The Situation
Our client, an association executive, valued inclusiveness. The executive felt it was important to include the opinions of senior staff in key hiring decisions. Unfortunately, some senior staff members were not skilled interviewers, and tended to veto the hire of anyone who might bring change, raise standards or threaten their turf. Hiring decisions languished, and the executive’s cherished new initiatives were stalled.
Our Analysis
In many organizations, a handful of recalcitrant employees can effectively thwart change. But happily, an equally small group of committed new employees can have the opposite effect. Staffing Advisors often works with leaders to “tip the culture” in the right direction with hiring process changes and new hires that help usher in a new era of thinking and accountability.
We often help our clients navigate difficult organizational transitions, and our third party perspective makes it possible for us to see how a transition might unfold even before our clients do.
The Result Of Our Work
Staffing Advisors helped our client redesign the hiring process to maintain inclusiveness, without being trapped by the need for unanimous agreement. A similar decision framework was soon adopted in other areas of the organization. As the direct result of a handful of new hires, and by removing “veto” power from a few people, our client is now decisively moving forward with key initiatives that had been stalled for over a year. As expected, the people who had previously been obstacles to change are realizing that the change is coming with or without their approval. Over time, we anticipate their full support for the new initiatives.