by Beth | Nov 11, 2020 | Employee Hiring
Two weeks ago, I had the following conversation with my daughter, Katy:
Katy: “I am posting your online dating profile tonight.”
Me (horrified): “WHY??:
Katy: “Because you aren’t getting any younger.”
Sigh.
After about a week, I had over 100 invitations to meet. Don’t get too excited: the one that chased me
the most was named Scooter and he was missing several teeth.
Those of you who haven’t been in the dating pool for awhile are probably wondering, how does this
experience relate to hiring? In a surprising number of ways, it is exactly the same. You create an Ideal
List for your next candidate/date with attributes, like honesty, integrity and bi-cuspids. You put together
a job/relationship description. You write your ad/profile. You wade though resumes/profiles. And then
you start interviewing/dating.
The key difference between dating and hiring is that in hiring someone for a job, you as the employer
have all the power. You dictate the criteria, the Ideal List, the interview process, the salary, the title, the
office/remote arrangement, and the job. Your potential employee has very little say in any of this until
they get hired.
In dating, the two people come together as equals, each with the ability to adjust to the needs of the
other. And this is a very big difference between dating and hiring.
And as far as Scooter with his missing incisors? Alas, we will not be meeting. I wish him the very best of
luck in his search.
Stay tuned!
by Beth | Oct 7, 2020 | Employee Hiring, Selecting Good Candidates
Last week, Katy and I were watching the Broncos game against The Jets. (The Broncos won!) In the
middle of the game, we watched a wide receiver make a very difficult catch and drag his toes to make
sure that he stayed inbounds. If he hadn’t dragged his toes, the catch would have been incomplete.
“He has GREAT foot awareness!” Katy exclaimed.
That comment got me thinking… How would you recruit for a wide receiver with great foot awareness?
First of all, just being aware that you must have great foot awareness in your new and improved wide
receiver is imperative. You can’t have what you want unless you know what it is. If you don’t know what
you want, you can easily drop the ball when hiring.
Second, make sure that you add foot awareness to your Ideal List of things that you must have in your
new hire. You don’t want another incomplete pass! Coming up with a solid play book that is written
down is essential to your success.
Finally, clearly communicate what you are looking for to as many people as you possibly can. Get the
message out there, so that your fans can fully support you in your efforts and cheer you on.
Please keep in mind that solid foot awareness is important, but it is equally important that you find
someone who fits in with the team culture. At Boise State, they look for “OKG’s” which stands for: our
kind of guys. The culture fit increases your wide receiver’s chance of success on your team.
When you combine skills and culture fit into your hiring strategy, you are guaranteed a winner.
And everyone wants to be a member of a winning team.
Go team go!
by Beth | Aug 26, 2020 | Employee Hiring
I will never forget the first 70-degree day that I had at my former restaurant, La Iguana. I had owned the place for just a few months, and I had the largest patio in town. When the weather turned just right on a random February day, I drove to work just in time to see a line of people forming out the door and around the block. My stomach dropped to my feet. I didn’t have enough food, enough drinks, enough staff, enough cash to make change in the drawers, and there was a light bulb out in the women’s bathroom.
I called every staff member I had. I barked at them to get their butts over to the restaurant and “Bring your friends!” If their friend had a pulse and fogged up a mirror, I put them to work. I had no processes, no policies, no procedures, no formal way of doing anything, and who in the hell was responsible for that burnt out light in the women’s bathroom???
Why am I telling you all this?
Because sometimes, you just have to hire Mr. Right Now. You have to have some temporary help to get you through the uptick in business.
That first year in business wasn’t a complete disaster, but it was close. For as much business as I had, I bled money. Most people that I hired did not last long, but I got through it. And then I got smart and organized.
If you are frantic, with more workload than you can handle, hire Mr Right Now. Just know that it is temporary, because the skillset that you need when you are crazy busy, is not the skillset that you need when things are running more smoothly. Get through today, and then focus on hiring Mr. Right for the long term.
And check to make sure the lightbulb is working in the women’s bathroom.
by Beth | Jul 15, 2020 | Employee Hiring, Selecting Good Candidates
When my daughter, Katy was looking for colleges, she started out with one college in mind, and she didn’t want to apply to any others. She was convinced that The University of Texas was the only school for her, and it didn’t help that I am a fourth generation University of Texas graduate. I had been indoctrinating her with Longhorn ideas, spirit and paraphernalia since before she was born. Even though I would have LOVED for her to go to UT, I still thought that applying to just one school seemed very restrictive and short-sighted. She and I fought bitterly, until the day we met Ms. Shelly.
Shelly Humbach of Humbach Education Consulting is a college consultant who helps families like ours; Shelly speaks “teen” and she bridges the gap between Teen Wants and Parent Expectations. She agreed with me that applying to one school was restrictive, but she didn’t agree that the University of Texas was all that wonderful. “They are very stingy with their money!” she said.
