Recruiting Robots doesn't work
about Photo - Image Good staff within the higher turnover sectors such as retail and restaurants are notoriously difficult to recruit for. But when they do, why do many companies specify that they must have relevant experience? Do retail or restaurant companies want to employ a 'robot' and simply reprogram them accordingly with their brand? (unfortunately many do!) In a service industry surely a character and personality are more important, especially as they provide the customer experience. So how do you recruit these types of staff?
Alot of emphasis is placed on relevant experience when recruiting, but within an industry that needs to thrive on good customer service to prosper, I believe that companies who recruit in this space should stop being so short sighted. How many times do you comment on retail customer service levels being very bad, with rude and uncaring staff? many times I am sure, especially living in the UK! But in this context, the Manager of the store won't mind because they saved money on training the said staff on retail system processes! If the same manager had recruited staff that were more customer focused, and less retail system process focused, then we would all get a better customer experience.
So what do these high turnover companies need to do to hire better quality customer focused staff?
- Well firstly, they must stop asking for a CV from interested individuals - it is a barrier to getting the right people (they can always fill in an application form once they have got the job, to obtain all the necessary information). Many people at this level simply don't have a cv, and if they do it doesn't have much meaningful information other than a job history.
- If you need to have a paper trail, create a simple application form, just collecting relevant information such as availability, hours of work, work they enjoy doing (very important), interests etc. Try and encourage them to collect and deliver this application form, and it shows commitment.
- Try and have a telephone conversation with as many of the relevant applicants initially, it will give you an appreciation for their communication skills straight away, and could save alot of time.
- Change your interview process, make the initial Q&A session shorter, and encourage a practical assessment within your workplace eg serving customers. This will give you the answer that you need, and you will quickly 'know' whether they can do the job.
- Let your staff be included on the decision making, especially as they would have seen them in action.
- Once you have recruited your new employee(s) make sure you have a defined and ongoing training plan for them - they are the mouthpiece of your company after all.
- And most importantly don't forget them. Let them know they are a key part of your company. These types of roles aren't usually too well rewarded financially, so employees want to be able to enjoy their work day and feel valued in other ways. That is your responsibility.
There are two very good examples of the methods above - GAP and Wagamama. GAP place potential candidates within a store for a couple of hours, and let them interact with the customers. Wagamama put their potential candidates inside one of their restaurants for several hours taking orders and serving customers. The difference for them is that their staff then make the hiring decision as they have spent the time working with them, and they pay them for the 'working interview'!
Many companies do opt for recruiting 'robots', but the companies that have waiting lists of people wanting to work for them have found the one thing that makes the difference - their own people!
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