Want Top Talent?

Here is a question I am often asked as I present around the country: “How can my company attract customer service all-stars when the pickings are so slim in the job market? We’re lucky just to find someone with a pulse!”

The success to any endeavor is to follow our H.I.T. model: Hire for attitude, Inspire through pride (in company, job, and self), and Train for skills. Training is the easy part when you’ve got H. and I. down.

Hiring the right people is essential if you ever plan to create an Inspirational company. As Jim Collins so aptly puts it, “Get the right people on the bus.” Only then should you worry about where the bus is going – about what your company is all about.

Who’s on your bus? And where do you find the people you want to join you?

The last time I heard the plaintive, “Where do I find quality people?” question was right here in Naples, Florida (our new home) just last week. Over 120 members of the Chamber of Commerce were collected to discuss customer service, and this query received a large number of nods from the audience. My answer? Go to Chick Filet, right here in town.

Chick Filet. I’d never been to one, but Jane took the girls there and told me how refreshingly wonderful it was. Of course she was right: they surprised and delighted me with smiles, attentive help, and an internal ethic of going the extra mile as if that mile were not extra at all, but standard. They nailed five-star service on the head, right in the very town where all of these employers were bemoaning the dearth of customer service talent.

Here’s my question for employers: How come Chick Filet can get Five-Star Service right using high school kids, immigrants, working moms, and retirees, all at or near minimum wage?

Employers, you’ve got two tasks: One, find the answer to that question. (I’ve got that answer, by the way, so give me a call and we can set up a consulting session).

Two, go out there and steal ’em! Recruit these folks away from their current employers. Why not? If you can swing it – if you can offer some of Chick Filet’s staff something that induces them to join your firm, then by all means, get in your car and do it!

If you’re not in Naples? Find someone else to pilfer from. Chicago’s Miracle Mile has a great operation in Chipotle, a burrito spot that blew me away when I was there. Louisville has a whole host of folks working at the Marriott Downtown. Boston has five-star heroes working at Jordan’s furniture, as well as a few other spots around town. Wachovia is a great source of talent, and they’re located in numerous cities.

Every area has at least a few great service spots. It’s time to spread the word that you’re serious about hiring, and you’re looking for the best.

That’s what Nordstrom does when they enter a new market. The managers fan out across the city and secretly “shop” talent anywhere they can find it. (That’s in new areas. Because Nordstrom is such a phenomenal company, once they’re established in an area, they attract more than enough talent.)

If you’ve got something special to offer these potential recruits, you’ll win some of them away from their current employers. If not, you won’t. And if that’s the case, then again, it’s time to give us a call. You’re going to need some help before your company is sufficiently Inspirational to get that job done.

Happy hunting.