Employees as Obstacles to Growth?

Strategies for Finding the Right People

If you’re struggling to find employees who are good fits for your business, you’re facing a challenge that is widespread in the industry.

Hardware Retailing surveyed more than 1,000 independent home improvement retailers in the U.S. and Canada, and many of them listed “finding the right employees” as their biggest challenge to business growth.

They also told Hardware Retailing that one of the No. 1 areas in which they plan to invest within the next three years is personnel development.

Employees are the face of your operation and the keys to good customer service and a solid business reputation. Finding the right people to hire makes your business stronger and can solve a number of problems, including employee turnover and termination.

Applied to Retail:

Thoroughly explaining your business and job openings can help you assess who might be a good fit for your business. You can save yourself headaches if you help job applicants understand up front how your business operates and what the work entails before you hire them.

Start by advertising a detailed, clearly written job description before you begin interviewing candidates. During interviews, carefully explain job responsibilities, give tours of your operation and introduce prospective hires to workers who currently do the jobs they would be doing. If possible, have prospects job shadow for a day or two so they can see if they like the work, employees and company culture.

People may eliminate themselves as candidates if they realize in advance that they won’t like the work, or their reactions may show you they’re not who you’re looking for.