Ask The Team To Select Their New Manager

14 Jul 2023

Have you ever wondered how to recruit a manager who stands a good chance of fitting in well with the existing team? This can be one of the hardest things to do when bringing in someone recruited externally.

Being able to fit with the team that is already there is half of the battle and if it works then they can really hit the ground running. There are many and varied approaches to achieving this and you can carry out all sorts of tests and challenges during the selection process, but we favour something which we know works well: let the team decide!

Now, we’re not saying the team should take charge of the whole recruitment exercise for their new boss, as you should always have the formal selection processes in place, but allowing the team some input into who could be their next leader can work wonders – both for improving the selection decision, but also for helping give a great start to their working relationship.

You can facilitate this in various ways:

A very informal setting, where the team meet and chat with the candidates individually. This can be an excellent way to see how each candidate interacts with the team and how the conversation flows back and forth. Being able to be personable and a team player will give a candidate a huge advantage in this instance, though it isn’t the be-all and end-all of what the post entails and this should also be something that you bear in mind. It is possible to get too hung up on charisma and overlook the other parts of the job that they will be asked to do as well.

Asking the team to observe a part of the formal selection process and asking for their thoughts can be another way of involving them in the decision-making. Getting a window into the selection process will allow them to form their own opinions about who should be the next manager but they may all end up rooting for different people. Persuading people to come to the same conclusions can be like herding cats sometimes.

Inviting a member of the team into the formal interview panel. This is a great way of letting the team know you value their input and want to find someone who suits them. Just be sure to give their views the correct amount of weight when it comes to making a decision.

There can always be some pitfalls – not all the team will like every potential new manager, but showing the team you value their opinion will go a long way to developing a happy workplace.

By involving the existing team, you also run the risk that they don’t like any of the people you have selected for the final stage of the process. At this point, you will have to make the decision whether to run the selection process again or to press on, knowing that none of the people interviewed made the grade with the team.