Shelly led Katy through a Discovery Process that included an ideal list; what did Katy want from her college experience, what did she want to study and what kind of climate did Katy like (she is cold when it is 70 degrees out!). The two of them created a vision for her ideal college experience, narrowed the list down to the top 5, and sent us off the visit the campuses. Wouldn’t you know? UT did not make the cut.
Does this process sound familiar to you, my loyal readers? It should!
I have many times been brought into a company where the C-suite is arguing bitterly over a potential hire; they all have great ideas, but they can’t agree on how that vision should play out. I always begin with a Discovery Meeting about what they want and need, the vision for the role, and how that role will contribute to the goals of the organization. And often, I am the one that helps bridge the gap for the interview team; after all, I have a 91% retention rate for employees after a year.
Katy will be a sophomore at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, and that school is perfect for her! She loves the size, the location, the climate, the people, the curriculum. It had direct entry nursing, small classes, and she can converse in Spanish with her Uber drivers! The University President is an expert in infectious diseases, and they rolled out their Pandemic plan for this fall in April. The plan has been a template for other colleges to implement, just another sign that we chose the right place for us. And yet, Katy would never have looked at this school if it hadn’t been for Ms. Shelly.
We held out until we found the right fit. We never settled for second choice, and the outcome was beyond awesome. I advise my clients to do just the same; finding the right employee for the right position saves everyone involved a lot of time, heartache and headaches too. The right fit will change your life.
As for Shelly? She has forever earned a spot on my team of colleagues.
by Beth | Jul 1, 2020 | Employee Hiring
As you all know, my daughter Katy had a hip replacement 3 weeks ago. (Her recovery is going great!) The story I want to tell you is about how she found her surgeon.
We discovered in October of last year that this surgery would most likely be required by Katy’s primary care physician, and she recommended that Katy get a second opinion. We found the first surgeon through a referral. He confirmed that she would have to have a replacement, but he didn’t perform that type of surgery.
We made an appointment with Surgeon #2. When we arrived at his office, they had no record of her having an appointment. We were told that we could re-schedule in 8 weeks.
Surgeon #3: we were told to go to one location by a scheduler. When we arrived, we were told that the doctor didn’t work at that location on that day, but we could call back and re-schedule for 4-5 weeks out.
Katy called 4 more surgeons. 3 never called her back. 1 called back but had no openings.
(Does this sound like your hiring process???)
Finally, Katy called Surgeon #8, Dr. Nicholas Ting. He had a cancellation the next day at 2:45. Would we like to come in? Why, yes. Yes, we would.
Dr. Ting was on time. He was kind, thorough, patient, and knowledgeable. He called Katy by name and asked her about her college classes. He answered all of her questions, and though I am positive he has a very tight schedule, Katy felt like he had all day for her. He had a text message service that provided updates and tips on a great recovery. On the day of the surgery, he came to visit her before the surgery. He explained how everything would go. He came to the waiting room to talk with me after it was over. He visited her at the hospital at 7:30 pm that night to see how she was, and 5 days post-surgery he PERSONALLY called her to “check in”.
Katy has had 5 surgeries. He was by far the single best doctor we have ever encountered.
Waiting for the right candidate to come along takes patience and discipline. It isn’t easy. You think it is NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.
But, if you wait, that person will walk into your life and change it. I promise.
by Beth | Jun 17, 2020 | Employee Hiring
My daughter, Katy, and I used to foster dogs, and one dog was a part cattle dog named Fritzy. She LOVED to tree squirrels! She would make a beeline to any squirrel within a 3-mile radius. It was HORRIBLE to take her on walks because all she wanted to do was tree squirrels. We tried every trick in the book to get her to not tree squirrels, but alas! To no avail.
My biggest worry was, ‘Who is going to adopt Fritzy? All she wants to do is chase squirrels, so she won’t be good for just any family. They will have to have some property for her to run around and do her thing, or it would never work out.’
Every time I meet with a new client, they always say to me, “I have this very unique position, and it will take a very special person with the right kind of skill-set in order to be the right hire. How will I ever find this person??”
You start with a vision for the person. For Fritzy, I listed on her profile “High-energy dog who is a champion squirrel chaser. If you have a rodent problem, Fritzy is the dog for you!” If you need an engineer who is also a people person, list that in your ad! If you need a stereo buyer who can also sell parts, write that down! You can’t have what you want unless you ask for it!
And for Fritzy? I took her to an adoption event, and a family walked up to me asking “Where is the Champion Squirrel Chaser?” I said, “Are you joking?” They said “No! We have a chicken farm, and we need a dog who will chase squirrels and rats.”
I am happy to report that Fritzy cleared out the rodent problem at the chicken farm in less than 2 weeks. The family LOVES her, and she runs all over the farm all day every day. She has never been happier.
