Hiring employees

Marketing your business from the inside out is the best way to ensure success as customers go through the trial stage with your company.

Internal controls, procedures and systems are required to ensure that not only you, the entrepreneur, but also any future hires act in a way that properly represents your new baby business.

The hiring of an employee is like pulling the pin in a grenade, and still holding the clip. If you let go of the clip, everything is lost. The easiest way to hold the clip is to create operations manuals for everything that needs to be done in that job. Create systems to ensure training of that employee and followup with ongoing evaluations.

Most businesses need employees. The successful ones know how to hire the best.

We all want the best. To get them requires hiring practices that are systemized. 

The definition of the best employee will vary depending on your viewpoint. Some are looking for the dependable, no bullshit, straight to the point person. Others will look for the caring, mother hen. You may want a little fun, but not crazy fun as a quality in your hire.  

The first step is identify the qualities you want in a new hire. You then find five questions you can ask looking for insight into your desired qualities. The person either has what you're looking for or they don't. Don't swerve from your objective. Don't settle. Don't hire anyone with a pulse. Don't put words in their mouth. Let them do the talking. It's time to listen.

I know one entrepreneur who defines his perfect hire by how they work on the job. In the interview he asks them if they would be willing to work one shift for free to see they would like the job. The candidate doesn't realize the most important part of the interview will be the observation of the potential employee in action. The entrepreneur looks for body language clues or facial expressions during the free work day to see if they are a good fit. This entrepreneur is playing poker and the candidate is showing him all his cards on the job. It's worked for him. Average turnover rate is under 1 employee per year for the past 10 years. At 10%, his turnover is well below the industry average of 150%.

Starbucks founder Harold Shultz was asked what his secret was to getting people to smile at Starbucks. His answer, "We hire people who like to smile". 

Can it be that simple?

But we can't hire the right person unless we first identify the characteristics of the right person. A good hire will grow your business. A bad one will shrink it. It's your job to know the difference.

As the Chetshire Cat says in Alice in Wonderland, "If you don't know where you're going then any road will do."