Recruiting to your point of difference

When I started in the property management industry many moons ago, recruitment was very reactive and more often than not, you picked from a pool of property managers that may or may not, be experienced enough to pass the 'sink or swim' test, our rigid induction process at the time. As businesses, we have evolved and become much better at this process. We are now sharing our vision for the company during the interview process, and promoting longevity and career progression, to engage the right team members for a successful business formula. However, are we still missing a crucial filter when it comes to recruitment?

I spend much of my time with businesses now doing the groundwork for things like defining their culture, mission vision and values and betraying their point of difference to their customers. These three things are all linked together as they all involve a group of people sharing the same values and beliefs. As a business owner, to endorse these crucial components into your business, you need to recruit the right people. People that believe and support the same vision for the company as you do.

I have walked through the 'point of difference' concept in previous posts so we won’t revisit it. However, one thing I do want to enforce is that creating a point of difference in your business is only the first step. Embedding it into your business takes time. Your team need to support it firstly and believe in it, and then need to live it through both your systems and procedures and your customer-facing behaviours. The most effective way to do this is to ensure you are recruiting with this in mind.

When advertising for a new position or working with your recruitment bank, ensure all correspondence endorses your point of difference. Include a statement that betrays what you believe in as a team and how you support your customers. Highlight the characteristics of the type of people you are trying to attract to the business. This will create an environment that the right candidates for your business will want to work in and support, more importantly, it will prove as a culling mechanism to detract the type of people that don’t share your values and beliefs. During the interview process reinforce this with examples of procedures your team, not only support but go beyond, to ensure your customers are receiving your promise as a business.

Next time you recruit new members into your business, revisit your point of difference and endorse it into everything that you do. To have a company where the entire team share similar beliefs as you is indeed a rewarding experience.