CHAPTER 9

Filling the Void

Ben was now facing a serious problem. One of his best employees had resigned, and he needed to backfill her position as soon as possible. Leaving EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) without a marketing head could prove to be costly in both the short term and long run. Their group had hired a consultant in the meantime, but the cost was astronomical. Ben needed to work fast and he was about to do something he had never done before. His company had a recruiting firm that they used for filling European jobs, but he hadn’t been impressed so far with what they had offered. On the other hand, a colleague had recommended someone he had worked with in the past. Ben was about to meet him virtually, but it would be the first time he had interviewed anyone on Skype before. Logistically, it wasn’t ideal, but it was the only way. The local time in Paris was 16:00, while Ben was going to take the call in his house at 7:00. At exactly the expected time, Ben’s computer rang that familiar tone and he picked up the video call. He hoped this guy was good, because the urgency of the situation loomed over Ben’s head.

Hiring for a virtual team can have its challenges. To begin with, the manager will likely have to rely on technology for the interviews. Secondly, it’s just not the same when one is on the phone, or looking at a screen versus meeting face-to-face. It can be harder to decipher important visual cues during the interview, and distractions are more of a problem, such as e-mail notifications popping up in mid-sentence. A leader may have to rely heavily on local managers to meet the candidate and give their assessments of his or her ability. Another problem is the potential for increased costs versus a local candidate. For example, if a candidate makes it to the final interview, the virtual leader may actually want to meet him or her face-to-face before making the final decision. This decision can incur added financial costs from hotel, airfare, food, and any other required transportation. While choosing a solid person may be challenging, it is an absolutely crucial step in being a successful leader, especially in the virtual environment.

In any situation, a bad hire can be a very costly and time-consuming problem. Hiring the wrong person can bring financial, temporal, and psychological costs to a leader. A bad employee can bring down financial results due to lack of performance and/or inability or unwillingness to learn. The new hire may require additional, costly training programs to help maneuver through rough patches, and there may be heavy recruiting costs if the person is so bad that termination is necessary. Furthermore, bad hires can have the manager spending extra time reviewing basic responsibilities with them, helping them improve their performance, or coaching them through continuous failures. Finally, a bad hire can cause psychological stress for both the manager and the other members of the team. In the worst-case scenario, a bad hire can create a toxic environment and demoralize the team. Some may even wonder why the person was hired when they felt more qualified for the role. Hiring the wrong person can create such friction on a team that it could damage not only the reputation of the leader, but also that of the firm in some cases. One study reported that managers spend 17 percent of their time dealing with poor employees. That basically amounts to nearly a full day each week that the managers could have been doing more productive work (DeLeon 2015b).

Following his phone call, Ben took a moment to evaluate the discussion. The candidate had an excellent background and handled himself very well on the phone. His qualifications made him an ideal candidate for the marketing tasks required in the role. Furthermore, Ben was pleased with how he handled the discussions through an online forum. While he was concerned about how effective an interview would be over Skype, Ben felt that he was still able to assess the candidate well. Furthermore, it allowed him to see how well the candidate managed the discussion through communications technology.

Still, there was one small issue that nagged Ben throughout the call. The candidate had excellent managerial experience in local and more traditional teams. However, he had never managed teams on different continents and across major differences in time zones. He wondered how the candidate would handle the stress of having limited access to information at times, while waiting for workers on other continents to wake up. Furthermore, Ben wondered how responsive he would be to issues in the United States, when they might not have much direct relevance to his team. Ben knew that hiring the right person wasn’t just about offering up money and hoping someone will fit the bill. Would the candidate’s lack of experience with geographically dispersed teams be a major challenge? Ben wondered, and he planned to discuss it in detail with the candidate in the next call.

When hiring new people, money offered is a standard, a commodity, but talent is not. It’s about finding the right person for the job. It is so important to find a person who not only has good credentials and experience but also has the right attitude, talent, and fit for the team (Bagley 2013). In the virtual environment, this can be even more challenging. Given the difference in work environments and lack of direct face-to-face communication, additional skill sets are required for virtual team hires. Various issues must be considered. Is the candidate motivated to work in an environment where his or her supervisor is not present? Is the individual able to cope in situations where he or she may not receive immediate feedback from the team or the boss? Can the person adeptly manage communications technology?

Another key issue is whether the candidate can properly prioritize work. The individual may be inundated with e-mails and potential projects, but will he or she have the skill to understand which should be given high priority versus those that can be managed at a later time (McKeegan and McKeegan 2015)? Another key factor to consider when hiring virtual managers or team members is their ability to work with teams and, more importantly, their reliability when managing tasks. As mentioned earlier, reliability is a fundamental factor in building trust in the virtual environment. Finally, candidates who work in an environment where their colleagues can come from anywhere in the world should have cultural sensitivity and be open to different ways of working.

Ben’s second call went well. The candidate expressed that while his team was mostly local, he did have some members who worked in other European countries. He, therefore, understood the complexities of working in a virtual environment and welcomed the challenges that accompanied them. Several other managers met with the candidate, but given the importance of the position, Ben felt that he should meet him face-to-face. Ben’s administrative assistant arranged for the candidate to fly in for a day and meet with Ben.

After spending the day with the candidate, Ben decided to make an offer. He felt that the candidate could be a great fit for the team. He knew, however, that the candidate would initially require some additional training and coaching around working virtually with vastly displaced teams. Still, Ben was comfortable with his decision. Would it payoff though? Ben knew the importance of a good on-boarding for new employees. He was fully aware that the better integrated the employee was, the more satisfied he would be in his job. Only time would tell if Ben had made a good hire, and time can be a tricky subject.