I Want to Hire Someone My Team Said No to on the Debrief: Ask the EM

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2021-08-09 03:30:05

"I'm leading a team that was on auto-pilot mode for some time. I recently made a decision to hire a great candidate that the team was not sure about. I found that the team's objections were not on solid grounds, and we could've lost the candidate to another company (he had other offers).

The CTO and HR backed me, saying that we can take into account the team feedback, but they don't get a deciding vote. This led to some team members feel hurt, and we ended in a heated discussion. I'm 100% sure that the new candidate will be an asset to the team. I'm planning to have a chat with the team and explain my rationale and try to have an amicable discussion. How could have I handled the decision better?" - an engineering manager trying to do the right thing"

Hiring is challenging to do: after talking with someone for a few hours, you need to get enough signals to decide if they could be a good fit for the team/company for years to come. It's a big decision for everyone involved: not just for the company, team, and manager, but even more so for the potential new hire.

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