ASK THE EXPERT
Mel Kleiman
M
el Kleiman wants you to “hire tough so you can
manage easy.”“Nobody ever regrets hiring the best,”
he says. But why is it so important to hire right?
What questions do you need to ask when hiring
tough? What techniques work best during the interview process?
BY LEANN HAMM
Pulse asks hiring expert, author,
speaker and consultant Mel Kleiman for best practices, hourly
employee recruiting, selection and retention techniques.
1.
What is the most important decision the
salon/spa owner should make when hiring the
right person?
Hiring is the most important thing we do for our business.
Every new hire changes a business. The salon/spa owner must
decide who they’d allow to deliver services to their customers.
Employees are not just service providers, but are also your
“product.”
Think about this—how many of your clients will drive
across town to get the services you provide? They can purchase products at a number of other places, but what they
will drive across town for is the customer service your
employees provide.
To make sure you are hiring the right person, know what
you are “shopping” for in an employee. Clearly define what
you want, just like when you go shopping at a grocery store.
When you know what you want, you get what you need.
Begin with an exact list of what you want in an employee.
Managers need to have a clear picture of their ideal new hire,
defining the qualities that ideal job holder should possess.
2.
Why is it important to hire tough?
When you make it a practice to hire tough, everything else gets
easier. Managers who hire tough know exactly what they’re
looking for and refuse to lower their standards. Never settle for a
mediocre hire. People live up to expectations if they know what
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is expected of them. Provide your employees with a commitment card so they know up front what your expectations are.
Make sure a new hire wants to work for you. Make a list of
the top 10 reasons why someone should want to work for you.
Can you offer training or constant learning opportunities? Do
you offer a family-oriented culture? Do you offer a work/life
balance schedule? Can you offer a book of clients, etc.?
Know why a person should work for you and make sure
their reasons match with yours. The real key questions are: Are
you an employer of choice? Do good people want to work for
you? Would you want to work for you?
You might say, “But I can’t afford to hire the best.” My
response to that, “the most expensive person you will ever hire
is the one you have to fire.” Hiring tough is the best insurance
against lawsuits and management migraines.
By spelling things out up front
using a Commitment Card,
you can avoid the misunderstandings,
disappointments, and assumptions that could
lead to having to fire someone. Visit digital
Pulse at experienceispa.com to download a
PDF of the Commitment Card. Feel free to
modify the content to fit your needs and have
the employee sign two—one for personnel file,
the other as personal copy.