Marty Grunder: Finding the Best

Marty Grunder

You'd think with all the talk about jobs that it would be easy to find people. That is not the case in my area of the country. At Grunder Landscaping Co. we are having a very tough time finding people. We can find people, but to find people that we feel are a fit and can pass a background check and a drug test is next to impossible. We've tried all sorts of tactics to find people, some successful, some not successful. And I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways to help my own company find new people to hire. Here's what I've found the best companies do to hire.  
 

1. Have a process for hiring. Successful small business owners know that processes improve your chances for success. When you run things, like hiring, by the seat of your pants, you're not going to be very successful. Years ago my idea of hiring was about a 2-minute interview and then a "you're hired" and we'd put them in a truck. Not today! You need a process for hiring. There is a very good book that was recommended to me called "Who: The A Method for Hiring," by Geoff Smart and Randy Street. It is excellent, and if you are looking for some ideas on how to set up a hiring process, then you need to read it. I am in the process of reading it with my management team. If you have a process, great. Make it better. If you don't, this should be the first step to improving your hiring efforts – get a process.
 

2. Get everyone involved. Your best source for new hires is always going to be your current team. That's why it is so important to have a nice work environment. If your people like where they work, they will naturally tell others. If you incentivize them with some cash or other benefits like a day off, you will see your team send you folks. If your culture is not a good one, you might be able to hire people, but once they see what's really going on, they won't stay either. Maybe it's time you looked at your company's culture. I could go on and on about what a good culture is all about. Let's just talk about two things: integrity and communication. If you have an environment that does not tolerate any form of dishonesty, you are on the right track. You have to realize that if you do the right things, the right things will happen to you. That's integrity at its best. Communication is the other part to a company others want to work at. Bottom line: NO SURPRISES. Let your people know everything you can about what's going on. When they feel well informed, they feel connected, and a connected, well-engaged workforce is what you want and it's the type of place others want to work in.
 

3. Hire slow and fire fast. I have used these words for years. And they are true. If you treat hiring as something you dread, you will rush through it and make mistakes. Look at it differently. Look at it as something great, a chance to add another awesome person to your team. Someone who can take some burden off you and make your good company great. Take your time. When you interview people, doubt everything they say. Make them show you they are who they say they are. Remember, they will never look or even smell as good as they do at an interview. So, I think the best way to interview is to be a skeptic and make the potential new hire give you so much proof they are who they say they are, you have to hire them. Take your time, go through your process, ask a ton of questions and be careful. If you find they aren't who they say they are, get rid of them promptly so they don't influence the good ones you currently employ.
 

4. Don't overlook your good people. Sure, we need to hire and always be looking for new people to add to our team. But, in doing so, don't forget the good ones you currently have. Remember, the best way to get new hires is to create an environment where people love their work and feel important. If you do this, they will tell others. It is important to spend just as much time on hiring and recruiting as you do at making sure your place is a good place to work.

It's not going to get better any time soon with hiring, I fear. So, now is the time to look at this part of your company and make some improvements.

Marty Grunder is a speaker, consultant and author; he owns Grunder Landscaping Co. See www.martygrunder.com; mail
marty@gie.net.