An article from Gettysburg College tells us we will spend roughly 90,000 hours of our life at work.
That is one third of every day of our life...working.
Owners have a responsibility for creating businesses that produce value for customers, profit for the business, and jobs for millions of people.
As you build your business in whatever stage you are in (typically five different stages from “Survival” to “Legacy”), people are going to be a part of it.
If you are a solopreneur, a gig-er, or a freelancer, at some point you will outsource bookkeeping, taxes, graphic design, marketing, or some other service that will dramatically help you focus on your narrow brilliance.
Surveying heroic business owners for the past five years we have found that outside of managing time, their biggest headache is found in one simple word; employees.
It does not have to be that way.
Life is loaded with concrete reality and fluid emotion.
Employees and owners alike both bring that dualistic reality with them at home and to work, it is why the sentiment “it’s just business” cannot be right.
Owners have an opportunity to create a powerful human experience for employees within the platform of their business if they will only slow down.
I received this email from a co-owner (Matt) at Modern Door in Maryland. They began intentionally following the methodical hiring process that we built together and this was a result...
Another owner “caught” a key leader in the act of using their printed Hiring Process to bring on a new team member.
THIS IS HUMAN!
Why?
Following a hiring and onboarding process does three things for you, your business, your new team members, your existing team members, and the families at home.
First, a hiring and onboarding process gives you and your team clarity on who fits what role in the business. Too many times we bring someone into the business because we are desperate and conclude that this person can be the ibuprofen to our headache.
When we bring them in without a process, without a clear role, and without a 90 day onboarding plan, instead of ibuprofen, it feels more like another knife in the back.
We then blame our frustration on the new person when in reality, we are the problem. We were too caught up in “needing help” that we forgot (or neglected) to “help the need”.
Second, a hiring process intentionally slows down the entire process. Historical wisdom has prioritized slown-ness verses speed. Rarely have solid, decisions with great longevity been made in haste. Proverbs 19:2 minces no words in saying, “it is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.”
Hiring has been notoriously hasty. Currently Amazon is needing to hire over 50,000 people. Wow. Haste may have to be an option for Amazon but it certainly does not for you.
Write the process down, communicate it with your team and your potential hires, and follow the process...every jot and tittle.
Third, a clear process puts the potential hire on alert declaring “this is the type of company you are dealing with.” It has been overwhelming to hear the number of times a potential hire will tell an owner or key leader, “wow, you all really have your stuff together” or “I’ve never interviewed with a company like this.”
The truth is you made the hiring up from scratch, you didn’t consult an HR manual or a professional hiring service, you just thought through, what are the key elements we need to know and what are the key elements they need to know before we join up for a long term relationship.
Rarely will you find a good talent fit, instead choose to make a good talent fit for your business.
What is the next step? Go grab a sheet of paper, lose the distractions for 30 minutes and write down everything you want to be a part of your hiring process. Share it with your existing team (or just with yourself if you are solo), and follow the process!
When you follow the process, you create a human experience.
Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose, author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters. Scott also hosts The Business On Purpose Podcast and can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com.