Throwing Mud at Clients
(Part 2)
When I first started in this crazy recruiting business and sent out resumes, I felt like I was throwing mud at clients. Now I know...I was throwing mud at clients! Through experience, I have learned the necessity of a specific, in-depth position description.
There are five areas that define a position:
- Responsibilities of the position
- Needed qualifications
- Current size, scope of the department, services offered, target market
- Wish list, such as talent gaps in the department
- Attraction factor of the company/position/manager, i.e. why would someone want this job?
Items 1, 2 and 5 are used to advertise the position through print, electronic or old fashioned telephoning. Items 2, 3, and 4 are used to qualify candidates. Last month we covered items 1, 2, and 5; this month we'll examine 3 and 4.
Attracting candidates for a position is one thing - qualifying candidates is quite another. In order to qualify a candidate for a specific position, Item 3 (company size, department /division size, scope of the division/department, services offered, and the target customer market) needs to be assessed.
For example, in the banking world there is a great difference between the experience and skills needed to be the CEO of Bank of America than to be the CEO of a $1 billion asset privately owned bank. Not that one is better than the other - just a different set of managers to manage, interaction with a different board, interaction with a different public/ community and a different set of stockholders.
The same holds true for department/division size. This is truly a consideration for wealth management. In some organizations, wealth management is a small part of the services offered; in others, wealth management assets are larger than the bank assets. If you’re a small department where everyone wears a lot of hats, you may want to think twice before hiring that “rainmaker” for a larger organization. Has he ever developed his own marketing materials or was he given a program from home office? If that new manager is coming from a smaller organization, are you going to spend the time to show him the ropes of corporate communication?
What is the scope of the department/division? Does wealth management include high net worth (HNW) investment management, trust, private bank lending/deposits, family office, or brokerage - or do wealth management and brokerage compete? Is private banking a part of retail? This is important to determine the skills needed for managers and sales people. Do you have sales people or are the relationship managers responsible for sales? How are teams organized?
What does your target customer look like? Do you want a candidate who has worked with median account size over $1 million, or is $500,000 in investable assets large enough? Do you work with clients who are looking for investment management, estate planning, or financial planning? What is your focus; what services do you offer?
This leads us to Item 5 - what is on your wish list for this candidate? For example, you have an urgent need for a personal trust administrator and your department manager is retiring in three years. Your wish list would be to hire an administrator - but one with management experience would be a plus. Another example might be that you have a need for a sales person - but one with relationship management skills to alleviate the load of your overworked administrator would be a real plus. Take the time to look at your gaps, determine where you want to grow, and hire accordingly.
Overall it may seem like a lot of time to fully define a position...and it is, especially when so many other business decisions require your valuable time. That is where an experienced, qualified in-house recruiter or outsourced “hired-gun” can help you. He can ask the questions, help you narrow down the needed qualifications and write a summary of the position with required qualifications. If you’re not getting that level of service, ask for it. If you can’t get that level of service from your existing recruiter, call BancSearch, Inc. We’re here to serve you!
Regards,
Maggie Cunningham, CPC
and remember -
Life is Good Beyond All Measure!
For More Information Contact:
Maggie Cunningham, CPC
BancSearch, Inc.
P.O. Box 700516
Tulsa, OK 74170
1-918-496-9477
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