stuck between 2 candidates for internal promotion
I’m a new manager tasked with hiring internally from my immediate small team for a promotion.
The promotion is to a very customer centred sales role.
I had one team member who has been with the company over two years, and I have worked alongside them that whole time as their team member and now as their manager they are reliable, hard working, detail orientated, my right hand man who has supported me through my own promotion. They are young, got the job fresh out of college, and inexperienced in the world and in customer service and sales. The role they do at the moment contains a minimum amount of sales focus, but his numbers are still very mid in this area. I do not think he will be comfortable asking the questions and building the relationships I need him to build. This is his only progression route in the company, so I believe that is why they have applied, not for want to do it, but want to climb the ladder and there is no other direction.
The other candidate is new to my team, 20+ years older, very experienced in customer service and is a very likably and friendly person my customers have immediately taken to. He has only been with me a few months, and is still on probation. He has also excelled in the minimum sales required from the existing roll.
This is a horrible decision to make. The first candidate has worked very hard, and deserves the opportunity to grow within the company, but also he has had 6 months to improve his performance and has not been able to get it to a point it needs to be, this person is practically a friend, and honestly I wouldn’t have managed my first 6 months in the position without their support. But I feel he is less suitable for the job. Despite this, it feels very wrong to snatch his promotion that he previously was a shoe in for (as the only option) to give to the more suitable candidate who has only been in the door 2 minutes.
How do I deal with this? I am a first time manager managing the team I have built my own career with for multiple years. I was given the benefit of the doubt and given my promotion, surely I owe him the same courtesy, or do I do what I know is more logical for my business.