We love our little corner of the Sonoran Desert, populated as it is with good folks and many fine examples of the statuesque saguaro cactus. Maybe it’s the 115-plus-degree summer temperatures or the massive lightning storms that follow, but the people here are a little different. We don’t respond to no fancy, big-town, flim-flam sales jargon! We want it straight and honest, and we want to deal with someone who rubs us the right way. The Tucson AZ metro area is home to nearly one million people. And nearly every day, when one of us ventures out, we run into someone who is our customer. We literally cannot remember one conversation where someone didn’t have nice things to say about our business. We like it that way.
The quality of the interactions is what separates our store from the local competition, as well as from online and catalog retailers. Because our employees represent us to our customers, they are absolutely the most important link in the retail chain. Payroll expenses are our largest line item other than “cost of goods sold,” and we’ve realized that the best investment we can make is to hire amazing people. We find people who “get” us, and who realize they’re an integral part of a team that is unique and special. We believe that we’ve developed a culture at our store—a bond among the staff—that makes them a team that can accomplish almost anything.
We know that great salespeople pay for themselves several times over; sometimes, though, people who consider themselves “professional salespeople” aren’t the kind of folks our customers like to buy from. In general, we try to find great people who reflect our values. We look for people who are intelligent, who possess problem-solving skills and who, ideally, have some experience making music. The priorities are in that order. A great interaction with the customer is our goal.
Where you search for employees can greatly affect the quality of choices you get. For sheer volume (even at the expense of quality applicants), we use Craigslist to generate interest in employment at Instrumental Music Center. The cost is low, and respondents must be somewhat computer literate. This avenue is a mixed blessing: Lots of applicants, but, often, they’re people who are unemployed for a reason.
Us: Dear applicant: Can you come in and interview tomorrow?
Her: No, sorry. I’m attending a training on how to get a job and I’m not available.
Us: How long is the training?
Her: It’s ongoing, and I’ve been going to this training class for three months now.
Us: …
Hiring temporary employees for super-busy seasons has given us a chance to see how people operate in high-pressure situations. We use word of mouth and social media to help fill those positions. All of these workers know their job is temporary, but, if we see a diamond in the rough, we try to convert him or her to a permanent position. This approach gives us a chance to see someone we aren’t sure about in action. Ultimately, some of our best employees have come to us through working seasonal events.
OK, now it’s the time when we part with our secret formula…
#1 Hire the right people.
#2 Be willing to get rid of the folks who don’t add to the equation.
Let’s start with the first one. We don’t have application forms. In this day and age, you should be computer literate enough to slap together some kind of résumé from some Web site. With luck, you are coherent enough to change the heading from “Your Name Here!” to your actual name. People who can do this are winners! Beyond that, we attach a small sheet to incoming résumés that allows the employee receiving the document to add some first-impression comments. Those comments range from professional appearance, to attitude issues, to notes about odd behavior. We take every opportunity we have to gather data so that we can make the best choice possible. We have been known to do Google searches on folks, and we’ve even looked at prospective applicants’ Facebook timelines.
When interviewing applicants, we are on the lookout for any potentially useful information. Did they arrive on time? Did they wear flip-flops? Did they spin on the drum throne and fidget like a toddler? Are they able to get to the point, or do they ramble on and on (and on)? All of those are indications about how that person will behave if hired. We hire primarily based on personality, not knowledge. We can teach people why there are so many types of clarinet reeds; conversely, however, we can’t teach them to care about people and be polite.
It started as kind of a joke, but we would ask applicants if they knew the square root of 36. Although it’s not knowledge you use every day, a curious, alive, moderately intelligent person should be able to come up with the answer. Also, it’s good data to gauge someone’s reaction to a non sequitur, regardless of the answer offered.
We also use a real-world simulation, where applicants have to calculate a dollar total of items in a bag. There are non-taxable items, free items and regular merchandise, along with complete instructions. This exercise seriously separated the wheat from the chaff. Passing that basic math test is a requirement for employment, as it’s fifth-grade-level math, as well as common sense.
Regardless of how careful we are when making our best choices, it still sometimes doesn’t work out. Yup…that naughty F-word. (Fired!) We avoid some issues by creating a probation period. The position is considered “temporary” until the 90-day point. Both parties agree to have the ability to sever the relationship, for any reason and with no retribution, before the 90 days have elapsed.
Employees who are a poor fit for our store affect everyone. We dread having to let someone go, but the net effect is like cutting a sandbag loose from a balloon that’s sailing over the beautiful Catalina Mountains at sunset. In the end, everyone ends up feeling better.
Michael and Leslie Faltin own and operate Tucson AZ-based Instrumental Music Center.