One of the biggest challenges for any painting contractor looking to expand is hiring employees. We covered some of the basics required when hiring an employee in our recent infographic, Hiring Your First Employee Without Having to Fire Them Two Days Later. This covers items to consider when posting a position.
That being said, meeting government paperwork requirements and creating a job posting aren’t the hardest part of hiring a painter. The hard part is finding one that won’t let you down on the job.
If you’re looking for an employee in this market that doesn’t want a salary that breaks the bank, you’re going to be looking for someone with dedication, growth potential… and not much experience. These employees are among the most difficult to assess. You can’t call a list of references, because their career has been very short. You also can’t judge them based on how well or how quickly they complete a job, because you’ll be training them on how to do that.
That doesn’t mean you have to take a shot in the dark – there are things you can look for when they’re interviewing with you. Patrick Lencioni’s book The Ideal Team Player identifies three characteristics to look for in any job candidate:
Humble team players aren’t ego-driven. They’re quick to talk about the people who have helped them succeed, and slow to assign credit to themselves.
Hungry team players are always focused on what else they can take on. Growth and success are natural consequences of their self-motivation.
Smart team players understand how to interact with others due to their intuition and good judgement. Smart in this context isn’t about book-smarts, but people-smarts – knowing how to deal well with people. This is especially important when you are working in customers’ homes.
If you can find an employee with these three characteristics, the sky is the limit for their ability to help your business succeed. And although it’s somewhat implied by these, it’s also important to mention Honesty. If your employees aren’t honest, nothing else matters. You’ll lose every time.
To learn how ProPainter Websites can help your business improve its hiring process with our Hiring Assessment Survey, call us at 855-385-1134 or email us at Team_PPW@ProPainterWebsites.com.