"I need to find a good manager."

This statement is simple and its occurrence too common, but finding a good manager can be harder than it seems. Quite simply, if you make the wrong selection, the future of your organization may be in jeopardy. It only takes a few months of bad management to undo years of work spent building a smooth functioning machine.

The problem is that the downward spiral is seldom realized until the damage is done. By then, good employees have left, remaining staff is demoralized, longtime customers are gone and cyberspace is abuzz. Despite the careful vetting process of employment screens, interviews, background checks and talking with personal references, your handpicked manager—the golden child who you thought would solve all your problems and make your job easy—has failed to meet expectations. And so you have to begin again. The options before you are simple: promote from within or hire from the outside. This time, consider these strategies in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

Promote From Within: When you promote existing employees into management, there are several items working in your favor. First, you know them and their work ethic. Next, they have already proven themselves, perhaps as a supervisor, a trainer, a star employee or maybe all three. Third, they know your business; they will not need to be trained in how your organization operates. Fourth, they know the industry and they understand your company's role in it.

The downside is they seldom have management experience. This means management training will be required, followed by close supervision as they grow into their new job. That will not happen quickly. Along the way, they will make mistakes. You hope the blunders will be minor and the successes will greatly outweigh the errors.

Hire From The Outside: The other approach is to hire an experienced manager. This solves all the issues surrounding management training. Yes, the new manager will still require some oversight in the beginning, but the time will be much shorter than for someone with no managerial experience.

The disadvantage of hiring from the outside is that you have no history together. You don't know the person's work ethic or character, and he or she doesn't know your business or your operation. The new candidate will likely lack specific, relevant experience and won't understand your industry. And even if he or she does have the needed industry expertise, you may be faced with retraining to fit your organization.

There is no easy approach when hiring a manager, but your time and investment in the right choice can make a significant impact on your business.

Source: Peter DeHaan is a magazine publisher by day and a writer by night.