“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs***
Introduction
The Coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with businesses large and small. Staffing patterns are up and down, some working from home, others working but low customer volumes have driven employers to reduce the overall number of employees due to lost revenue and some businesses have had to close. Multiple states are experiencing record rises in newly reported cases of Covid-19, thus removing any possible end in the sight of hopeful business owners, employees and consumers.
Once again, as I often say, we as leaders in a chaotic world, have to grin and bear it. We still have to fulfill the primary elements of leadership. We still have to:
• Influence others to make good decisions and be encouraged
• Motivate others to act
• Rally individuals towards the vision even though they probably can’t see it right now.
Regardless of Staff Size Work Still Must Get Done
I have a friend who is a business owner. She is currently swamped because she needs help and in spite of the data indicating the numbers of individuals who have lost jobs, she has been unable to find good help. Pandemic or not, protests or not, she has work that must get done. So what does one do to fill an open slot?
1. Talk to Current Staff
Have a conversation with current staff, if you have other employees. Ask them for input on what might work best in the department or within your business to improve productivity and streamline workloads. Don’t promise them anything just say you are gathering insights and wanted to hear what they might think on the matter. You might be surprised at what you learn.
2. Assess your needs
Make sure there is a job description and that it is one that makes sense. You might be in need of multiple roles being filled but be clear and concise. Narrow down the job duties and responsibilities in accordance with job titles and job categories.
We are occasionally blessed with individuals who can wear many hats and fulfill many tasks. Because they are able to do so much they ultimately end up performing the job duties of multiple job titles and people. For example, you might have a need for an entry level clerical employee who can answer phones, run errands, pick up and distribute mail, type letters and serve as a frontline customer service rep. We’ll call this position a receptionist. The position is filled with an Anita, who just graduated from college with an undergraduate degree in psychology, and her plans are to return to school (locally) to obtain her Master’s degree. At this time she is in need of full time work and this might be perfect for her needs and thus mutually beneficial. Her previous work experience included work in retail, several years as an administrative assistant in a corporate environment. In addition to an opening for a receptionist, you also have a job opening for a sales rep to promote and sell your business’ merchandise and services. Your Bachelor’s degreed receptionist takes on this work as well and does so with ease, saving you the need to hire an additional person.
Two years later, Anita leaves to accept a great internship opportunity with a local psychologist. You are finding it tremendously frustrating to find a new employee. You hire someone, it doesn’t work out. You need the person to be able to handle the volume, the front office area and the collections as well. They can’t seem to handle the pace and the collection calls are not getting done, nor is the data entry for incoming payments. You let this person go. You hire another person who is great with the sales and promotions but they cannot seem to handle the volume of multitasking needed to handle all other aspects of the job. You let him go. You are now, again faced with filling the position. Oh but wait! It’s not one position, it’s two positions; two positions with two different skill sets.
Keep a clear understanding of job skills necessary for a job and what experiences and education will best serve the person who takes on the role.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the agency responsible for enforcing the federal laws under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that make it illegal to discriminate against job applicants or employees based on race, color, religion, sex (incl. pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Employers of 15 or more employees, by the way, are covered by EEOC laws. Employers of 50 or more employees are required to file an annual Equal Employment Opportunity report or EEO-1 report. The EEOC places jobs in nine basic reporting categories. These categories group jobs in based on similar skill levels, pay scales and promotional opportunities. Seeing these categories can be helpful when thinking about jobs and how they are grouped by job skills.
1. Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers
2. First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers
3. Professionals
4. Technicians
5. Sales Workers
6. Administrative Support Workers
7. Craft workers
8. Laborers and Helpers
9. Service Workers
The position in question falls in both the 6th category, “Administrative Clerical” as well as the 5th category, “Sales Workers” and there may be times that the work expected of the individual falls into another category, like “Professionals,” thus making it more challenging to find the right person to fill a position that crosses the two or three categories.
Some you might be wondering why would this pose a problem? That’s a good question. If we are looking for someone whose job is technically an administrative support position, which doesn’t really require any formal education unless it is specifically focused on something like an accounting clerk or desktop publisher, but crosses over into a professional role where most people in that job hold an associates or bachelor’s degree, then we are going to face a number of challenges. Some of which include pay expectations on the part of the person hired and performance expectations on our part. Might I say, frustration is bad for business? And these two areas will definitely lead to frustrations. It will be difficult to find someone with the experience and skills we seek at a more advanced level while expecting them to accept a lower pay rate which coincides with a lower pay grade that may be attached to the job.
3. Determine Your Budget
How much do you have in your budget for this position? Maybe you might consider creating a new job description that appropriately rolls the job duties of the two positions, into one position. If not, another alternative is to consider hiring for two positions. Maybe both do not have to be full time. Determine if your budget will accommodate one full time and one part time or two part time positions that are more than 20 hours per week. This could be attractive for individuals seeking more hours but who aren’t quite ready or able to work 40 hours.
Think about the ideal person who could fill the position(s) and investigate the average pay that person’s experience might yield. Evaluate your competition and the wages they are offering.
4. Get Creative
Get the word out once you have made a concrete decision on the position or positions you are trying to fill. Look at your best employees, past and present and contemplate how they came to hear about the openings they filled within your business.
Use Social Media, inform family and friends, place ads on job boards and even in your favorite business locations, if they allow such postings. Make sure that you draft the content of information being shared and that it is not just word of mouth from family and friends. That way you can control what information gets shared.
5. Expect to Conduct In Depth Training
Given the complexity of finding the right fit for what might be what some would call a hybrid job opening, keep in mind that you might have to create the perfect person once they are hired. As you prepare to hire, plan your training program. Do not expect the person to hit the ground running on a job they are not likely to have encountered before.
• Decide what areas and people they should be familiar with
• Determine all areas they must gain in depth knowledge of
• Define the tasks, equipment and information they will need to know
• Develop a complete training manual and a training schedule (what they should learn first, second etc.)
• Choose who will train them on each section
6. Be Realistic
Be realistic with the amount of work, the combination of work and the flow of work that you expect this individual to complete on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Just because Anita, your superhero of the past was able to accomplish great amounts of work, does not mean the average person will be able to do the same. Don’t even compare them to you given that you are probably well able to handle more than they might be able to coming in the door. Determine a realistic workload and a job description that matches, otherwise you will be searching for another new employee much sooner than later.
Concluding Thoughts
I learned this statement early in my adult years from my Pastor who used to say, “Plan your work and work your plan.” That statement served me well my entire career. I have to remind myself sometimes because I too want to hit the ground running on some projects. Truth is, however, that when we take the time to think through the work and tasks that need to be accomplished, the outcome is much more predictable and should be one of excellence.
With all that is going on around us, it is hard to stay focused so what I said in this post is certainly not rocket science but it is a reminder to help us focus on what we need to do to stay on task and rebuild and maintain a strong workforce. So if you have positions to fill, get started and “Plan your work!”