• Always keep an eye out for potential team members, even if you don’t have an immediate need. Unexpected situations can arise where new hires are essential. Maybe you experience a fast uptick in revenue and need more team members to service it. Maybe a team member leaves your company unexpectedly. Having a steady pipeline of people that are interested in working for your company is key. Always be recruiting.
• Hiring and recruiting are not the same. Recruiting involves actively seeking out skilled individuals who could be a great fit, rather than passively waiting for applicants. Many times, you may run into somebody who is not necessarily looking for a future with you and your company. Always being on the lookout for people that catch your attention with their amazing attitude, service, and focus on you and your needs, can end up in a conversation about future employment together. Think of a sports team, they don’t just take any old person that walks in the door and wants to play for the team. They go out, recruit and hunt them down.
• I prefer the term “team member” over “employee.” “Employee” implies a top-down structure where the employer holds all the power, while “team member” fosters a sense of shared goals and collaboration. Sit down, shut up, do your job, and I pay you. If you stop doing that, I fire you. Employees are looking for a boss that will hire them, tell them what to do, and pay them. Nothing more, nothing less. For me, just the language of employer and employee creates a divide, a negative energy, and a lack of initiative to work together as a team. I constantly run into people who hate their “boss” and “employer”. However, I also run into people that love the team, leader and family they work with. When I focused on building a team of amazing team members that were all working towards a common vision and purpose, this is when things changed for me. When I focused on leading my team members towards being the best version of themselves, this is when things changed for me.
• Resumes don’t tell the whole story. It’s crucial to go beyond the paper and understand a candidate’s dreams, goals, and aspirations. These deeper insights will help determine if they are the right fit for your team.
• You have a great responsibility as the leader and owner of your company to provide for the team member you hire. Take this responsibility seriously. Not only do you have the responsibility to put food on their table, you also have the responsibility to grow them, lead them, develop them and help them become the best versions of themselves possible.
• Don’t hold back from teaching team members out of fear they may leave or become competitors. Limiting their growth stifles potential. Focus on empowering them to reach their full potential while they’re with you. The reality is that this will happen, and I have had it happen. If and when it does, your company will survive. It makes zero sense to hold back team members or keep them from reaching their full potential while they are with you based on this fear.
• Get to know your team members outside of the business environment. Get to know their families, their hobbies, important dates and events in their life. Be more than their “boss”, be their leader, be their mentor and care for them.
• Take your time when hiring but act quickly when letting someone go. A slow hiring process allows you to thoroughly evaluate candidates, while a fast decision when firing minimizes disruption. Being proactive with your recruiting process and keeping your pipe filled will allow you to make slower decisions. Meet with your candidate in different situations and scenarios. One on one, group, have them meet others within your team. Take them to a meal and see how they behave and treat the wait staff. This will tell you a lot.
• Before you hire a new team member, consider giving them a working trial. It’s one thing for somebody to tell you how things will go when they work for you. It’s another to actually see how they go. I think it is more than fair you to give a potential team member the time and space to make sure they are a good fit. It is also reciprocally important that they have the opportunity to see if you and your company are a good fit.
• Before hiring a new team member, meet their spouse. Ask their spouse if they have questions or concerns. Your new team member may be super excited about their position with you, but their spouse will not. We started implementing this into our recruiting process years ago, and it has been very successful and has been very appreciated by the people we hire and their spouse.
• Trust your gut. Things may seem great on paper with a potential hire, but your gut may be telling you otherwise. Trust this. Anytime I have gone against my gut, it has always comeback to get me.
• The quality of team members you attract reflects your leadership. Early in my business, my lack of leadership experience made it hard to find A-players. Improving my leadership skills helped me attract high-caliber talent and had a lot to learn, specifically about how to treat people. I was always wondering why I could never attract an A player. It was because I was not yet an A player. Focus on your own growth, leadership and positive advancement, and you will attract others that appreciate it and desire to work with you.
• Hire for attitude, train for skill set. I remember hiring a team member who was very skilled at the job role he was to be performing. However, he had a bad attitude, mistreated our customers, lied about it and he was ultimately fired. To be honest, he was so good at his duties, it made the fact he was a jerk a little easier to ignore, until things blow up. Somebody with an amazing attitude that fits your culture and your team dynamic will be easier to train for the skill set needed. This will take time, but will ultimately be better for you and your company.
• When you hire a team member, give them all you got. Invest in them greatly, care for them deeply, and lead them with excellence.

I hope this blog gave you some good insight into some of the lessons I have learned over the years.

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