Tricks to Hire a Customer Service All-Star

Tricks to Hire a Customer Service All-Star

by Paul Katsch

If you are self-employed you undoubtedly understand the value of great employees. We've previously discussed “WhyYou May Need to Fire Your Top Performer”, but when it comes time to hire a new food services employee how do you approach the task?

The traditional approach is to post listings anywhere and everywhere. Those on the job hunt will be searching for opportunities like this in local newspapers, but more contemporarily on sites such as Craigslist, Monster, Career Builder, and let's not forget LinkedIn! If you choose to go this route, you can certainly get your posting in front of a number of eyes, but how can you be sure they're the RIGHT eyes? If you're looking for an experienced waiter/waitress, you don't want all your applications coming in from lifetime construction workers. Where sites such as Monster and Career Builder can help users set up resumes and profiles, LinkedIn displays useful resume, educational, and networking information. Additionally, you can see an applicants specific skill set as endorsed by those in their own network, as well as any letters of recommendation they may have posted. Another benefit of online applications is your ability to demonstrate who your company is and what exactly you're looking for. Establishing your expectations before applicants submit their resume can help weed out the completely unrelated applications and save you a good deal of time. Unlike former hard copy job listings, posting an open position online gives you space to list much more information. You can list out qualifications, job responsibilities, a link to your company website, or even your own personalized online application.

With so many educated and experienced individuals trying to enter (or reenter) the workforce, it can be a blessing and a curse for you as an employer. The upbeat is that you have a larger potential applicant pool to choose from, however you will likely also get a number of underwhelming candidates looking for any job without a particular passion or purpose. You can train a new employee on the daily functionality of business, but it's exponentially more difficult trying to train someone to have a good attitude. That may not be AS big of a deal if you're looking for someone to sit behind a computer screen, but a bad attitude can ruin the morale of the rest of your staff. In the restaurant industry this is especially important, as your employees are an extension of your brand identity as an establishment. If your new hire can't play nice with your customers, they can begin to destroy your hard-earned reputation. It's a fact, happy employees work harder for you. When you have such a large potential applicant pool, you have the ability and obligation to be selective.

So you posted your listing, you're getting a slew of online applications, is this really the best way to build your staff? Many will tell you yes!, but there are other ways worth considering. When scouting for your own talent, a good place to start is with people already in your industry. This can be tricky, as you don't want to ruffle feathers walking into an establishment and trying to “steal” their star employee. However, it's likely that good people know other good people. So let's say you're a restaurant owner looking for a new waiter/waitress. You go out to dinner, and are dazzled by your host. Before you bust out that, “How would you like to work for me?” trying asking, “Do you have any friends as amazing as you that are looking for work?” Like with your online posting, you want to be able to highlight what you noticed about this waitress that impressed you, as those are the qualities you'd be looking for in her friends. Was she pleasant, responsive, attentive? Paying a compliment is a good way to highlight these traits, followed by a business card with contact information. Though you do not want to upset the owners of the establishment, if you make a good case and a good offer, it's likely your host will personally apply as well.

At the end of the day, your employees are the face of your company. It is critical you devote the necessary time to not only finding the right people in the first place, but maintaining a positive and productive work environment.