Introducing a commercial role without friction

There comes a point in a company's growth where the existing structure no longer suffices. A new market needs someone entirely focused on it. Large customers ask for a different approach than the rest of the portfolio. Or the sales team grows and needs someone to take on the coordination.

The reflex is then often to hire. Draw up a job description, post a vacancy and take someone on. But dropping a new role into an organisation too quickly, without preparing it properly, creates more problems than it solves.

The role exists before you fill it

Introducing a new commercial role does not start with the hire. It starts with a fundamental question: what exactly do you expect from this role, and how does it fit into the existing organisation?

That sounds obvious, but in practice the step is often skipped. The CEO knows he needs a key account manager, but has not yet thought about what that person does day to day, who they report to, which decisions they take on their own and which they do not, and how the role changes the collaboration with other departments.

That last point is crucial. A new role always affects the people around it. A key account manager who handles large customers touches the work of inside sales, logistics, production and management. If those interfaces are not worked out beforehand, overlaps, ambiguity and frustration follow.

Start with the organisation chart

A good first step is the organisation chart. Not as an administrative exercise but as a thinking tool. Where does this role fit in the current structure? Who works with it, who steers it, and who is affected by it?

Only once that picture is clear does it make sense to work out the role itself. What are the concrete responsibilities? Which objectives go with it? What authority does that person get, and where are the limits?

A tool I often use is a RACI matrix. It sets down per process or decision who is responsible, who is accountable, who is consulted and who has to be informed. For a new role such a matrix is particularly useful: it quickly shows where the new role cuts across existing agreements and where new agreements are needed.

Support is not a side issue

Introducing a new role means existing habits get adjusted. Someone who used to take on a certain task no longer does. Someone else gains more say over a domain where they previously had little input. That raises questions, and sometimes resistance.

Building support is therefore not a side issue but a condition. It starts with transparent communication about why the new role is needed, what it involves and what changes for the rest of the team. Not as one-way traffic from management, but as a conversation in which people get the chance to ask questions and voice concerns.

In practice I notice that this communication step is often taken too quickly. An email or a short note in a team meeting does not suffice when a role has a significant impact on the daily work of several people. Take the time to speak individually with the people most affected by the change.

Internal or external?

Once the role is well defined and the support is there, the question follows: who fills it? The first reflex is often to recruit externally. But it is worth looking inside first.

An internal candidate knows the company, the customers and the culture. They need no run-up to understand how things work. And if someone inside is already showing interest in a certain direction, that is a signal it could fit well.

That does not mean internal is always the best choice. Sometimes a new role asks for competences that are simply not present inside. Or the company needs a fresh view from outside. But the trade-off deserves more attention than it usually gets.

If you recruit externally, a good job description is not a formality. It is the first signal you give as a company to potential candidates. A vague or generic description attracts vague or generic candidates. A specific description that makes clear what the role involves, what the challenges are and what you expect, filters better and inspires more confidence.

The first months decide the outcome

A new employee who was well recruited can still fail if the onboarding does not hold. The first months are decisive: does that person get to know the organisation quickly enough, do they get the support they need, and are the expectations clear from day one?

A structured onboarding plan is no luxury. What does the new employee learn in the first weeks, who guides them, which objectives hold for the first three and six months? Answering those questions beforehand makes the difference between someone who is productive quickly and someone who spends months looking for their place.

Conclusion

Introducing a new commercial role is more than a hire. It is an organisational change that asks for preparation, communication and follow-up. Companies that take those steps get far more out of their new employee. And they avoid the frustration that comes from a role introduced too quickly and too thoughtlessly.