The Entrepreneur's Guide to Hiring and Building the Team Ken Tanner PRAEGER The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Hiring and Building the Team Recent Titles in The Entrepreneur’s Guide The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Managing Growth and Handling Crises Theo J. van Dijk The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing Business Plans and Proposals K. Dennis Chambers The Entrepreneur’s Guide CJ Rhoads, Series Editor The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Hiring and Building the Team Ken Tanner Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tanner, Ken. The entrepreneur’s guide to hiring and building the team / Ken Tanner. p. cm. — (The entrepreneur’s guide, ISSN 1939–2478) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–275–99543–0 (alk. paper) 1. Teams in the workplace. 2. Employees—Recruiting. I. Title. II. Series. HD66.T365 2008 658.4’022—dc22 2007036487 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright C 2008 by Ken Tanner All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007036487 ISBN: 978–0–275–99543–0 ISSN: 1939–2478 First published in 2008 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10987654321 For my father, Stan Tanner, who, along with fellow members of his generation, conquered poverty during the Depression, defeated evil during a world war, led our nation to previously unimaginable levels of productivity and prosperity, selflessly raised a new generation of leaders, and then quietly stepped aside to look back at a life well led. Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi I. Recruiting Your Team 1 1. Preparing to Recruit 3 2. Finding Great Candidates 16 3. The Candidate Screening Process 30 4. Selecting Great Team Members 43 5. Bringing Them Onboard 52 II. Building Your Team 67 6. A Group of Diverse Individuals 69 7. Sharing a Common Culture 82 8. Working Together 92 9. Toward Worthwhile Goals 102 10. A Foundation of Integrity 107 viii Contents III. Keeping Your Team 119 11. The Real Cost of Attrition 121 12. The Four Pillars of Retention 130 13. Filling Job Needs 144 14. Filling Career Needs 159 15. Holding On and Fighting Back 170 Coda: One at a Time 179 Index 183 Acknowledgments Immediately after signing the contract for this book—my fourth—I decided to hire one of those interns I had heard so much about. I conducted a series of conversations (not interviews) and chose Lauren Azzalina to be my researcher, fact-checker, and first-draft copy editor. Let me tell you a little bit about this remarkable young woman. Lauren was a recent graduate of Valdosta State University and eager to start her career. As with most English majors, that career began in the back of a restaurant, a job she continued to hold for the early months of her service to me. Lauren then added yet another internship, this time with an out- standing publishing house in Atlanta. Lauren soon moved from a restau- rant to a reception desk greeting students at a prestigious dance studio. Despite juggling multiple jobs and internships, Lauren produced quality work, learned a lot, and built a solid reputation in the business community. How solid? She completed the publishing internship with the highest possi- ble evaluation, and the dance studio promoted her to the position of head administrator. So I acknowledge the significant contributions Lauren Azzalina made. Her work, advice, and perspectives have been critical to the development of this book; I thank her. However, I need to do more than acknowledge her contributions to this book. I must also acknowledge the promise she shows. Just like the entrepreneurs now reading these words, Lauren dis- plays that magical combination of talents, skills, persistence, and optimism. Her future is so very bright; it will be a joy to watch it evolve. Introduction Sam was a new client. We were sharing a pot of coffee as he described the moment he decided to leave his long-time employer and start his own company: My boss had just returned from one of those teambuilding retreats. You know, one of those deals where the top brass go into the wilderness for the weekend, have paintball wars, walk on burning coals, and then sit around a campfire singing Kumbaya? I was familiar with the concept. Indeed, conducting such retreats is a good income stream for me. I was often able to build real team spirit among exec- utives with exercises done off-campus, though my methods had never included weapons, fire, or (shudder!) karaoke. He continued: So the boss calls us all together to summarize what he had learned. After a lot of interesting stories about the athletic prowess (or lack thereof) of some of the other division heads, he reviewed some of the planning they had done. They had identified future markets, product opportunities, and opportunities for cost cutting. Again, I nodded. I have seen wonderful results from these meetings. You break down some of the communication barriers executives have built and the team can produce excellent planning. And then he told us about an interesting exercise. As a group, they ranked the company’s most important strengths, its most valuable assets. ‘‘Our greatest asset,’’ he declared, ‘‘is cash.’’ Someone interrupted him and said he’d always heard that people were our greatest asset. ‘‘Where do people rank on the new list?’’ he asked. The boss studied his notes and replied, ‘‘Sixteenth. People are now considered sixteenth.’’ I had to ask him what fifteenth was. ‘‘Our solid inventory of office supplies and equipment,’’ he replied. From that moment, I knew I had to get out of a corporate system that valued paperclips over its people. xii Introduction Let’s at least give this company credit for not being hypocritical. Compa- nies loudly proclaim that they value their people, but few believe it and even fewer live it. ‘‘Our people are our greatest asset’’ has become a business cliche. However, there is a reason a phrase evolves into a cliche and that is because of its truth. Committed, motivated, and productive people are the organization’s heartbeat. Their quality decides whether it thrives or turns to dust. There are few absolute truths in business, but here is one: The success or failure of your entrepreneurial business can be predicted by the quality of the people you bring into it. Your new company will flourish or flounder depending how well you recruit, build, and retain your team. Yet, there is an even stronger reason for you to have a great team. That lies in the same basic advice I give job seekers. When deciding between job offers, I advise them to look closely at the people in the organizations. I tell them, ‘‘You become your environment.’’ You, too, will become whomever you choose to associate with. Take great care in the selection of your team members, because your business will reflect their DNA: their character, work ethic, talents, strengths—all these things will become the character of your business. You will be whatever your people are. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Hiring and Building the Team will help you possess this great team. We’ll discover ways for you to recruit the talent best suited for your business and learn how to mold these assets into a powerful team. Most importantly, we’ll explore proven methods to conquer turnover and keep this great team together. You’ve heard all that before, haven’t you? The bookstores are filled with such claims; let’s see how this book is different. Recruiting. Existing titles only address the hiring aspect of recruiting and most of those are composed of a list of ‘‘great interview questions.’’ Actually, the questions really aren’t that great, just tricky ones that serve to make the candidate nervous and guarded. Hiring and Building the Team guides you through the entire arena of recruiting, including preparation, sourcing, selection, and onboarding, in addition to the interview process. Teambuilding. Most teambuilding books consist of clever games you can play with your staff. These make for entertaining meetings, but teach noth- ing about how to build a solid, focused team that will further your fledgling business. This book shows how to build teams and make them work. From identifying each person’s role to measuring accountability to triumphing over obstacles, Hiring and Building the Team will show you how to get these talented people to work together to drive your business. Retention. Most books about employee retention—wait, there really aren’t many books on the subject. Those that can be found discuss how to keep the employee smiling, laughing, and motivated for the short-term, while ignoring basic concepts for holding on to each individual member of the team you have created. Hiring and Building the Team shows how to keep each employee challenged, motivated, and satisfied. You will know how to address each person’s true needs and keep them for the long-term. Introduction xiii You are also wondering why you should look to Ken Tanner for this guidance when the bookstores offer advice directly from a plethora of PhDs, sports celebrities, and even The Donald himself! So, why should you trust me to take you on this journey? Fair question. Let me tell you a little about myself. While I never served as president of General Motors, invented the Inter- net, or cured any major diseases (at least none that you would immediately recognize), chances are you wouldn’t relate to me if I had.