In the car wash industry, there’s a near-steady need for new, talented individuals to join our teams, and oftentimes turnover is something that never seems to go away. But what if you could prevent turnover from happening, or at least reduce its impact? Watch out for the following 10 deadly sins of hiring to ensure the individuals you’re bringing into your organization are there for the long haul.
Failing to offer your staff on-the-job training programs is a “miss” on the employee engagement scale. “The investment in training that a company makes shows the employees they are valued,” said Shelley Frost, a writer with the Houston Chronicle. “Employees who feel appreciated and challenged through training opportunities may feel more satisfaction toward their jobs.”
Employers often think money is the only way to reward staff, and if that’s not an option, they choose to provide their staff with nothing. Having a narrow view of rewards can be detrimental. There are a myriad of ways to reward staff, many of which are free. One of the most popular and well-received is a simple thank you, in the form of a written card, a side conversation or a public announcement.
Organizations that aren’t maximizing the strengths of their staff are missing out: According to Gallup, employees whose strengths are maximized are more engaged and loyal, better performers, producers and learners, and more likely to positively affect their organization’s profits. As a whole, strengths-based organizations have staff who are more enthusiastic and committed, put in more effort and have a stronger work ethic. In fact, simply learning about their strengths makes employees 7.8 percent more productive, and strengths-based teams are 12.5 percent more productive.
Does your organization offer development opportunities to your employees? If there are development opportunities available, are staff aware that those opportunities exist? According to a survey from the Hay Group, 74 percent of retail employers said their workers leave for better opportunities, rather than better pay. Just as making sure that staff are in the right roles to maximize their strengths, it’s important that staff have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills to help them grow into the right roles. It’s clear that for most employees, this is more important than salary alone.
The best place to find the best talent is from your best existing staff. Not only do those staff already exhibit the behaviors you want, but they also know your organization and its culture. That makes them a great funnel of talent — they can identify the people in their lives who have a similar work ethic and would fit with your organization. Across the board, employee referrals are the best for business, according to data from Recruiter.com: they are on-the-job sooner (29 days for employee referrals compared to 55 days for candidates from career sites); finish training and onboarding faster; and their average retention rate is higher (46 percent compared to 33 percent after one year). Note: Referrals don’t have to come from employees only — let customers know you’re hiring as well, especially your loyal customers who clearly love the way you do business. Just like a good employee, a good customer will know the kind of business you operate and the kind of staff you employ.
Too often, employers look only for new-hires with existing industry experience. While this may seem like an easy way to cut down on the required training, you may be doing yourself a disservice. Candidates who might lack experience in your industry but who have transferable skills — such as customer service, leadership, teamwork or communications — provide hiring managers with an opportunity to bring in someone with the required soft skills (often the hardest skills to train) and allow hiring managers to do the technical training according to their standards (instead of trying to correct poor training from a previous employer).
Are you thinking about the differences between millennials, gen Xers and baby boomers when you’re putting together your recruitment strategy? If not, you could be missing out. Each has a different perspective they bring, and different expectations they want to see from an employer and job. For example, in a 2015 Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll, Americans were asked about the primary concern during their first job. Sixty-four percent of older Americans talked about making as much money as possible or learning new skills, while 57 percent of younger Americans talked about needing to do something fulfilling or that made a difference in society. Not every individual from their respective generation will fit the stereotypes, but it’s safe to say that tailoring your recruiting plan is important — this includes where you’re posting your open positions and how you’re promoting them (such as online and through social media channels).
How easy is it for candidates to find your job openings and apply? Are you listing on relevant online job sites, as well as local community boards? Do you advertise in local newspapers? Are you using your social media channels and asking staff and customers to spread the word? If not, you’re missing opportunities to get your openings in front of a lot of qualified candidates. Once someone sees that you’ve got an open position, how easy is it for them to apply? Do you have an online application system that allows them to apply any time of day or night, when it’s most convenient for them? While you may be the best place to work, you don’t want candidates to have to remind themselves of that as they’re going through tedious steps to try to work for you. Make it as easy as possible.
In the past, a lot of high-performing organizations were using wacky questions, such as, “why are manhole covers round?” during their interviews. At the time, interviewers felt this illustrated a candidate’s ability to think quickly and creatively. Since that time, those methods have been debunked and most experts recommend that hiring managers stick with questions that ask candidates to recall examples of situations they’ve experienced and how they reacted to or handled those situations. These situational questions help hiring managers assess whether a candidate 1) understands the problem the hiring manager is asking about, 2) has experience dealing with that sort of problem, 3) has the problem-solving skills the hiring manager is looking for, or 4) has learned from previous experiences and would handle the situation differently in the future.
More than anything, hiring managers should be scouring resumes and applications for candidates who are customer-focused people. People with soft-skills like relationship-building, empathy and interaction are going to be rock stars with your customers. During the interview process, be sure to ask questions about their interactions with customers as well as their team members. This will tell you everything you need to know about their abilities to work well with people.
While preventing all instances of turnover might be impossible, there are ways to reduce it. Looking at your hiring practices to ensure you aren’t committing the 10 deadly sins is one great step. Use these as guiding principles to ensure the new members of your team stick around for years to come.