Now Hiring Signs…Ever Thought of Keeping One Up Year Round to Keep Them on Their Toes
I am in the process of hiring some more talented individuals and lately, I’ve had a bunch of people calling and coming in for interviews. I know it has my staff in a little bit of an uncomfortable situation, because a couple of them have come up to me and told me they are very happy here and noticed I was interviewing. I also asked my web designer to put up a little saying that goes something like this, “We are always looking for talented individuals to be a part of our sales team. Please email resumes to shanu@gulianis.com.”
Business has been a little slow this month—but I realized you never know when you’re going to find someone you just don’t want to let go—so I figured what the hell—I really should be interviewing all year so I went ahead and told my web designer to put the saying up and keep it up.
As for my friends—some of them have gorgeous hiring signs up all year. Not the cheesy “Help Wanted” ones—but beautiful ones that resemble their open/close signs—ones that hang on the window or sits on the counter. I also remember one of the owners at the owner’s forum saying the sign keeps their employees inline because they know they are always looking for talented individuals.
Do you think putting up a Now Hiring sign year round keeps your employees working hard? Are you always looking for help or just when you need it?
gemmanager commented:
This could backfire on you. I too agree with Jack800. This can
cause morale to erode and put uncertainty in their minds. How could
this possibly help sales? Plus the fact they will not be 100%
loyale knowing you keep your options open. I found you get the best
results with staff by positive re-enforcement and daily shows of
appreciation. I vote no.
Hedda Schupak commented:
If you keep it up and don't act on it, then it becomes meaningless.
At the same time, you do want to have a good pool of candidates in
case someone does leave on short notice. I'd suggest modifying your
sign slightly to say something like "If you like shopping here, you
might love working here. We're always looking for talented
individuals who we can contact in the event a position becomes
available." And be upfront with your current staff as to why you're
doing this. That way you can build a file of valuable contacts
without making your current employees feel disposable.
Albert Varnish commented:
This used to be known as the "Policy of Fear" If you think your
staff need keeping on their toes you should have the guts to tell
them and do something about it
Albert Varnish commented:
This used to be known as the "Policy of Fear" If you think your
staff need keeping on their toes you should have the guts to tell
them and do something about it
jewelryproblem commented:
I agree with JACK800 about the issue of having too many options,
and found the the article attached interesting. Moreover, as a
customer, nothing signals instability at a retailer more than a
continuous Help Wanted sign. This alone would stop me from making a
large purchase, for concern that the store would not honor
policies, may close, etc. Having the blurb on a website however
seems fine, and a good way of attracting the best salespeople,
since a good salesperson should always research a company they want
to work for prior anyway (including checking the prospective
company's)website.
JACK800 commented:
'Predictably Irrational': Keeping (too many) options open... You
have stumbled into one of the black holes of human psychology. You
often write about the value of good employees and building a team.
In some sense, you are in partnership with your employees. With
that in mind, how would you feel if your husband, your marital
partner, had a yearly contract with a dating service, just to see
if something better came along? When you limit your options, you
gain greater focus.
www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/26/healthscience/sntierney.php
Jeweler commented:
There are a zillion times an employee gets pregnant, or one wants a
vacation, or you need extra help for Christmas--what's wrong with
always being on the look out. You care about your staff, you don't
want to fire them, you're just looking for more trained help and if
keeping the sign up keep them on their toes even better
Homer commented:
I agree with MJB--if you're looking to build employee morale and
loyalty, it's not the way to do it. You want them watching the door
for customers, not looking over their shoulder.
Mall Jewelry Boy commented:
Upside: There's always the possibility of attracting a great new
hire. Downside: It makes employees very uncomfortable to know
they're "disposable" (or "not good enough", or "not what we're
looking for"). It also gives the appearance that the store has a
high employee turnover.
