The T Factor

“The T Factor” was a big mystery to the marketing team of a $20 million+ on-line social networking company. Why did their Chief Marketing Officer reject every candidate they interviewed? Why couldn't they find candidates he would like? Short of cloning him, they were stumped.

As part of Chaloner Associates' new program that helps rapidly bolster a company's recruitment process, I designed and led two training sessions for the company. With booming sales and entry into new global markets, the company recently promoted a number of employees, many of whom had limited management and recruiting experience. Recognizing the gap in their management team's capabilities, the company made the investment in the session and tailored it to their unique business and culture. “I wanted to make sure we hire the right people,” explained the CEO. “It costs too much money to make a bad hire and it's a drain on morale.” He added, “We have teams of people involved in the interview process. We need to make sure that we as interviewers don't do all the talking or that three of us ask the same question. Getting away from asking hypothetical questions is key, but my team needs to know how to unearth stories from candidates - how the candidates handled real-world situations.”

The session was productive and participants were lively and engaged. One newly minted manager began by saying, “We interviewed over 30 people this year and our boss vetoed all of them. He doesn't like anyone we like.” They jokingly coined the phrase “The T Factor,” the first initial of the boss's last name, and challenged each other to solve the problem. After a few minutes of venting, a few key themes emerged:

• Interviewers spend, on average, more than 50% of the time talking. Each of their meetings lasts for more than an hour - and they barely skim the surface.
  
• Typically, the interviewers ask questions that are either leading or could be answered with a simple yes or no rather than ask questions that dig beneath the surface.
  
• Though the team knew exactly what was important to their boss - they easily identified a composite sketch of someone who would thrive in their unique culture - none of their questions assessed cultural fit.

I asked everyone to write one question they would ask a prospective candidate to determine whether or not they would recommend the candidate to their boss. People wrote furiously. And many wrote more than one question.

The questions themselves were unremarkable, but the themes that emerged were telling and relevant. Are you okay being a strong personality who works for a strong personality? Have you ever worked for a Frenchman? Are you coachable? Will you go the extra mile after you already went the extra mile? How flexible are you? Tell me about a time when things went crazy and how you managed.

The team unanimously agreed that what emerged depicted the profile of someone who would succeed on the team. We then developed a handful of questions that could be used to determine fit, including:

• Think of a specific person who served as a mentor to you. How did he/she influence your career?
• Tell me about someone you worked with whose style was different from yours and how you managed the relationship.
• Tell me about a time when your plans were turned upside down and you had to change course.
• Tell me about a time when the mood in your organization was bleak. What did you do to boost morale? With the benefit of hindsight, what would you have done differently?
  

The team agreed on the importance of sharing their new list of questions with their CMO to ensure they were all on the same page and to add additional ones based on his feedback. We didn't fully and scientifically crack the code on “The T Factor,” but our work brought us much closer to a working theory. The team is more confident that they can now interview candidates more effectively and better gauge their cultural fit. When the session ended, a small group clustered for an additional 15 minutes to revamp their approach for a series of interviews scheduled for later in the day.

If you'd like more information on how Chaloner can help your company improve your internal recruiting process, please contact Ted Chaloner (ted@chaloner.com or 617.451.5170).

About Chaloner Associates, Inc.

CELEBRATING OUR 30TH YEAR IN EXECUTIVE SEARCH - Chaloner Associates is a national, executive search firm specializing in communications, marketing, advertising, and interactive recruitment. With offices in Boston and New York, we work with corporate, agency, consulting and non-profit clients in all industries across the US and Canada. Our knowledgeable recruiters, team-based approach, and long-term client and candidate relationships distinguish Chaloner Associates as a leader in talent acquisition since 1979.