Choosing The Right Employee Part IV

Since our last column, I've been asked by readers to go into a bit more detail on "target" qualities we value when interviewing potential new hires.

Think about the following qualities and the impact each one brings to your organization as you conduct the interview process:

· Interaction with Others · Honesty and Integrity · Dependability · Team Orientation · Organizational Skills · Motivation · Communication Skills · Leadership Abilities

Although not an exhaustive list, a candidate not possessing these eight characteristics should firmly create a question about the ability to function as a long-term employee.

Some of you are saying to yourself, "I just have to hire employees—I can't worry about all these abilities." And that's okay, because all of us have gotten into situations in the past where we simply couldn't use "perfect world" interviewing. What good does this approach to hiring offer if you're in that situation?

It offers a way to work yourself out of the box in which you currently find yourself.

Where we recognize an opportunity for training in a positional candidate, we are halfway to helping address that shortcoming or lack of knowledge. We have all lost potential opportunities to address the needs of candidates.

There is a final, mandatory step in the "soft skills" area of the interviewing process. Evaluate your own recruiting and interviewing, and learn from the challenges you faced and addressed. How did each candidate hear about your job opening? What are your "spokespersons"—your current employees—saying about where they work? Always know what your current employees are saying to potential candidates about the organization, the management, the ownership. Make sure that your current employees speak of the pride in their jobs.

Current employees have the capacity to significantly add to your pool of potential applicants.

One of your most outstanding opportunities is in maintaining a Long Term Working Relationship with every employee.

For many in foodservice—especially QSR—"long term" means 6 months+.

Why is there such turnover in so much of our industry? There are a variety of reasons.

· Often, we hire younger employees who may have not firmly established life goals or patterns, and are therefore more prone to migrate away. · Because of the age issue, our employees may be willing to "job hop" for a small increase in hourly pay. · Many times, our Management has not been thoroughly trained in proper leadership skills or motivation theory—hence, does not know how to identify or properly create a climate where the employee is either challenged by, or "loves" the job. · Let's face it. We may not be able to pay as much as other retail opportunities that may offer better benefits, shorter work hours, better career track progression, etc. · Ask yourself an honest question: Do our supervisors and managers create a work environment truly enjoyable for the employee? · Finally, LTWRs require work on both sides. Maintaining a long term working relationship with an employee has been compared to marriage. Both parties must want to make it work.

In a Seminar we conduct on Developing an Award-Winning Orientation Program, we identify a series of steps which can assist your employee in becoming acclimated.

Your best opportunity for establishing a LTWR with a new hire actually starts before the new hire begins work. That's right—even before they start. Preparation is the key.

· Welcome the new employee the first day on the job. · Assign a mentor with whom they can work. · Communicate expectations clearly and in terms that are completely understood. · Offer the new employee an opportunity for a job preview, so that he/she understands what will be expected. · Allow them to ask all the legitimate questions they need to ask. · Remember that the only foolish question from a new employee is the one never asked.

In our next Hot Topics Column, we'll work through the results of interviews and surveys and answer the critical question: What makes one employee stay on the job, while another leaves—generally at the worst possible time?