The Right Stuff

by Tom Reilly     ©Copyright 2000

I was recently having breakfast with a friend of mine who confirmed pretty much what I’ve heard over the past couple of years from many small business owners, the greatest challenge facing small business today is finding the right people. Everyplace I go, business owners’ complain they can’t find good employees. 

Fundamentally, the questions are: Is this the right person? And do they have the right stuff? Let’s look at these two questions individually.

What is the right person? The right person is someone who fits within your organization. They belong. They have values that are consistent with the way you want to run your organization. It’s a great organizational fit. 

As a trainer, I can tell you that eighty percent of the success of any training assignment is training the right people to begin with. Motivated workers who want to learn, approach training differently than people who do not fit.

The first issue management has to address is, Does the candidate I’m interviewing, fit within our organization? Do they feel right? Will they work well within the culture that we’ve established? The question is, Do they have the right stuff? What is the right stuff? What values do they bring to the table?

In my opinion, the right stuff includes integrity. The beauty of integrity in business is you don’t have to remember who you lied to. People with integrity inspire trust among their peers and with their boss.

Initiative is part of the right stuff. People who exhibit high levels of initiative are proactive. They have an internal kick-starter, which means they do not require managers to stand over them micromanaging their every move. Initiative in dealing with customers means never having to say you’re sorry. 

Attitude is also part of the right stuff. Attitude drives behavior. If the attitude is in place, people will naturally behave in a way to support that attitude.

For example, if your employees believe it’s a privilege to serve customers, they will automatically look for ways to better serve customers. If their attitude is that everyone in the organization deserves to be treated with respect, they will very naturally look for ways to promote respect and teamwork among their peers.

Maybe the most important question then, is, Where do you find the right people with the right stuff? What’s becoming increasingly obvious to me is that business owners and managers must be wide open to the notion that hiring the right people with the right stuff means going outside their familiar territory. This means looking for potential employees everywhere.

I’ve heard incredible success stories from my customers who have gone the nontraditional route. 

One in particular is a small industrial distributor whose office manager started out as their pizza delivery person. This individual delivered pizza for company functions and demonstrated such high levels of initiative, positive attitude, and teamwork that the owner took a gamble and hired this person as a receptionist. Within just a few years, she has become the office manager and is in charge of administration for his company. Imagine that, the kid who delivers Pizza Hut running your office!

I met a sales manager who started out as a minister and a counselor. He brought to the table such very natural people skills he inspired instant trust with customers. Employees would follow him across a bed of hot coals because of the loyalty he’s established with them. 

Again, managers and owners need to be alert for good potential employees that come from anywhere. It could be the kid at the car wash who has sold you the full wash when you went in just for the tank of gas. There’s your next potential candidate for sales.

The next time you go to your doctor’s office and the medical receptionist greets you warmly and makes you feel good about your visit—could this be your next receptionist.

And how about the administrative assistant at the bank who tirelessly works long hours and always goes the extra mile in handling your accounts. Isn’t that the type of person you’d like to have handle your customers, as well.

So who is the right employee with the right stuff and where do we find them? 

This is the individual who, at a gut-level, you feel will fit well within your organization. This is the individual who brings with him/her all the right qualities: integrity, initiative, and attitude. And where are you going to find them? Anywhere and everywhere. Turn on your hiring radar. Look for potential employees in all the most unfamiliar places.

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Tom Reilly is president of Tom Reilly Training, a St. Louis based firm specializing in training salespeople and sales managers. He is author of the books: Value Added Selling, Coaching for Sales Success, Customer Service Is More Than a Department, Crush Price Objections, How to Sell and Manage in Tough Times and Tough Markets, and Get Out of the Wagon and Help Me Pull This Thing. For more information, contact: Tom Reilly Training, 171 Chesterfield Industrial Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO 63005  (636) 537-3360  www.TomReillyTraining.com