One of the most terrifying parts of our journey as entrepreneurs is building our team. Alton and I are passionate about dog care, responsible, professional, reliable, respectful, and trustworthy. When it was just us providing dog care, we didn't think twice about whether the job was getting done and if it was getting done right. Before hiring team members, we were both working full time jobs. We hit this crossroad of should we continue turning service requests away and just taking on clients that fit into our schedules or do we hire other people in increase our availability and reach. Spoiler alert: we now have a team of 16 (https://www.barkingwiththebradleys.com/our-team). We've got some questions from fellow entrepreneurs about how we did it and when we knew it was time and questions from clients about how we select our team members, so the hope is that this post provides some insight.
When hiring, we feel the accountability to not only make sure he or she meets our expectations, but also that our clients' expectations will be met. It was very difficult to release that trust to someone else. Thankfully, we were able to ease into it. Our first hires came organically through conversations with neighbors, friends, and clients. That brings us to tip number 1.
Tip 1: Make your need known. This may seem a bit like common sense, but how many times do you give an empty "I'm doing well, and you?" rather than using this as an opportunity to let someone, who could potentially help you, know what your business is currently in need of? Even if they can't help you, maybe they know someone else who can. Worst case, you have a more engaging and in-depth conversation.
As the saying goes, we built it and the clients came. This meant that it was time to hire more staff, but now that our current network was tapped, we looked to cast a wider net. We tried a few different sites, but Indeed seemed to be the best fit for us.
Tip 2: Don't just go with the most popular job listing option. Research and try out multiple sites. Most of them have a free option or at least a free trial. You may even end up with more than one that you decide upon. We have postings on Indeed and LinkedIn.
Our first online job post was good, but that was the problem. Good wasn't standing out. We attracted a lot of people who weren't a good fit. This meant an unnecessary amount of time was spent reviewing applications, scheduling interviews, and hosting interviews.
Tip 3: Create a stand-out job post. Onboarding a team member is the start of a relationship. In that analogy, your job post is like your online dating profile. Be intentional about the language you use to give the applicant a feel for your company culture. Read the post out loud to yourself. Would you want to work there? Are you specific about your expectations and what it takes to thrive while working for you? Do you give insight to your deal breakers? (There may be a feature on your job site to automatically weed out those who are not a match)
Tweaking our job post changed the applicant pool entirely. Now, we were able to focus our energy on better qualified candidates. I think we've all been misguided by someone on paper though, so it doesn't stop there. After the interview, we speak with references and perform a background check.
Tip 4: Score your steps. Once you've developed a screening process, you'll want to make a scoring system for it. Scoring your steps gives you more consistency and fairness and helps to stay zeroed in on what's most important to you while making hiring decisions.
There has been, and continues to be, a lot of learning as we go in terms of hiring. We use experiences to go back and modify the process. Thankful doesn't even begin to describe how we feel about our Barking with the Bradley's team. To go through this process and select someone you think is an awesome fit, have them be excited about working for you, and have the client thinks they are awesome too...such a wonderful feeling that makes the apprehension about business growth worth it.
We'd love to hear about any lessons you've learned about the hiring process. Please comment below to share.
Well wishes & puppy kisses,
Akira
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