Insights into navigating hiring, performance management, and communication remotely

In a recent virtual panel with moderator Aaron Schumm, and Jordan Garner, Prerna Singh, and David Weiner, our guests broke down the challenges of hiring great leaders in both normal and pandemic environments, managing managers, performance management, layering managers, and communication and transparency during uncertain times.

Here are some highlights from the conversation:

Hiring leaders in a WFH environment:

The panel shared some of the challenges and successes they’ve had in structuring interviews to ensure they’ve hired the best candidate for a remote environment. David commented, “it starts with clear communication from the beginning, and running the process that you would normally run and trusting that the outcomes will deliver.”

Leaning into a strong interview process with all of the key stakeholders with clear scorecards and understanding what a great leader looks like before the process is kicked off is key.

Prerna suggested that long-term consulting projects could be a great way to get to know someone at the leadership level, build trust, and understand the candidate's work style in real-time. “Tactically, if the timing permits, doing a consulting project, and having someone come on for a defined engagement is a great way to see if it is a fit for both parties.”

When hiring leaders, one thing sticks out to Jordan: Culture fit. “Culture fit is the most important thing, and it’s the first thing that is going to fail [in a remote interview process]. How do you suss out culture fit when it’s all virtual?” She suggested setting up coffee chats, and more casual chit chats with stakeholders and team members across the organization are vital to try and replicate the “water cooler” talk that can happen more naturally in an interview setting.

Prerna added that the virtual environment forces hiring managers to focus on what’s important right away.

Performance management during uncertain times

A common thread between the panelists was that the current landscape has shifted goals and has impacted their employees. The panel discussed how to manage people when they might be going through difficult times, especially if they are not performing well.

David said that first, it starts with “clear communication and expectations with people. If you are clear on what is expected from me, and what I should expect from you, and we agree on that, then we have an understanding of deliverables. If there are extenuating circumstances let’s sit down and figure out what is reasonable, and work together to make sure we are achieving those things.”

Jordan gave her thoughts on what this meant as an exec at the leadership table when the goals and expectations need to change based on the new environment, and she shared her advice for anyone having to do this for their organization. “A leader needs to manage goals with leadership, be realistic, and revisit what that looks like in goal setting. People get nervous about changing goals, and goal relief, when it’s a matter of reevaluating goals. You have to have honest conversations with leadership about what is the new reality, and then talk with your team about the outcome of that conversation. Let’s reframe it all. What are we doing every day? Let’s make sure we’re being the most efficient.”

Complexity in layering leadership roles

The panel discussed the experience of realizing they needed to hire for another manager between one of their people managing direct reports, (ie. hiring for a Director level role between a senior manager and VP) and it’s never easy, but there are good ways of conducting that conversation.

The panelists have all done this and found a way to form a better relationship with those direct reports by involving them in the process and using it as an opportunity for professional development. David said, “I’ve recently had to do this, and we allowed the direct reports to put their name in the hat and interview, and it was a great opportunity for them to get that exposure and push themselves, and ultimately it gave them tangible things to work on coming out of the process. They weren’t at that level yet, but together we have a roadmap to get them to that next level with what to work on.”

Jordan mentioned that before even considering this, “you need to have 100% certainty that you need this extra layer, and why. Then it’s about showing them that they are valuable to the organization and demonstrate that by having the conversation about the impact they have and where they fit into the success of the team as a whole.”

Communication when times are tough

No surprise here, but there was alignment around communication and transparency being the keys to great leadership when facing challenging times. That can appear in the form of delivering tough news or being as transparent as possible with the team on what’s happening at the executive level or communicating what the team needs back to the executive level.

The other takeaway that applied to everyone’s experience was humanness and the level of flexibility needed, checking in more often and providing outlets wherever possible, and giving space when needed for employees who have more going on at home.

We are so appreciative of the panel for showing up and sharing their honest insights and experiences to our broader community and for giving us some real tangible advice for succeeding as a leader while navigating the changing environment.

— Gina Yocom, Primary Director of Talent

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