-Hiring and firing is a necessary management function.
-It is an opportunity to invest in the business by training and helping others achieve their goals.
-I simply hire to fill the vacant position.
-I hire people that present themselves well.
Hiring and firing is definitely a management function. It is also much more than that. It is an opportunity to serve your customers. Since the person you will be hiring will impact your customers’ experience, the importance of getting it right is self-apparent.
What would happen if you asked yourself the following questions: “How would my customers view this candidate?” Simply asking that question can change your perspective. It allows you to get outside your own head and look at things more constructively from the customer’s viewpoint.
TIP: Asking good questions will give you a fresh perspective, but that is just the beginning. How you choose to manage Human Resources represent one of the greatest opportunities to improve productivity, increase profits, and simplify operations.
Every business today is a service business. You might be manufacturing an exercise machine, repairing electronics, or taking wedding photographs, but the delivery component is a service.
In the 1920s we were an agrarian-based economy where most of our gross domestic product came from the agricultural sector. That began to shift in the 1930s on when industrial began to overshadow agricultural production in our gross domestic product. By the 1980s the service sector represented a hug majority of all business outputs. The big three auto makers began to make money financing automobiles than they did manufacturing them. Financing, whatever it is for, is a service, albeit intangible. It makes the tangible car or house a reality.
Since service is an experience and cannot be inventoried, your staff is the single greatest factor in your operation. Service increases the value of your overall business proposition. When a staff member leaves or is fired, you have to replace that person. It is, however, a real opportunity to spruce up your business, improve moral, and improve the customer experience.Many business owners find the process of hiring staff laborious and frustrating, and many feel uncomfortable interviewing prospective employees. Asking yourself a few questions can make the whole process much easier. Asking yourself a few questions can make the whole process much easier.
For example, what skills and experience does the job require? Make your list, check it twice. What personality characteristics are you looking for? A small business with the wrong mix of personalities can create costly distractions. Do not settle by hiring the best candidate when no one fits your criteria. You are better off not hiring than hiring the wrong person.Business owners, know thyself. If you are a typical entrepreneur, you likely enjoy control. IN other words you like to control things and have the ability to get things done. Be cautious hiring an employee with a strong need for control too. A small business with two “controllers” is a power struggle waiting to happen. It will not be pleasant and could be a huge waste of time and energy. Because as the two of you struggle for control, you are wasting time that could have been spent making money. Plus your staff has to wait around for you to make up your minds. For example, a better option would be to find someone with more of a “detail” oriented viewpoint or someone with strong promotional and sales skills.
