Q. Can you hire good communicators, or do you need to groom them?
It’s critical in any business to have good communicators, and it’s certainly more critical as you go up the chain of command. The willingness to communicate is No. 1 when you’re trying to groom others. That comes down to a personality aspect — finding people who really care about other folks, people who have the capacity to empathize. That’s tougher to teach. That goes to background, education, upbringing and your whole genetic code. If you are dealing with a person who hasn’t developed an interest in other folks and a desire to be empathetic, that can be problematic.
You can begin to identify good communicators in the hiring process. When I’m interviewing somebody, I ask a lot of open-ended questions and give them an opportunity to express themselves. Most of interviewing is getting folks to open up and talk about themselves. The people I interview, by the time they get to me, they’re going to be qualified. The skills and experience are going to be there, and by the time a candidate gets to me, those aspects are far less important than how they’re going to fit into our organization. That’s what I’m trying to assess, what is that fit going to be. A huge part of that fit is, can they communicate with other people [and] are they going to take the time to understand the people in our organization, our history, successes and challenges as an organization?
That’s the first step in being a good communicator. Understanding the environment and the people with whom you’re dealing.
Q. How do you make time for face-to-face communication with employees?
Face-to-face and one-on-one communication is always very effective, and especially in a small company, there’s no excuse not to make that a priority. That’s the best way to establish rapport and trust in all directions and, especially, the connection where everyone starts to realize that we all have each other’s best interests at heart. You make time for it because it’s important, so it’s a matter of discipline and not letting it slip down the list of priorities. I get a lot of help from my assistant and our corporate communications team. They know how important it is, so they help me make it happen.
How to reach: Ross Environmental Services Inc., (440) 366-2000 or www.rossenvironmental.com
