Taking It Personally: Hiring Employees

Let’s get straight to the point here… when you have employees, no matter how often or little they work, what their interests are will undoubtedly come into conversation while they are working. Possibly it’s between you and them, or maybe between them and another employee. And like it or not, it’s bound to happen between them and a customer, as well, at one point. You may be wondering why this matters, seeing that everyone has personal interests… of course… but the catch is that what their interests are can help, not help or hurt your business.

Here’s how this works.

Interests That Can “Help”

Let’s say you have a home decor store that you staff with part time support on weekends and holidays. If you hire your best friend’s daughter because she’s looking to make some extra cash versus a more mature women who has not only decorated her home, but has enjoyed home decor in general during her years of living, whom do you think will deliver better service to your customers? Naturally, the questions of “what is their personality” and “are they friendly and approachable” should be answered, but in general, it’s important to consider who your staff is compared to who your buying customer is. Another scenario may be if you have a clothing store. Would you ideally hire a candidate with retail experience in pet stores and veterinary offices, or a dedicated college student who is studying fashion and wants to pursue a career in the apparel industry? This could be a tougher call, but ultimately you want to be sure the common interest of apparel is top of mind for your employees if you are in fact selling apparel.

Interests That Can “Hurt”

Let’s take that same candidate who has had experience working in a pet store and veterinary office and use her as an example again. Suppose this gal can’t find an ideal job and ends up applying at your furniture store because hey, she has retail experience, after all. Her personality rocks, she’s friendly with customers but no matter how hard she tries, she just doesn’t see the difference between a club chair and recliner. To her, a chair is a chair. While it’s likely she is able and willing to do a great job, the question as a  store owner or manager is does she offer the BEST experience to your customers that you want delivered? That’s your call, but a gambling man may say that she’s not best placed working in furniture when it’s clear her heart prefers to be with cats and dogs. With this in mind, someone who appreciates the curve of a good chair may engage your customers with stronger conversations and ultimately, stronger sales.

Interests In General

Often, people settle on the idea of working to have a job versus working in a job they love. But as a retail store owner, there’s a good chance you opened a store based on a personal interest of your own that you enjoy. Maybe it’s a bike shop or garden and lawn center or craft store. Whatever it is, we’re betting some – if not a lot – of your decision was based on personal details. Just like your decision to open a store, consider your decisions as to WHY you hire one person versus another and how their personal interests may overlap into your store success and sales.