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| Photo by Jonathunder |
Ah, summertime. When the eatin’ is good and the cotton is high! Graduations are done and a whole new crop of eager beavers are out there looking for their first great opportunity to make a difference in this great world of ours. Many have their heads filled with new ideas and the passion to make them happen. So how many of them are knocking at your door? Do you really have a need or an opening? Are budgets set for the year and “it’s just not a good time”? Are you looking for someone to provide that spark of innovation that could kick your accomplishments (and profitability) into high gear?
Sometimes it feels like a curse to have seen so many ways not to run a business. One gigantic mistake that I have seen frequently is that business owners and managers underestimate the value of the people they hire as employees. Yes, we live in a time when corporate and employee loyalty are not what they used to be. Yes, there is pressure from overseas to outsource American jobs that no one dreamed would happen. Yes, there is increased competition and costs putting constant pressure on profitability, both long-term and short-term. So, as someone in the position of hiring new employees, how do you go about filling key positions and identifying the kind of people you need?
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| Willie Mays - NY Giants - 1954 |
First decision you probably have to make is cost based. Based on the skill set required and the supply and demand for that skill set, you try to set a salary level, advertise for the position and sift through the resumes. When you’re sifting, what are you looking for? You typically have two choices: hire the veteran or hire the rookie.
With the veteran you hopefully are getting a seasoned professional who can make an immediate impact. This is also the person who is going to cost you more. The rookie will be a smaller hit to your budget and will most likely require more training and handholding to get them up to speed. Ideally, this should be a classic “you get what you pay for scenario”. There are distinct advantages and disadvantages in each scenario. The veteran may be the “rainmaker” you need and there may be baggage or skeletons from previous experience that may negatively impact performance. The rookie, on the other hand, will be cheaper yet their inexperience will require training time and effort that you may not feel you have. The value proposition is whether the time invested in training the rookie and the funds saved in compensation will pay off over the expected length of time the new employee is with the company.
In either case, whether you hire the veteran or the rookie, it is key to find out what their level of commitment will be to the new position. Again, without much loyalty on either side of the table, as the business owner you need to know how much you can rely on the prospective employee, especially if they are going to be in direct contact with your customer. Which brings up another extremely important point. If you are trying to find someone for an open position in sales or customer service, this is the time to be extremely selective. While other positions in the company are important to the operation of the company, you can make an unbelievable impact by hiring the right people for customer contact positions. This is where the image and culture of the organization will be in contact with the outside world. This is where your style as the business owner will be reflected and duplicated to your customers. Many companies require personality testing when looking for customer contact employees. While I’m not a big fan of categorizing people into neat psychological cubbyholes, this is one area where I would consider making an exception. During the interview process, you want to hear phrases like, “I love working with people”, “I’m calm under fire” and “I like to help others in developing solutions”.
One thing to remember: that while products and services are sold to generate revenue, it’s the people that make it happen.
