Q: What about your partners and their experience? A: Anthony Townley has over thirty years of staffing and executive search experience. He conducts our searches once position requirements have been defined. Barry Foster has extensive assessment knowledge and is a leader and innovator in business and executive coaching profession. Barry and I procure retained search assignments, facilitate development of position requirements with position development team and selection team, and coach integration process of new executive.

Q: Describe typical client you work with. A: Closely-held companies with a sweet spot of $25-100 million in sales. We have worked with organizations with sales of $4 million to over $300 million. We deal mostly with CEO or President of organization or COO.

Q: Can you give us an overview of your company and its services? A: ASearch takes risk and doubt out of next critical hire an organization makes. We take an organizational development approach to make this a reality. We help our clients understand their culture, define position and goals for first 30, 60, 90 and next 180 days with agreed upon evidence of goal accomplishments, required and desired experience and education and objective psychometrics required for new position based on understanding of culture and position requirements. We also make sure that selection team understands its role in making this new key person successful. Finally, we coach integration process of new hire with reviews at 45- and 90-day time periods. At that time, if all parties are progressing as expected, we extend our guarantee for balance of first year from date of hire.

Q: Any additional information about your services? A : Because we become so knowledgeable about an organization and are able to provide so much value, we often reach level of trusted advisor and are asked to assist in other organizational development type assignments. In this case, we will do assignment or bring in other professionals who we have worked with to perform services on behalf of ASearch and client.

Q: Have most of your clients had a negative hiring experience? A: Yes. Almost all of our current search clients have had a poor hire in a similar position or understand value of getting right fit first time.

Q: Can you give us an idea of how much money is lost due to these failures? A: It’s hard to gauge lost opportunity costs -- which are higher costs -- lost business, turnover of good employees, lost production and bad comments about an organization which means opportunities you will never get or know why. On tangible side, are transaction costs, advertising, resume culling, extensive interview time, training costs of wrong person once hired, lost wages and benefits, placement fees, law suits for wrongful discharge, contractual costs, relocation costs and contractual separation costs if executive is let go for any reason but cause. Minimum figures for turnover of an executive have been four to five times annual salary.

Q: Why have those employees failed? A: If you interview companies, you will find a lack of cultural fit (chemistry) and behavior that did not allow new hire to perform i.e. no sense of urgency, low energy, not able to make a decision or hold people accountable, etc.

Q: What are challenges you see facing employers who are trying to do it on their own? A: Understanding real requirements of position and their culture, being able to get below surface or tip of iceberg to match position requirements to candidate, determine what is success early on as well as long term, integrating new hire into organization and working out rough spots — especially if position requires different behavior(s) than current culture.

Q: At what point do employers give up their own attempts and seek your help? A: I am not sure…the need to know that there is a better way than traditional search firm... Otherwise they will continue on a hit or miss proposition. I knew of one firm that turned over a key executive position three or more times and still did not get it right.

Q: Can you quantify retention rate of employees who were sourced on their own, compared to those hired using your firm's services? A: No, but cost of any turnover is great …We know that if you know how to define your culture and position and have objective means of measuring culture and behaviors required for success in this culture doing position requirements, with right experience and education you will have little chance of turning over position. That is why we offer an unprecedented one-year guarantee to everyone who uses our process.

******************** Copyright 2004 Kate Smalley Connecticut Secretary http://www.connecticutsecretary.com kms@connecticutsecretary.com ********************

A - Administrators. These are people who want to get it right. Task oriented, not big on relationships, not very social and don't express their feelings. Very analytical, cautious and risk averse. They work at a slower more methodical pace and are less assertive and less expressive.

Each style has it's own behavioural patterns. Some styles don't get along, others are more suited to each other.

Interestingly population is evenly spread, in other words 25% are one of four styles and more significantly 75% are of a style different to yours.

As an employer it is important that you know your style and that of your employees. Each style thinks differently, reacts differently, communicates differently, works at a different pace, handles emotions differently, manages stress differently and solves problems differently. Not necessarily worse, not better just differently. As an employer your style is most likely going to be different than your employees so you need to know who your staff are and how to communicate with them."

The Final Word Managing stress at work can be kept at a healthy level if you understand what behaviourial type you are and those around you.

Using a simple tool such as MyProfile for yourself and your people will be of great benefit. Stress is caused by many factors and often it's because wrong people have been put into jobs that they are totally unsuitable for.

Managing stress in any business can be greatly reduced if only people would do what they were supposed to. Isn't that right? Unfortunately many people who do hiring do not have skills or experience to choose most suitable candidates. By utilising this tool, it could mean difference between managing stress or accelerating it.

It's really important to consider all these factors when hiring people. So why not make your life easier, save time and money and utilise MyProfile. You'll discover in less than 10 minutes behaviourial style of a candidate or employee. MyProfile tells you if person is suited to job, if their working style match that required to do job. What would normally take months of relationship building and in many instances, a lot of heartache, can be predicted using this tool. For a miniscule investment of $33 can you not afford it?

Further details are available on www.myprofile.com.au or contact Nathan directly nathan@myprofile.com.au