Hiring Passionate Employees

Church of the customer has a great quick post talking about hiring Hiring for Attitude, Not Just for Skill.

A sign in a store window is what Ben saw during a walk down the street. It is a help wanted sign from a Tea company store in Chicago which asks "Are you passionate about tea"

The sign effectively communicates that if you don't have a passion for what we are selling, then you probably won't be a good fit for the job.    And I bet those trying to fake passion during the interview are quickly exposed.   Passion can't be faked.

What sort of message do you send to your potential applicants?  Are you just looking for someone to take over an empty position or are you trying to find a Brand Champion to help drive your business to the next level?   

In my years of hiring in Retail I always hired passion first and knowledge second.    Even now I tend to hire people who have tons of enthusiasm, a general excitement about working with the public and that are passionate about the products I am representing.     I can train anyone to be successful in retail sales, but I can't teach passion, enthusiasm or a love for your fellow man.   

Walk into any retail outlet (even Starbucks on occasion) and you will find people who are just "doing time" until they find a better job.    The managers who hired them were hiring to fill a spot.    Unfortunately for the manager, they will eventually have to hire for that spot again, or ultimately not have to worry about hiring for that spot due to their business closing.

I challenge you to rethink the way you are interviewing and hiring for your retail staff.   The people you hire are directly responsible for how the public views your business.     Passionate people are contagious and will rub off on your customer, creating passionate customers.    Passionate people are fun to listen to and are amazing to watch in action.    Retail is all about the experience these days and your people are a big part of the experience.

Or you could just keep hiring the people you are hiring now and retire early as your competition grows bigger and the door bell on your shop door stops ringing.

Oh and if you don't look at Church of the Customer daily, start today.   Great Blog!

Comments

[Glenn Mandelkern]

Passion is indeed contagious.

Nevertheless, here's one challenge those of us who hire by valuing enthusiasm must contend with -- skepticism.

Job hunting can be extremely demeaning. When I once suggested that motivation and teamwork be considered along with knowledge, one IT professional told me, "If you must use motivation and teamwork to get hired, you are hiding the fact, sir, that you are technically incompetent." (At least he said "sir." Though years later, I'd switch to the more personable field of marketing, where passion is a must.)

Skepticism is worst of all when the candidate has it. Through many sources while growing up to their first few jobs, passion was beaten down. They may still have an ounce of it. Yet if they see another adult welcoming it, esp. a total stranger who determines their livelihood, will they trust again?

I once held an interview where a lady cried in my office. She did very well, and we went over our allotted interview time. As I escorted her out, she told me this was the 9th company she tried to get a job with.

I tried reassuring her she did well while following HR guidelines. She told me she really liked how we focused on what she could do for us. She was very surprised that we didn't ask her any trick questions, didn't ask about irrelevant outside hobbies, etc. She said she had almost given up hope because other interviewers had been rough with her at other companies. As I handed her a tissue, she said, "I just can't believe you're actually being nice with me."

I told her one of my mentors in hiring told me, "Give unto others the interview you never had."

I've also been told by others that they are extremely surprised when I tell them the interview will be about personal and technical qualities they possess that benefit our company, financially and emotionally speaking. We really are here to serve each other, especially because we're looking for a legal way to make money as a company and as individuals. While we don't have to have silly fun, we also don't have to torture ourselves.

Far too many tell me that mindset is completely foreign to them, especially as it seems that the stress interview is making a comeback with puzzles and the like. And behavioral interviews have only make it worse, where people speak about what they did for others instead of what they can passionately do for us.

So if more people interview with passion as employer and candidate, it'll be just as much in style.

[Mark Askey]

Glenn,

What a great question for an interview. How often do people come prepared to answer the standard questions they get in interview.

Your approach helps them understand you are looking for someone who can add value to the company, not just take up a position and coast to retirement.