Caution: High Achievers At Work!

High achievers, or rock stars as they’re so often called, are the best thing that will ever happen to your business … trust me!

Did you hear that, new business owners and entrepreneurs? If not, listen to me again … high achievers will always take responsibility for their actions and behaviors … perhaps that’s why they are the people we all want to be around like all the time; why we want to help them succeed and why they garner so much influence over everyone else. These successful people actually create their own reality … one that works for both themselves AND for others around them (including you, if you’ve hired them) and above all else, they will make you filthy rich if you let them. So, whether your place has one employee or 100, recruiting and retaining these special kinds of people certainly equals profitability (you love that word, don’t you? Yea, I thought so!)!

This is how your interview process should go: each new hire should be looked upon as an opportunity to add another valuable talent to your team. So forget about fancy Ivy League degrees or other resume-filling crap … you’ll know a rock star when you see one! Sure, they’re not going to try and blow smoke out of their a@# (note: these people rarely brag or boast … you’ll have to dig their accomplishments out of them, to be honest with you) but there will be some guaranteed subtle hints, nonetheless. Hey, hiring decisions impact your whole operations, so it is super important to evaluate every potential hire not only on their skills and work history, but more importantly by their amount of motivation they exude and their actual desire to achieve!

Average people lack this desire to achieve, so to demonstrate the importance of recruiting high achievers, let’s compare what you’ll experience if you hire an “Average Joe” versus a “Top Dog”: the average performer will do just enough to squeak by, but nothing more. They’ll look for someone to blame when a situation turns sour, they’ll wait for instructions and will always need a push, they’re problem-oriented and they don’t believe that there’s always a solution. The high achiever, on the other hand, will consistently achieve better results, they’ll take responsibility for solving problems, they’ll take ownership for skill gaps by seeking out more knowledge, and they’re self-starters who’ll take initiative because they’re very solution-oriented. So which one would you rather have in your corner, when the s@#t hits the fan? Yea, that’s what I thought!

So, how can you be sure you’re recruiting efforts are attracting these high achievers? Why not ask for referrals from those high achievers who already work with you? Seriously, they wouldn’t risk tarnishing their reputation by recommending anyone who isn’t a stellar performer. Many larger companies use this tactic, so why not do the same thing? Your “go-to” guys will certainly appreciate the opportunity to refer people, especially if you offer them some sweet incentives to do so (note: if you’re not offering, then there’s a problem). These referrals will have several advantages: the cost-per-hire is going to be much less, and the candidate quality is going to be of a higher caliber since the recommendation comes from a reliable source!

Also, you should be thinking creatively, by showcasing what you have to offer! So many small business owners become fixated on how they can’t compete with the much larger corporations, and they’ll sell themselves short as an employer. However, small businesses can actually offer a whole host of benefits that a bigger company cannot (well, at least not as easily). Maybe it’s your family-type atmosphere, or perhaps a flexible schedule that’s going to be the clincher. For some people discounts on merchandise are important, and for others it’s the learning experience that matters (at those larger places, rock stars become just another number, which they hate). So start brainstorming now, and come up with a list of the things you CAN offer, and then market the hell out of it when looking to hire a kick a@# future team!

Hey, these are just a few of the variables that affect company morale and the future success of every business endeavor, regardless of its size … keep this in mind. By keeping company morale up and turnovers down, you’ll be opening your doors to some creative solutions for keeping good people, and this is a very good thing … I mean really, really good! At least for your ROI, I should say!

As a business owner, you can’t afford to view employees as disposable assets … ever! The investment of your time and effort in employee recruiting and retention can have long-range positive results for both the human and financial factors in your business, so why not bring in the best of the best right from the start? Hire some rock stars today, and you’ll soon taste the sweet taste of sheer success! Oh, it tastes soooo good … believe you me! So good!