By Bob Corlett | Phoenix Business Journal
In a high-stakes hiring situation, it’s common to invite the finalist to interview with an objective external expert. In our searches for top financial executives, the CEO often wants the finalist to meet the chair of their Finance Committee. When the board is not involved, the CEO might want the candidate to interview with the company’s outside auditors.
The key is to be sure you don’t hire a CFO with skills like this guy.
The same due diligence occurs when hiring the top job in most other functional areas. In searches for top executives in marketing, development and IT, our clients often arrange time for the finalists to meet with their trusted outside advisors. Familiar with the needs of the organization, these advisors serve to fairly and objectively evaluate a candidate’s subject matter expertise.
Statement by David Weissman:
“Just like a company should ask for input from HR executives when hiring outside employment law counsel, it does seem to make great sense for the company to consult with outside counsel when hiring an HR executive.
“Given the complex “alphabet soup” of the various employment laws that impact HR departments on a daily basis, today’s HR execs must have a good working knowledge of state and federal law.
“And who better to gauge that knowledge than an experienced employment attorney? Moreover, HR personnel must have a solid working relationship with outside counsel, along with a good sense as to when to call on that counsel for advice. Effective use of outside counsel by HR can ultimately save the company lots of headaches, distractions and money.
“For all those reasons, input from outside counsel when evaluating an HR candidate would seem to be quite valuable.”
If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, dweissman@roselawgroup.com
