by Bill Grodnik, CEO of Davinci Virtual
A Hire Mind
Before you begin accepting resumes and scheduling interviews, it is important to establish some requisites about what you’re looking for in a new hire. At Davinci Virtual, we developed a profile of personality traits that our ideal job candidates will have, specific for our industry. Look to your star employee(s), see what they have in common, and use that as your baseline.
Protect Your Investments
Once you’ve invested the time and effort in interviewing and training new hires, you want to do everything you can to ensure it was well spent. At Davinci, we monitor and measure productivity very closely. There are a number of tools (such as salesforce.com) that facilitate this. If we see a negative trend in an employee’s productivity, we have a process in place to work with them on improvements so we’re not wasting any of our time.
Reel ‘em In
They don’t always come if you build it – sometimes, you have to go to where they are! The lesson here is to know the demographic of who you’re hiring, and recruit them there. Another thing to consider is a referral bonus for current staff – it doesn’t have to be huge, even a gift card to the local coffee shop can work.
Set the Hook
The first step is to offer as robust a benefits package as your budget will allow. After that, there are inexpensive methods of keeping employees happy on the job. At Davinci Virtual, we just recently made our most senior employee our official “Culture Fairy.” She’s tasked with creating programs for employees – everything from after-hours outings to a Garden Club and a Weight Watchers Group. Find a way to bring some fun into your employee’s lives at work, and you’ll reap the benefits.
Don’t Get Caught Looking
As anyone that’s hiring now knows, there are a lot of people looking for jobs, meaning that now is a good time to hire highly talented individuals at lower rates. But, what happens when the economy turns around? Capitalize on the timing of quality new hire, and then invest in those people NOW so when the economy does turn around, they will have decided that your business is “the place” for their career, and won’t have any reasons to look for a new job.
As CEO of Davinci Virtual and Davinci Meeting Rooms, Bill Grodnik is responsible for overseeing the growth and marketing strategy of both companies. Mr. Grodnik was previously President of Davinci International, a business center operator in four western states. Prior to creating the Davinci brand, Mr. Grodnik was President of HQ Business Centers of Arizona, where he held the franchise rights to the HQ Business Centers. Follow him on Twitter at @DavinciCEO.
