[Note from Randy Chilton: I am taking a break this month and have invited my co-worker at Sugarloaf, Britain White, to step in for a guest essay for RePlay. He lectures me on this stuff all the time so I thought, why keep all of this insight all to myself?
Britain worked for Wal-Mart in the Other Income Department prior to 1998, when he accepted a position as VP at Sugarloaf. He has worked in various positions in operations at Sugarloaf, and has lived in Boulder, Kansas City, and now lives and works in Bentonville, Ark., where his responsibilities include working on the Wal-Mart and Sam's accounts. He is also currently serving on the AMOA board of directors. For those of you who know Britain White, you'll enjoy his essay on hiring personnel.]
Hiring is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.
How true it is. The adventure begins the day you say - "You're hired!" After several draining interviews, you finally narrow it down to a couple of candidates. This is where it gets tough. If the truth were told, throwing darts might be a more scientific method of employee selection. This is where you try to convince yourself that you possess some special skill on picking the right person. Who are you kidding? Hiring is half luck. Besides, hiring is actually the easy part. It's the first day on the job where the real fun begins. It's like a rough night on the town - you wake up wondering what you might have done.
Before moving on, here are four hiring tips that have worked for me:
1) Does this person seem competitive?
2) Is this person enthusiastic?
3) Does this person appear dedicated?
4) Will this person pass the drug test?
The first three are very important. They are very difficult to learn, if not impossible. You either have them or you don't. Point number four speaks to a person's motivational level. Potheads don't make good employees.
Now that you have this new team member, it is time for training, training, and training. Hands on training has worked best for me, and I suspect for our industry, it is the primary method of job education. Do not breeze through the basics. They are the foundation. Even though the basics should be the easiest to remember, they are the first things that we let slip. Why do you see a lot of companies return to the theme "Back to the Basics?"
Are your machines clean and working? Are you servicing the customer enough? Is the price-per-play clearly marked on your machines? These are but a few of the basics that often get overlooked.
Now it is time to see what you are made of. You, the coach, have to modify your team. Three more tips:
1) Look: See how the employees interact with one another.
2) Listen: Understand their concerns and needs. Do not just hear them.
3) Learn: Learn what makes them happy, mad and sad. These three moods will be your allies if you know how to manage them, and you'll gain your teams' respect and trust.
The coach now has to ensure that every player is playing the right role. You do not want a technical savvy player on the street running bulk racks. He needs to be on a route where you can most benefit from his skills. Does a carpenter use a hammer to drive in a screw?
One of the biggest mistakes is that the coach forgets their true role. They fall into what I call "The All Star Trap." Getting a bunch of All Stars together does not mean you don't have to work hard to win. USA Basketball team, Washington Redskins a few years back, need I say more?
In our industry you could hire the top sales person, controller, operations person, merchandiser (route person), etc., but if they are not working together as a team, you will be the 2nd or 3rd best company carrying a lot of baggage with you. What happens is your top people, if not coached properly, will not respect one another. These folks end up spending good, productive time focusing on each other versus focusing on the company goals.
We've identified talent and trust as two key variables that are vital to identifying team players. We all know people whose talents we respect, and we all know people whom we can trust, but when you find someone in your organization that has talent and is someone you can build a trusting relationship with, you've got a great coworker and potential company leader.
Individuals who spend time trying to prove who is smarter or who is more valuable to the company, are a total waste of time. There is no Grammy award for the smartest vending guy. I like to pretend that I would be nominated for this award if there were one, but who am I kidding. I am just simply a student of the vending game. Upper level, lower level, any level, everyone has to work together to be successful.
I used to work for a little retailer in Northwest Arkansas a while back. I will be the first one to tell you that they taught me everything I know about team building. You can't run a successful business without the right team. Last I checked, I think that they are still pretty successful. I often think back to the last team that I was a part of in Bentonville over six years ago. Now that was a championship team. I would like to use a quote from this retailer: "We were ordinary people who did extraordinary things."
At Sugarloaf, I believe that we have one of the most talented teams in the industry. Coinstar, the company that acquired us last July, has an impressive roster of All Stars of their own. Combining the teams and helping them reach new heights of success while working together as a new group, will ultimately be the charge of our new management team.
Occasionally, one person gets bigger than the organization (in their own mind) and it distracts the team. As leaders we're charged with not letting this behavior taint the greater good. That's when great things happen and great companies are born.
I may not be the smartest guy around, but I know a good team when I see
it.