“I have a problem” confessed one of my favorite clients on a conference call last week.
“Oh yeah? What is it?” I asked.
“I have too many employees,” she sighed.
Well, THAT’S one I haven’t heard before!
Meet Lindsay Shaw, from Lindsay’s Boulder Deli and Haagen Daas. She and I did some hiring and management consulting in 2018, and she has since gone on to hire and train successfully on her own. I called her randomly to find out how she was doing, especially during a labor shortage for restaurant staff. She has the opposite problem of most other restaurants. She has former employees coming back to her and begging for hours.
Which presents the question: Why is that?
Lindsay: “I think that when you are short on staff, it is tempting to lower your standards. But when you do that, the good people will leave to find a better place to work. The ‘great’ employees want to work in a place with high standards; a culture that values being the best and the brightest, and because they are so great, they can get hired wherever they go.”
While it seems counterintuitive, when there is a shortage of staff, do NOT lower your standards. Hold those great employees in high esteem and hold out for the best candidates. Then you can be like Lindsay with amazing staff, low drama, happy customers and a healthy and thriving work environment.
Happy hiring!
Power thought: Great staff thrive with high standards. Bad staff thrive with low standards.