Hiring, You Can’t Train “Nice”
Hiring has become such a daunting task for companies and small businesses. As the world has changed, so too has the interview process. Today interviews are conducted on many platforms and links like Zoom, Marco Polo, StreamYard, FaceTime, and more. In-person interviews still occur however, often potential hires don’t show up or arrive late for their scheduled time. Often this turns into a task of frustration. We can also add the issue with the amount of workforce and many companies not having a pool of people to choose from. People are just not looking for jobs as they once were. This all creates a problem for business owners and managers.
There are two main items that can combat this issue. The first, is to create a culture that people want to work for you or your company. People talk and communicate like never before. If word is that you are a great company to work for then when you need employees your staff and others will help this process. When you are considered attractive to a potential hire that makes a huge difference. This can include benefits, perks, or even reputation as a great company to work for. Second, create a training procedure and system that helps ensure success. A proper training regimen and focus on a training schedule makes an employee feel better about the company and level of professionalism.
Now that we have highlighted issues and two of the main items to help, what do we do now? The answer is to hire NICE people! Why nice people? Because you can’t train nice! People bring this to the table, and you need to determine the sincerity and level of niceness in an interview. We mentioned culture and this is directly tied to that characteristic of your company. Other people and employees want to work with other nice people. Nice people are positive and motivating, adding to a productive environment in the workplace. Nobody wants to work with a negative, nasty person. These people always find something wrong, offer little in problem solving, and are negative and demotivating. To the second item about training and a focus on this aspect, you can TRAIN a nice person. In today’s job market a common movement is to hire nice and inexperienced people over those with a lot of experience. Training a nice person adds to your company’s culture and can create a loyalty between the new hire and the company as they gain experience. To be devil’s advocate, there will be instances where you train someone who then takes their talents elsewhere. This is where the onus is on the company to continue to create that culture where they do not want to leave.
To expand on “nice” as a main characteristic for your workforce. If your company performs a lot of work by phone, it can be more difficult than ever because we are getting further away from personal contact and politeness. How can you combat this? Nice people’s personality and outlook will come through a phone line better than that drab or negative person. Think about this for a minute. It should be basic, that nice people can be felt through a phone line and better represent our company! If you are service company or a company that has personal contact, other people would rather work or interact with nicer people. What about your company image? Nice people can overcome many customer service issues. Customers are likely to be relaxed and tolerant about working with nice people. All companies have issues with customers at one time or another, wouldn’t you rather have nice people who can deescalate, and problem solve from a better place than a more abrasive and unfriendly person? More times than not a person who is not nice, tend to escalate or make a problem worse. Let’s take a scenario where the customer can’t be made happy, this happens, it is better to retain a professional tone. When this happens it is better to walk away with a customer who may not be happy but, compliments you on how nice you and your employees were through the process or issue. Having nice people represent your company and brand is a must today.
How do we find and identify these nice people? It happens during the interview process. Ask questions that are not necessarily “routine” in interviews. Ask questions that help identify the person’s “niceness.”
· “Can you tell me about a positive customer experience you have had and if you know the customers names, please use them?”
· “Now can you tell me about a negative experience and the result. Where you able to turn the negative around and if so, how?”
· “Tell me about people you have worked with and why you liked working with them?”
· “Have you ever worked with someone you did not like or get along with? How did you handle that situation?”
· “When you go out to a store and interact with people what brings you back as a repeat customer and why do you like shopping at that store?”
Listen for the answers and try and identify the level of “niceness” this potential hire has. How they treat people and how they like to be treated are key indicators into this particular characteristic. When they mention names and specifics this exemplifies another level of caring and customer service.
Hiring nice people is just a no-brainer today. The benefits and upside are endless in an environment where customer service and interaction has become so impersonal. Finding nice, polite people who say “Good morning” or “Have a great day” actually makes you are different today! What a crazy statement to make, a nice person stands out and that is different today! In a world where we now tolerate impersonal treatment and behavior, that those who are nice stand out is amazing. Working with nice people creates a productive culture and work environment that help you attract new employees. This sounds like a win-win for everyone. Go find those nice people!
