Case History 1202:

Situation:

A midsized manufacturing firm had thought they were purchased by a larger firm who competed in their marketplace.  The long term owners were at last ready to reap the benefits of many years of growing a good business and the management team was now going to see a high potential company revitalized with capital and younger ownership.  Expenditures were held to a minimum in order to drive up profits.  All activity was to drive short term profits.

At the eleventh hour the purchaser backed out leaving upset owners and disappointed management. 

A new turnaround consulting team was hired to help management to regroup and develop the strategy that provide the growth that in turn would provide the purchase price to meet the owners retirement goals.  One of the key needs, which resulted from the planning process, was to hire a Director of Marketing to bridge the gap between the needs of the customer and the engineering group and to develop the right new products to reposition the company as a player in the marketplace.  The interim COO noticed a press release about ASearch and its unique position of working with closely held corporations and contacted one of the principals to interview ASearch to handle the critical executive hire.  The COO realized that this search was sensitive, as the Sales and Marketing VP would be relinquishing some power and was extremely upset that the sale did not go through and was considering resigning.  The bulk of the clients were thought to be loyal to the VP of Sales who personally controlled over 60% of the company’s client relationships.

Problem: 

How does the new Director of Marketing get hired without further dividing the current executive team?

The Process:

   Position Development:

• Position Development Team was developed from key management group which reported to the interim COO.
• Selection Team was developed consisting of the acting COO, VP of Sales, and VP of Finance and Operations.
• The entire Position Development Team completed on line assessments and was debriefed on the team behavior and culture.  Each member received individual reports.  This was facilitated by Bruce Clinton and Barry Foster.
• Each member completed an on line Position Requirement document and forwarded their responses to our administrator who consolidated the responses.
• The selection team met with Bruce and Barry who facilitated discussions leading to consensus on position requirements.  The selection team formulated key agreement around: reporting relationships, salary, required and desired experience and education, major responsibilities and per cent of time devoted to each and 30, 60, 90 and next 180 day goals for the new marketing director.  The final discussions focused on what the team would do to support the integration process.

• The last step in developing the position was to recalibrate the assessment instruments to reflect the behaviors, values, learning index and interests that the new marketing director would need to perform the position requirements.

The Search Process:

• Armed with the position requirements Anthony Townley, the partner in charge of conducting the search, met with the selection team to finalize his recruitment plan.
• Candidates were recruited and screened and those successful in the screening process were administered the on line assessments.
• The assessment results were reviewed by all partners and final candidates, three to four in number, had executive summaries developed and key interview questions developed in areas where they may have fallen slightly short of the assessment pattern.
• Interviews were arranged at the company headquarters.  Only qualified candidates (as determined by our agreed upon objective standards) were submitted.
• A primary candidate was selected and offer was negotiated successfully by Anthony Townley.

The Integration Process:

• Due to the fact that the 30, 60, 90 day plan was in place and agreed upon, Barry and Bruce met with the new marketing Director and the selection team and debriefed the marketing director on his assessments, the team he would be working with and the goals and expectations over the next few months.
• The VP of Sales executed the integration plan effectively and Barry and Bruce met with the selection team at 30, 60 and 90 day intervals and were able to extend our guarantee for the balance of the year full year of hire.         

Additional Updates/Opportunities:

• The VP of Finance and Operations has assumed the role of COO.
• The VP of Sales now reports to his former counterpart, the COO.
• The Director of Marketing has bridged the gap successfully with the field and the engineering department facilitating new product development and supporting marketing programs.  He has become a key leader within the organization.
• ASearch has been asked to perform another search, assist in sales planning and development with the Sales and Marketing Team, facilitated a Team Building Meeting with the Engineering and Sales and Marketing Team and has been asked to coach the COO and Operations Manager.
• ASearch has brought in two additional services: The Essex Group and Bywater to develop a strategic business and exit plan for the current owners and the management team. (Currently in proposal status)

Conclusion:

By going beyond the initial search process and adding real value, we earned the right to be trusted advisors.

Attachments:  ASearchCaseStudy1202.doc