Many companies become reactive when it comes to hiring talent. A position opens or a need arises, and the company’s leaders spring into action.
That approach isn’t adequate for David Becker. As the founder, chairman, president and CEO of First Internet Bank of Indiana, he’s built his company from a start-up to 50 employees. To achieve growth, Becker has taken a vigilant, proactive approach to finding and hiring the best talent.
“I’m a hands-off leader. I don’t get wrapped up in the details,” Becker says. “But as a general rule, the success of my company has been hiring and retaining very talented individuals from the get-go.”
Becker uses every meeting, every conference, even the occasional restaurant lunch, as a means of finding his next potential top performer. It’s an approach that is rooted mostly in a willingness to keep your eyes peeled and ears open.
Smart Business spoke with Becker about how you can find the next wave of top talent for your company.
Keep your eyes open. You consistently look for people. We don’t just wait until we have an opening. We’re always open to take applications from people. I probably talk to three, four, five people over the course of a month, whether we have an opening or not. You just want to find some good, quality people, have some resumes, have some folks on deck for when an opportunity comes around.
As an example, I was at a luncheon once, and there was a young lady who handled one of the most abusive customers I had ever seen in my life. He tore this young lady apart, just made a complete ass of himself. But she defused him, got him through lunch, everything was great, and I handed her my business card on the way out the door. I told her, ‘If you want to get out of the restaurant field, give me a call.’ I made a position for her the following week, and two years later, she’s running my customer service department. So you’re always keeping your eyes open, always looking for good people wherever they might be.
Recruit before you need to. Look for the people beforehand. You borrow when you don’t need to borrow; you look for people when you don’t need to look for people. You’re not just looking for a body. You’re looking for a person and a leader. That’s a constant job for me as a leader. Among our ranks, probably 70 percent of the people I’ve hired were gainfully employed at the time, and I took them away from somebody else. I met them through some association or some business. When we have an opening, I’ll go through my Rolodex of people I’ve met around town and make that inquiry. A lot of times, the best candidate is someone who isn’t looking for a job.