Articles written by VK Associates

How you can find superstar employees

By Tony Bass

In a recent online survey I asked 500 landscape business owners this question:

"What's the single greatest challenge you face in your company today?"

By far the #1 response: Employees. For some business owners it's finding them, any of them for any position. Many more report they can’t find experienced help, licensed drivers, foremen or crew leaders. Others complain employees only work hard when you're on the job site. Then they slack off when no one is watching. For many, training new employees is the biggest challenge. Then, once they're trained, many up and quit. That hurts!

The situation has gotten worse over the past 5 years as unemployment rates have steadily fallen from over 10% nationally to about 6% today. Many who lost jobs in the recession have found work, gone back to school or just quit looking. A lower unemployment rate means more competition for hiring good people.

I've been there

Yes, you can solve the employee problem. I’m sure you've heard the old saying, “The devil is in the details.” I’ll testify this is absolutely true when you’re talking employees. The smallest details in each phase of finding, recruiting, hiring, training and retaining really matter. Let me explain.

I've been an employer since 1987 and know the issues first hand. Before selling my landscape company, I built it up to where I employed nearly 100 people who produced millions in revenue every year. Today, I have other businesses. All told, I've made payroll for my employees for 1,404 weeks (and I'll do it 26 more times in the next 12 months).

I’m the guy who signs the front of the check, collects payroll taxes for the government, then adds my portion of tax money and sends it in to support our government. I’m not an academic. I’m a job creator. And I smile each time I sign my employees’ paychecks. I smile because I've got qualified, productive long-term employees who pull their weight and make us more profitable.

You need multiple strategies

Over the years, I've taken careful notes about what works – and what doesn't work in solving the people problem. I've found it's critical to cast the widest net possible for hiring any worker. To do this I came up with 12 employee recruiting strategies. Many employers fail miserably initiating all these strategies at once. But that’s what you’ll need to do to generate enough qualified leads to ultimately find a quality candidate for the job. Let me caution you: This is going to take some serious work.

I have used this process to hire virtually every kind of employee needed for my landscape company, my manufacturing business and my consulting practice. For example, I recently used this process to hire an office manager. Within 2 weeks, I received over 70 applications, narrowed the list, made 2 job offers and filled the position with an excellent candidate.

Although our employee recruiting process requires some hard work, I don't hesitate getting the process rolling because I follow our ready-to-go system for each new job opening. I can choose to do it myself or hand it off to a trusted person on my team.

Creating the job description

Before recruiting, you must clearly define the job position in a short, but clearly-written description of what the prospective employee will be required to do at your company. Here's a shortened version of the job description for our office manager.

Position: Office Manager

Performance standard: This key staff member will be efficient, organized, energetic, courteous and responsible. The office manager is responsible for quickly and effectively communicating accurate information from clients to appropriate personnel and vice versa thus ensuring productivity and customer satisfaction. Accurate billing and payable cycles are evidence of quality work.

Job duties: Manages office. Coordinates activities of office and staff. Analyses, organizes and performs office operations and procedures such as typing, bookkeeping, flow of correspondence, filing, requisition of supplies and other clerical services. Evaluates office production, revises workflow. Establishes/follows uniform correspondence procedures and style practices. Formulates procedures for systematic retention, protection, retrieval, transfer and disposal of records. Plans office layout and initiates cost reduction programs. Reviews clerical and personnel records to ensure completeness, accuracy and timeliness. Prepares activity reports for guidance of management using computer, Quickbooks, Microsoft Office, internet and e-mail. Displays professional appearance and manner. Ensures the company facilities and grounds maintain a professional appearance. Performs other duties as required.

Tony’s top 12 recruiting strategies

Armed and equipped with a clear job description you’re now ready to announce your open position to the world. It's time to advertise and market the job opening with great gusto using the lowest cost marketing methods available to you. And yes, I’m very serious about doing all of these promotional activities at once. Otherwise you risk running short-handed for an extended period and settling for a substandard performer. Here’s what I did to recruit my office manager starting with the free recruiting activities first.

Require prospects to do at least 3 things in a unique fashion to respond to your open position. These strategies immediately weed out people who don’t follow instructions or who are not serious about changing jobs. This will both save you time and allow you to find better people. Here’s what I require.
- First – Send us your resume by fax.
- Second – Fax us a cover letter stating why you’re currently looking for work.
- Third – Call the office between 12 noon and 1 pm the day after you fax your resume for a 10-minute phone interview.
Post the job opening inside your company by the time clock, at the entryway to the office and in the break room.
Place a help-wanted sign at the street in front of your office.
Write a brief job opening announcement and place it on the company website.
Publish the job opening with the state labor department.
Publish the job opening at the local technical college.
Publish the job opening at the local university.
Publish the job opening on CraigsList.com
Place a help-wanted ad in the local newspaper.
Place a help-wanted ad on at least 1 internet recruiting site such as CareerBuilder.com.
Organize your schedule to be sitting by the phone and answering calls for a 10 minute phone interview. Don’t accept calls from anyone who didn’t follow instructions. Ask each prospect the same 5 questions while taking notes right on their submitted resume:
- Where did you find our job opening?
- Why are looking for a job today?
- Tell me about the best job you’ve had and why you liked it so much.
- Tell me about a job you’ve hated and why you hated it.
- What is the lowest annual salary you would accept if offered a new job?
If you speak to someone who sounds professional, seems well qualified and fits your budget, give them an assignment. Ask them to write a summary report of the 10 minute interview using Microsoft Word software and to email it to you within 24 hours. You’ve just created your first pre-employment exam.

Don't be a slacker

Many small employers simply fail to aggressively recruit prospects using a multiple tactic recruiting strategy. Many fail to post job openings at colleges and universities. Too bad. You can find real superstars graduating from college.

Further, very few small employers run a recruitment process to identify top recruits when they already have a full staff. For example, I’ll recommend you do this process the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. You’ll have more time to execute the plan – and you won’t be competing with every other poorly organized contractor who simply runs ads in the busy spring season.

Publishing openings 2 to 4 times per year can help you replace weaker employees with dedicated, hard-working team members. Don’t keep people that you have to constantly babysit and motivate.

Hire motivated, educated people with healthy lifestyles. They’ll be much easier to teach and train. And, since you'll be spending a lot of time around them, you've also got to like those you hire! Go after the best you can find. It makes the role of being an employer and job creator much more rewarding.

Tony Bass is the author of 50 Ways To Find, Recruit, Hire and Retain Super Star Employees. He provides consulting and business coaching services to owners of landscape and hardscape companies. To learn more, visit TonyBassConsulting.com or email Tony@TonyBassConsulting.com.