We’ve long maintained that your staff is one of the chief differentiators that separates your business from the rest in the competitive landscape. As we wrote back in 2017, “having a great staff will empower your business to offer great customer service, to offer a personal touch that seems so rare these days. In an age when so many products and services are one-size-fits-all, there’s never been a better opportunity to tailor the customer experience into something unique. Something special.” In order to deliver on this promise, your business needs a great staff.
To do that, let’s take a look at Zach Cutler’s article, To Recruit ‘A’ Players, Try This 5-Step Method (which is, in turn, based on Geoff Smart and Randy Street’s book, Who: The A Method for Hiring). Let’s focus on the section, “Build a scorecard,” wherein he explains that we need to consider “the purpose of the job, what is expected from the employee and what characteristics are needed.”
Purpose
As Cutler explains, a “job mission should be short, sweet and understandable.” Think about what each position on your team does, what each purpose is. Outside of basic functions, like ring up purchases or jot down food orders, how can these positions bolster your business’s reputation or enhance profit? The cashier or the server can do more than scan barcodes or deliver orders to the kitchen.
Expectations
Cutler goes on to describe his belief that you should, “Set three to seven outcomes that are challenging but attainable.” For example, you could create a list of sales milestones that makes sense with your business. For a server, you could expect a certain amount of upselling to take place (e.g. non-refillable drinks, appetizers, desserts, etc.); for a cashier, perhaps you would expect a certain percentage of loyalty-club registrations.
Characteristics
Finally, what personal qualities do you seek in a new employee? Cutler cites several examples: “efficiency, honesty, integrity, intelligence, persistence, attention to detail, organization capabilities, analytical skills, openness and hard-working.” Several of these descriptors—like honesty, integrity, and hard-working—are desirable in any candidate, regardless of whether you’re hiring a dish washer or a floor manager. But consider what makes each position at your business specific and what kind of personalities work best with them. Personability, for example, is key in sales-related jobs, whereas technical acumen is important in support roles.
Next week, we’ll take a look at another important strategy for finding quality candidates: actively seeking them rather than passively waiting for them to apply.
Would you like to learn more information about finding and maintaining the best staff possible? Contact The Brandt Group today to learn more about mystery, competitive, and telephone shopping, which will allow you to equip your managers with the best tools to make your staff the envy of your chamber of commerce center. We also host events like Steve Beck’s Motivation Leadership Seminar, which will take place on Wednesday, October 16, 2019, in Bozeman, MT. Call us at (406) 586–3806 to learn more!
