Finding the right candidate is hard, especially when you don’t know what you’re looking for. Should your first hire take care of all of the things you hate doing? Is it possible to find a jack-of-all-trades, and what’s the alternative to that? How do you build a team that doesn't fall apart if one of the key workers leaves? In this episode, Jay Niblick talks about how to make your first hire, what traits work best for different roles, and how to protect yourself in case something goes wrong.
There is someone out there who loves to do what you loath to do. -Jay Niblick
Three Things We Learned
Your first hire should take care of the tasks you don’t want to do
You need to think about what tasks you shouldn’t be doing and how much more money you can make if you delegate the mundane tasks to someone else? That said, you also have to keep in mind that you will likely need more than one hire to take care of things you don’t want to do. There are few people out there who can do a little bit of everything and maintain the same quality of work.
Don’t wait for a rockstar to join your team
Many agents make the mistake of expecting a rockstar who can adapt and handle whatever is thrown at them without having to be managed or trained. Not only are these hires very hard to find, but once you find someone like that, it doesn’t take more than 6 months to 1 year for them to figure out that they can earn more somewhere else.
Build a system that makes top performers want to stick around
The key to building a successful team is to leave room for growth so they don’t have to leave if they want to climb the ladder and earn more. You should have a system in place that retains the top performers but doesn’t rely on them completely, so the whole business doesn’t fall apart if they leave. Invest time in building a replicable system that can be used even if one of your top performers decides to go somewhere else.
You can spot traits such accountability and entitlement during an interview just by letting the candidate tell their story. Their perspective usually is telling of how they see themselves and the world around them. For example, someone who is highly accountable will always blame themselves for past mistakes instead of blaming others. But you also have to keep in mind that certain traits aren’t universally desirable or undesirable. It depends on what role you’re filling. For example, you may want a bit of entitlement, as long as it’s performance related, in a sales person.
Guest Bio
Jay Niblick is the founder of Wize Hire, a real estate recruiting software with a data-driven approach to the hiring process. You can take the personality test mentioned on this episode at https://wizehire.com/#disc-ebook-signup
