Find your leaders
There’s obviously more to spending time with your employees than just piquing their interest. One, is it’s a good way to understand which employees truly grasp the company’s culture and vision and which employees may be ready to take on more duties.
“There are certain people that can go to the next level and certain people can’t,” Rumpke Sr. says. “You have to ride the horse that will get you as far as you can go.”
In determining what qualities to look for in your future leaders, think about your line of business. As a service business, Rumpke doesn’t only consider whether the person grasps the company philosophy or not but Rumpke also puts weight on consistency and the candidate’s ability to interact with employees and the public.
It can be little things like work attendance and reliable performance on the job. And it can include the bigger picture, such as the perception of the person and what that person can do for the company moving forward.
“You have to see how they interact with people around them and see how they interact with the outside world,” Rumpke Sr. says. “You want the best face on Rumpke, the most compliant face on Rumpke that can be out there, the best neighbor in all the above things. If people fit in that category, then you’re definitely more interested in talking to them about different aspects.”
Deciphering the ability of someone having a positive influence on another person comes down to interactions. First of all, is the employee of interest engaged in the conversation? Second, have they had an influence on the person to the point where, when that person walks away, he or she has a sense of understanding or even thinking that he or she made a new friend.
Even if the signs are there
to elevate an employee in rank, you should still do a full evaluation of the employee’s performance. Rumpke looks at past experience and performance and gives employees a cognitive skills test to determine whether the person is capable of moving to a higher position.
“We really don’t want to promote somebody that’s not ready because we don’t want them to fail,” Rumpke Jr. says. “Once we do move them into the position we give them help to try to succeed in that position through the assistance of other managers.”
