Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2014 | Page 67

TALENT MANAGEMENT
makes his company’s hiring process more
efficient. “If you have 20 applicants for a
job, the process could narrow it down to
6 before you meet them. It gives us the
confidence that everyone
who sits in front of us is
qualified,” he says. “Our
managers don’t even see
applications from people
who don’t score a certain
level.”
KBP’s extensive hiring and training process,
along with its Team Talent Selection Guide, not
only helps attract better Mike Kulp
candidates, it also gives its top performers confidence in the company. “We use
it as a recruiting tool. We get a lot of
credit for how robust our hiring process is,” he says.
The process provides KBP with
a highly specific skill set to measure
candidates against. And it evaluates
their strengths and weaknesses, al-

lowing the company to provide new
hires with relevant coaching before
they come on board. “Once we’ve
made a decision to hire, this process
allows us to put together a
Developmental Workbook
that shows strengths and
developmental needs,” he
says. Each workbook contains developmental modules and a personal action
plan to guide each employee
in achieving their personal
and professional goals, with
a focus on leveraging their
strengths.
Kulp says his team also looks at the
cultures of companies applicants have
previously worked for, to see if they
will fit in with KBP’s. For example, if
someone had been promoted every 2
years for the past 8 years, what’s most
important to Kulp is why were they
promoted. “We’ve found there’s often
a huge misalignment in what’s impor-

tant from one organization to another.
It could be very different for your organization,” he says. “All that good stuff
they did before might be the fifth most
important thing for us. I think a lot of
organizations skip this step.”
Kulp is still working with the original
company he hired, continually refining
and improving the system. He doesn’t
know if the technology he uses existed
when he started, but if he could do it
over again, Kulp says he would have
adopted it sooner—and driven it down
to front-line applicants earlier. Even for
smaller companies, he says, it’s not only
a good idea, but also can be affordable.
“You can pay on a per-assessment basis,
it’s linear,” he says.
In hindsight, says Kulp, “If I could
start over I’d have this system at five
restaurants. Hiring decisions are more
critical when you’re small. If you have
five locations and hire someone to manage them, if you make a mistake it will
kill you.”

It’s the perfect time for your next bold business move.
As one of the co չ