Hiring for the Right Skills
“Your intelligence does not impress me, It’s how you speak, act and love others that impresses me. Especially with those that are not like you”. Dennis Smith of Apple Awards
Hiring new staff for a small business can always be a challenge, especially in a rural small town setting. Not many people are itching to put down roots in a small town.
In many industries, people skills can be the primary factor in a hire, as it is with us. Good people skills coupled with experience is ideal and can put you as a front runner for a position. Primarily we now hire based on a person’s ability to get along with co-workers and customers, closely coupled with their train-ability.
Getting along with co-workers always comes first in my book. If employees cannot work well together, solving problems and creating or if there is a lack of trust and commitment, the likelihood of a good customer experience is small.
People skills can be taught, but usually the lack of these skills goes a lot deeper than what can be taught by an employer. The emotional health and intelligence of a candidate plays a huge factor in determining their success. If I see that a candidate has been in the past, or is currently working on improving their emotional health, or even knows what that phrase means, that gives me hope.
As an employer I need to set the example and continue to grow in my emotional health. There is an unlimited supply of free resources at our disposal, this is one that I am currently learning from, You’re Not the Boss of Me