An employer must be flexible. Does there really need to be a rigid schedule? Does lunchtime really need to take place at a specific time? Who actually needs a clock to tell them when they are hungry? This line of thinking is what is needed in every faucet of business, as simple as it seems. It makes an employee feel more like a human; it makes them feel as though business respects them as a person and will put them first. Once that consideration is instilled in an employee’s mind, there isn’t anything that he or she wouldn’t do for a business. And, when a person looks forward to waking up in morning to begin working in a place where they feel management gives them respect and thinks highly of them, they will put forth effort to show appreciation.

HIRE NICE PEOPLE

Experience and degrees are great ways of measuring employees’ qualifications and potential…but ask yourself, are they nice people? A person can be most qualified, educated, and experienced possible employee on planet but if they have personality of a wet paper bag or of a caged wolverine, it’s guaranteed they’re not going to do much for your business. Those that have to work with them will be disgruntled on a daily bases and begin putting out a poor performance. The customers that receive service from them will be unhappy and I need not say what happens after that.

Hire nice people. Nice people can do wonders for a business. Sound picky? It is. But, when it comes to your business, can you afford not to be picky?

A nice person can learn anything. Nice people are pleasant to be around and are easy to teach. They are notoriously quick to learn. So, even if your nice person does not have skill set that you are looking for, one might consider possibility of training. Think about potential, especially if nice people seem to be rare in your neck of woods.

HOW DO YOU FIND NICE PEOPLE

This should be obvious. During interview process, were they down-to-earth or were they focused solely on success, success, and more success? As crazy as it may seem, total, success driven fanatic may not be best option. Again, person who seems more like a “person” would be best candidate for hiring. In long run, they will make your business more successful because they would make customer, as well as those that have to work with them, happier.

Conduct tests and unconventional interview methods. Why should an interview consist of one or two meetings in a stuffy room? How can we really find out about a person that way? The answer is that we can’t. Instead, how about combining stuffy office interview one day with another day of playing a game of softball with other, current employees, as Hal F. Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin tend to do within their company? This would be great for company moral and, at same time, provide a chance to see how potential employee reacts in a team environment. If person is bent on nothing but winning and becomes angry when other teammates drop ball or do not hit as far as they should, perhaps this person is not best employee to have around. Chances are that their performance on softball field will reflect their performance in office.

Go for a drive. As again explained by Hal F. Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin Peters, way a person drives an automobile says a lot about a person’s personality. Are they overly aggressive and speed through traffic, weaving in an out of other cars, determined to get to point of destination no matter what cost? Or, are they assertive drivers who consider safety of their passengers and think of alternate routes when confronted with a traffic jam, focusing more on drive than destination? (31). Which person would you rather have working for you? Which person would you rather have serving your customers? If you were a customer, which person would you rather have serving you?

Invite your new, potential employee to a company social event. Are they type of person that talks only of themselves and continuously brags about all of wonderful things that he or she has done? Do they even talk to anyone at all? These are folks that either want to gain far more than they are willing to contribute or aren’t willing to gain or contribute. These are type of people that will bring your company down.

DIVERSITY HAPPENS IN AND OUT OF A COMPANY

And, because diversity is always taking place outside of company walls, this fact addresses another variable that cannot be overlooked. The general public, a company’s market, is forever changing and re-changing in its diversity. As an example, one such change grabbed attention of most customer service companies in 2000 when census results showed that African Americans were no longer largest minority. Hispanics had officially moved into this position and now companies had to plan how to appeal their services to and attract this new group that would dominate in a new way, verse previous minority majority that marketing strategies had been crafted around in past.

With diversity in workplace, it is easy to make these kinds of transitions. With a diverse number of employees and executives at ready, a company can be covered on many more fronts than opposed to a less diverse company.

USED MORE THAN YOU THINK

Diversity works. And, it’s not a new idea. Diversity is a concept that has been used often, even for plans as large as creation of countries. This strategy was formed by founding fathers of United States and gave meaning to nickname of “melting pot” that U.S. became known for.

If it can work for tangibility of an entire country, its results on something as small as a company can be profound.

Copyright 2004

Myron Curry is President and CEO of BusinessTrainingMedia.com a leading provider of workforce and business development training programs designed exclusively for corporate deployment. Myron has over 20 years of successful management experience with leading fortune 500 companies and has written numerous articles about workforce management issues. You can contact Myron at: myron@business-marketing.com or visit his company's website http://www.businesstrainingmedia.com