competitors, a company should be prepared to make an offer that will entice an attractive candidate to leave their current job. That means having a compensation plan in place that has been well researched and is competitive within the industry. Also, you should already know what a candidate makes before they even interview for the first time, otherwise you could be wasting alot of people’s valuable time.
Finally, you should have both a timeline and commitments from key decision makers as to availability so that you can move the process forward very quickly. If someone is planning on going on vacation, make sure that it does not delay the process as time kills all deals. Also, keep in mind that employed executives do not have the ability to call in every week requesting time off so consider the following strategy: a first interview over the phone, a second interview at the office and a last interview conducted during dinner where the candidate brings their spouse. Any more time than this and you are overthinking your candidate selection.
