Saul Good is hiring and I'm looking for someone amazing that wants to be a part of building this business. As my business has grown I've been learning about how to best maximize the use of my time and get help from people to grow. My experience is limited in this space but this is how things are looking from my perspective.
Top 3 things to consider when hiring
1) cultural fit
Culture is king and drives how your business lives in the world, the kinds of clients you attract, the kinds of employees you retain and the feeling and breath of your business. In some ways culture = brand. Although there are ways for larger businesses to propogate their cultures, like the Zappos Culture Book and extensive interview process to ensure cultural fit, small business needs to really rely on having a strong understanding of your brand and values, trusting your instincts and finding the people that feel like a good fit. I'm not looking to hire a cog in the wheel, but people to build a strong foundation for an amazing company. Culture will evolve and be co-created by the employees but choosing the right ones early plays a big role in how it'll all play out.
2) focus on what you're great at and get help with things that you're not the best
I'm good at sales. I think it's really fun to get to know people, their businesses, and figuring out creative ways to help them build relationships to nurture success. I need help in operations, taking care of all the details that make this business tick, working with suppliers, ordering products, assembling gifts and getting them where they need to be when they need to be there. I've decided to focus on the sales and marketing side and I'm looking for help in operations. I see this as a good way to focus on what I'm good at and getting help at things that keep me busy instead of adding value strategically.
3) attitue is essential - anyone can learn anything
People are smart and can learn how to do almost anything. But attitude isn't learned and is really hard for people to change. If you've got a great attitude you'll make the most out of challenging situations, be pleasant to work with and be willing to learn and grow. These are the types of people I want to hire and build Saul Good with.
If anyone has any other tips for me please feel free to share your experience with comments below. And if you know anyone that could be a good fit for my operational needs here at Saul Good please send them my way.
Strengths
How did the hire go?
Don't forget that as you build your team, you will go through the forming, storming, norming, and performing phases.
One thing we found found helpful in our team building efforts was to explore each other's strengths, as identified and defined in the book "Now, Discover Your Strengths", which was the result of Gallup organization research on over 2 million individuals. The book identifies 34 potential strengths and a test identifies each person's top 5 strengths. Like Myers-Briggs, a person's identified strengths has a predictive power on behavior. Each strength is a gift, none are superior.
Since everyone leans on their strengths first and we all have different clusters of strengths, understanding each other's strengths helped us appreciate some profound differences which actually make us a much better team.
The book also tells you how to assign people work based on their strengths.
Re: Strenghts
Hey Brian,
Thanks for your comments, they are with good timing. Val, my new hire, is great and things here are going well. I didn't anticipate though how much time it would take me to train her though, and going back to the understanding of forming, storming, norming and performing and the patience required to make the most of it is definitely valuable. Thanks for bringing that up!
I agree on the value of identifying people's strengths, and it goes hand in hand with Saul Good rule #6, Everyone has their job, http://itsaulgood.com/blog/rule-6-everyone-has-their-job I'd be interested to hear your take on that one.
Hope things are well in Stumptown!
first hire...
Congrats on growing your business, Saul.
I think you’ve covered the important areas here. The question is – how do you really identify things like cultural, ethical and personality fit in an interview?
I suggest getting out of the office and seeing how they are in other settings and with other people. Get onto that rooftop garden and talk gardening or go for lunch and bring someone else you trust with you.
Also, given the size of your business, I think that flexibility and diversity of interests and skills is key in a hire. These things will help create good flow, growth and resiliency.
Remember that being a truly sustainable business means having well-rounded, healthy, balanced staff who are as passionate as their personal well-being as the well-being of the planet and the business. Don’t just talk work. Talk life.
Good luck!
great advice!
Thanks Jodi!
I'm really going to keep that in mind for the interview process. I had this amazing boss named Terry when I used to guide wilderness expeditions and his hiring policy was based on if he got along with the person personally, knowing that people who were flexible and good with people would get along with everyone and learn the things they'd need to learn to be a great guide.
Work life balance is related to culture, definitely something I'm working on, and so glad you brought it up as something to consider when hiring.
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