Looking for talent

This is going to be your number one challenge.  Over the years I have spent countless hours looking for talent.  It doesn’t matter if you are performing residential work or commercial work, the person that you hire to represent your company is a reflection of you, your company’s image and your reputation.  If you have never had a job where you had to constantly interview people, you definitely need to do your homework and learn how to interview candidates.  There are specific questions that need to be asked. There are also specific questions that you are not allowed to ask.  However, you should be looking for timeliness, communication skills, technical skills, and appearance.  

Candidates will tell you anything you want to hear to get the job.  Talk about some BS.  You will hear it all.  It can be downright comical.  The only way you will find the right candidate is to put them on the job and see what happens.  However, this is incredibly risky.  The last thing you want is a new employee mucking up a customer’s home on the very first job.  If you have a seasoned employee, it’s best to have the new hire complete a few jobs with your seasoned employee in order to monitor their abilities. 

It is important to validate a candidate’s ID to determine that they are who they say they are.  A background check is a good thing to look into as well.  Drug screenings are not required but can be very useful if you are issuing company vehicles or company equipment.  You should complete all of the necessary forms such as a W9 for sub contract labor, or a W4 for full time permanent employees.  You should have an application that captures the applicable information for the candidate’s ability to perform the requirements for the position.  You should also collect emergency contact information. Cover your butt. 

Don’t be alarmed when someone doesn’t show up for an interview. You will find that in this industry; it will happen quiet frequently.  There is no reason to discuss pay until you have met the candidate and assessed their skill sets, and their years of experience.  Don’t rely on the pictures of their work.  The pictures that they show you may not be their actual work.  Keep in mind, during the interview process, a candidate will likely tell you anything you want to hear to get the job.  Don’t be fooled.  If you do select a candidate, it is best to pair them with a current employee so that their work can be assessed in real time.  Yes, I know I already said this.  However, this needs to be stated again, and again, and again!

I can tell you based on my experiences, that you will get some interesting characters applying for work.  For instance, you will get someone who has enough piercings to start a metal fabrication shop.  Or someone who has enough tattoos that they could host that tv show ink masters.  Now, these aren’t exactly bad things.  Keep in mind that if you are doing residential work that we live in a judgmental society and not every housewife is going to feel comfortable with this.  

I have had men and women show up for interviews, vaping, and even lighting up a cigarette.  I personally don’t smoke but this can be a little alarming.  We have a policy of not smoking, not vaping, and no dipping tobacco on a customer’s property.  The employee that needs to take a smoke break every 30 minutes will definitely upset a customer.  They may also be displeased having their residence smell like cigarette smoke.  Even worse is having an employee knock over his little tobacco spit cup and the customer’s dog licks it up off the floor.  Yes, this really happens and boy does it create a shit show. 

I had one guy show up for an interview who was obviously in need of fix or was coming down from a fix.  Man, he was dancing around, scratching his arms, talking in circles.  Holly shit.  I was like, bro are you ok?  Then he smiled and he had those meth teeth.  You have to be human.  It is the right thing to do.  I basically just stated that I still had about a dozen people left to interview and left it at that.  It really wasn’t a lie. 

Also, you don’t always have to run a back ground check.  Just ask, hey can you pass a background check?  If you get zero response and you don’t hear from them again, well, then you have your answer.  Sometimes, they will straight up tell you no and then they will tell you why they can’t.  Sometimes the reasons are insanely alarming.  I am all about second chances but you really have to be careful who you send into your customers homes.               

This will be your most difficult challenge.  Finding someone who has a good presentation, good character, good communication skills, and talent will be equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack.