In today’s drum-tight labor market, your chances of finding someone with the skills you need are low, but your chances of finding someone with the skills and attitude you want are even lower.
As a result, some dealers are relaxing skill requirements and focusing on attitude. When they find someone who gives great service or otherwise impresses them, these dealers recruit them on the spot. The thinking in these hires is that people can always be trained for skills, but not for attitude.
But how do you hire for attitude or “soft skills”? Here are four tried-and-true strategies that have proved effective:
- Ask for the attitudes you want. This step may seem obvious, but chances are dealers aren’t used to advertising for attitudes over skills. So rather than asking for two years’ experience with delivery logistics, your ad should focus on the attributes you’re seeking whether it’s creativity, high-energy, problem-solvers or team players. You should also be clear internally about the attributes you’re seeking and the kind of company culture you want to encourage.
- Watch applicants before the interview starts. You can tell a lot about people by how they interact with others before the interview starts. Enlist the help of your receptionist. How friendly were they when they arrived? Did they strike up a conversation with the receptionist or anyone else or did they keep to themselves? These interactions can offer strong indications of what kind of personality traits applicants have.
- Involve your best workers. You already know what kind of attributes you’re looking for based on your standout employees. Ask for their help in determining whether the person you’re considering has those attributes as well. It can be as simple as bringing them into the interview process. Or as involved as having potential hires shadow with top employees.
- Use personality tests. More and more dealers are asking applicants to take psychological tests as part of the hiring process. These tests can offer good insights into applicants’ character, personality and interests — and whether they really have what you want. One of the most popular tests is the Meyers-Briggs, which costs as little as $15 to use. Another option is the DiSC assessment, which can be used for around $25.
For more on how to hire for attitude, go to http://www.tamlyn.com.
