Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/853621
At the end of the day, we are in the people business." One caveat I'd like to add here: When considering the importance of experience, it's imperative to be mindful of possible implicit bias. This is a huge reason why it's critical you make sure your hiring process is as open, transparent, and fair as possible. Sometimes well-qualifi ed candidates are passed up for job oppor- tunities because they didn't "look" the part. Quite a few individuals I've spoken with have mentioned that they felt like they were passed up for jobs by people—mainly cisgendered, white, straight men—who weren't as qualifi ed. Similarly, sometimes candidates with amazing interpersonal skills and work ethic aren't extended the same opportunities to gain experi- ence as folks who've fi gured out how to pad their résumé. This, again, was a huge reason why I made a point of adding candidates from Craigslist to my pool when hiring—there can be a benefi t to casting a wide net. I've found that employees who knew you took a chance on them are often more likely to work harder and be loyal. Most of the longer-term employees I worked with at Irving Farm were those who came to us with no experience. If experience is important for the position you're hiring for, great—just make sure that is something you're up front about in all communication about the job. I shouldn't have to tell anyone running a business that it's better to keep great employees than it is to constantly hire and train new ones, and yet I'm amazed at the number of companies in the coffee indus- try that experience high rates of turnover and don't seem to be taking a step back to evaluate what may be contributing to that. It's especially interesting because a lot of what I've learned over the years, and what I've gathered in chatting with others in the coffee industry (as well as outside of it), isn't especially revelatory. A lot of it boils down to company culture. I have often said that it doesn't really matter how good you are at interviewing or hiring excellent candidates if you can't keep people around. Good hiring practices start by making sure you're a company worth working for in the fi rst place. Want to make your company great? Start by including a diverse workforce where new ideas and contributions from all employees are valued, where employees' iden- tities and needs are respected and supported, where expectations are made clear, where compensation is fair for the work being asked, and where there are established avenues for support. These are just a few of many things to consider. From there, it's actually pretty easy: You just have to make sure your hiring practices are as open, honest, and fair as possible. Do you offer great compensation and benefi ts? Tell people! Do you have a great job for someone who likes face-to-face interaction with a variety of people ev- ery day? Make sure the people you interview know that in case that's not what they're looking for. Do you have a specifi c skill set that you really need to see in a potential hire? Be clear about the expectations and standards for assessing those skills. Perhaps one of the greatest tools for hiring is one that's not even at your disposal: word of mouth. When you're a great company to work for, your employees will do a lot of the work for you when it comes to hiring. Some of the best employees I've hired over the years were referred to me by other excellent employees. Happy staffers who love their jobs will gladly spread the word, and promising candidates will come knocking. DILLANOS COFFEE SAFETY WARNING: CONSUMING MAY INCREASE HAPPINESS & CAUSE YOU TO LOVE YOUR JOB AGAIN HELP PEOPLE, MAKE FRIENDS, HAVE FUN at DILLANOS.COM 69 www.baristamagazine.com