Use your tools
Parker says the most foolproof way of communicating with
employees is to meet with each of them in person. Since that is
often impossible, the next best thing is to make sure you bring
in people you can trust to deliver the message on your behalf.
Getting that type of person takes more than just some undefined gut instinct.
“The danger is your gut is wrong,” Parker says. “Use the tools
that you have available to you or if you don’t have those tools,
explore if you need them. There’s lots of assessments available
that can help you make a good decision. … Do good due diligence.”
The hiring process is much different for management positions than it is for lower-level employees.
“In reality, the further down the organization you go, we’re
probably trying to weed out the bad apples and trying to make
sure we don’t make a bad hiring decision at the store level,”
Parker says.
Do whatever you can to find other people who can offer you
their thoughts on a person you may be thinking about hiring.
“I look for some target hires with people that have proven
track records,” Parker says. “They were tried and true and
proven, and I trusted them. Where I didn’t know, and I was
making a key hire, I found people that could talk about them.”
Group interviews can also be helpful.
“We have different personalities in the interview process,”
Parker says. “We have some people that are very probing and
can almost put you on the defensive. Then you have other people that are more soft and are more, ‘How do you feel?’ It’s really kind of interesting to look at the dynamics. A lot of it is just
personalities.”
These dynamics can lead to interesting but fruitful post-interview discussions as to who is the best candidate for the job.
“It’s not necessarily a democracy, but we usually try to come
to a group consensus,” Parker says.
As Village Pantry grows, Parker wants someone who has
experience with quick development. As an example, he identified the head of Midwest store development for the legendary
coffeehouse chain, Starbucks, to take a key position.
“A proven-track-record kind of guy,” Parker says.
By getting the right people who buy in to your plan for the
company, the consistency of message to your employees is
ensured.
“You owe it to your employees that they know how to do
what they are supposed to do to be successful,” Parker says.
“Don’t make somebody feel bad for asking what is potentially in their mind a dumb question. This isn’t rocket science.”
HOW TO REACH: Village Pantry LLC, (317) 594-2100 or www.suncappart.com