We’ve all heard the adage, “Hire slow, fire fast.” Mike Allen, owner of Carfix, a growing, three-store business in the Raleigh, N.C., area, is turning that piece of conventional wisdom on its head by hiring both technicians and service advisors as quickly as possible — in fact, the faster, the better.
After hearing about Mike’s unorthodox philosophy, I wanted to learn more.
Mike was happy to explain why he believes that hiring slowly is no longer a guarantee of success “because of how competitive the job market is for high-value employees” and how quickly these individuals can be picked up by aggressive, fast-moving competitors.
“If you have a highly skilled individual who’s in high demand and you try to draw out the interview process,” you could lose them to another employer, he told me.
Mike described how it works at his company. “If somebody submits a resume, I have it set so (job advertising site) Indeed will send an email to me. I’ll get a notification on my phone and I’ll review that resume immediately. If it’s someone who I think has promise, I’m going to call them immediately.
“Frequently, a high-value candidate has been where they’ve been for several years and something has happened to push them over the edge. They’re at a high point of frustration. It behooves you to strike while the iron’s hot so you can identify their pain points and make sure that the job you’re offering addresses those pain points.”
Mike keeps the initial phone call short — 10 minutes or less. "If the conversation goes well and they’re someone who merits further conversation, then it’s, ‘Hey, I think the next step will be for us to meet face to face.’ If we’re having the conversation in the morning, I’ll offer to drive to wherever they are and buy them lunch. If it’s in the afternoon, I’ll offer to get together after work and buy them dinner.”
He arrives armed with a folder of documents, including “an application that I’ll ask them to fill out so I have permission to pull their background. I’ll have an offer of employment with blanks I can fill in” for wages and other items.
"I’ll also have one sheet that lists answers to questions that (applicants’) spouses always ask. Then there’s a ‘brag sheet’ that lists reasons why my business is a good place to work.”
It’s all designed to build rapport, comfort and a sense of excitement quickly, says Mike, who adds that sometimes he will make candidates an offer on the spot. Some accept immediately. Others tell Mike they need time to mull it over.
That’s OK, he says. But Mike’s offers aren’t open-ended. “Our letters have expiration dates,” which could be up to 72 hours or even less — whatever length of time he designates. "We put a short window on it.
“I’ve had coaches who’ve said, ‘You should go out to dinner with (candidates) and their spouse and let them get to know you.’ I understand the theory behind that, but in this competitive marketplace, by the time you’ve found a time where you can all go to dinner, the (prospect) has already had three other interviews and three other job offers."
If you snooze, you often lose, according to Mike. “I want to communicate with (candidates) within hours of them reaching out to me. I’ve had occasions where someone’s resume came across on Friday and I didn’t catch it until Monday afternoon. By the time I called them, they had already accepted a job somewhere else.”
Does Mike’s approach sound radical? It wasn’t popular among his peers when he first recommended it to them. “I discussed it in a 20-group meeting about five years ago. We were talking about things we could do to attract, hire and retain higher-quality individuals and I presented the concept. I was nearly run out of the building!”
Undeterred, Mike put his plan into action. And after a half-decade, he’s stuck with it. (By the way, Mike doesn’t claim to have a perfect batting average, but his home runs outnumber his strikeouts.)
His advice for other tire dealers who are looking to add superstars to their bullpen? “Consider how you’ve been hiring and if it’s been working flawlessly, don’t change. But if what you’ve been doing is not working or its efficacy has gone downhill, there’s no reason to expect that
using the same process will get you the results you need.
“‘That’s how we’ve always done it’ is the death knell for any business,” Mike told me, adding that it never hurts to try something new — even if it’s a dramatic departure from the norm.
Questions? Comments? Please email me at [email protected].
