Q. How do you
ensure potential employees
will fit in to your corporate
culture?
That’s why we do multiple
interviews, and you don’t have
to be a manager to necessarily
interview somebody. Sometimes, the manager may want
somebody else in their department — somebody who could
potentially be interacting with
that person — to spend some
time with them.
It’s a two-way street: We are
not just interviewing them; we
also view it as the candidate
interviewing us. You want to
openly share with them not
only the good things about
your company and the benefits of working there but also
what the downsides are — the
sacrifices, the commitments
and what’s expected. In some
cases, we’ve had candidates thank us for our time and for
bringing them in, and they
wish us the best of luck and
move on.
Being open and honest with
the people you’re interviewing
is just as important as them
being open and honest with
you. They may be good candidates on paper, and they could
definitely do the job, but your
environment could be outside
of what they’re used to, and
they could be miserable. When
you bring that kind of person
into your environment, they’re
not going to make it.
Also, this is still an entrepreneurial environment; it’s not a
40-hour-week job. We have
incentives through stock, and
after one year, every employee
here is an owner.
Q. How do you create a
company of owners?
They have to believe they’re
making a contribution, seeing
the benefits of their contribution and knowing there is a
reward for their contribution,
both short term and long term.
Only then can I get the level of
commitment and sacrifice from
them that I’m willing to make.
They have to believe it’s their
company, that these are their
clients. They have to take it
personal when things fail.
Nothing would make me
happier than to have every
person here, at some point in
the future, come into my
office and say, ‘Mark, I have
learned from you and from
the company, but I am going
to go out and start my own
company.’ I don’t want them
competing with me, but the
key is having a belief and then
going after it.
HOW TO REACH: Virtual Hold Technology LLC, (800) 854-1815 or www.virtualhold.com
