In today’s challenging labour market, the pressure to hire quickly can be overwhelming.
Focusing solely on quickly filling a position to meet short-term needs often leads to long-term frustration, with the wrong person becoming entrenched in your team.
But if you want to build a sustainable and successful tradie business, it’s crucial to slow down and hire slow.
Redefine Your Journey
1. Think Different, Do Different:
The “Hire Slow, Deselect Fast” Principle
The principle of “Hire Slow, Deselect Fast” can help you avoid bringing on the wrong team members who may negatively impact your business performance and morale.
Being selective about who you bring into your team is crucial for maintaining a healthy and productive work environment.
The benefits of carefully selecting your team members are significant.
- A-team' members are more likely to meet and exceed expectations, bringing higher quality and efficiency to your projects.
- They align better with your business culture and values, leading to a more cohesive and motivated team.
- Additionally, satisfied 'A-team' members contribute to a positive work environment and are more likely to stay with your business long-term, reducing turnover and recruitment costs.
- Action Think Different: Shift your mindset to see that slowing down and taking your time with the hiring process is a positive strategy for growth rather than just a delay in filling a position. Quality team members lead to quality outcomes.
- Action Do Different: Implement a hiring process that includes thorough vetting of potential candidates against your criteria. Start by creating a clear role description that outlines responsibilities, personal requirements, skills, and measurable key performance indicators. This process will force you to 'slow down' and assess if candidates truly fit the 'A-team' profile, allowing you to quickly deselect those who don’t meet your high standards.
2. Legendary Thoughts:
"It's not the candidates you pass on that make you weak, it's the ones you hire out of desperation."
This quote highlights the importance of being selective with your hires to ensure long-term business success.
3. Business Breakthroughs:
Key to Building your 'A-Team' - Preparation and Patience
- Thinking: Many Tradie Mindset™ business owners feel pressured to hire quickly to keep up with demand. This can lead to bringing on team members who are not a good fit and can harm your business long-term.
- Do: Prepare in advance for your next hire by creating a candidate assessment checklist for each role. This checklist should include skill alignment, key performance indicators, cultural fit, and long-term growth potential. It’s a "Hire Slow, Deselect Fast" process—require all ticks on the checklist to confirm an 'A-team' candidate before making an offer.
- Breakthroughs: Real-Life Success: Implementing the “Hire Slow, Deselect Fast” principle has positioned our client community businesses to win the war on talent. By having the confidence to say no to candidates who do not meet the criteria and the patience to wait for 'A-team' members, they have built high-performing teams that embody the 'less is more' approach—requiring less labour to deliver more output. This has resulted in a reduction in wage costs as a percentage of turnover and an increased operating profit margin.
Understanding and applying the “Hire Slow, Deselect Fast” principle can help you build a strong, cohesive team, reduce turnover, and improve your business profitability.
Remember to slow down to speed up by taking the time to select the right team members and avoid the long-term costs associated with quick, desperate hires.
Seek out the 'small 1% gains', be patient, and the big wins will come.Please share your business breakthrough experiences by emailing
matt@cubeperformance.com.au.
