When Hiring Staff Set Your Expectations

What do you look for when hiring a new staff member to join our team?

There is no question that the wrong hire can be devastating to your chamber.

I’d like to share a general philosophy I’ve used over the years when hiring new staff members.

While this is only one aspect of what I look for in a new employee, it’s worth a review.

  • Professional – very simply, this means to me, looking professional (dress), acting professional (treat others with respect).  We are a social society and what is one of the first questions you get when you meet someone new?  Where do you work?  That staff person is an extension of your organization 24/7.  We’re all always on!
  • Positive Attitude – our staff’s are doing more with less over the past couple of years.  There is nothing worse than a negative attitude, the rumor mill that will make any chamber become dysfunctional, especially with the small staffs that many of us work under.
  • Strong Work Ethic – while this is tough to detect in an interview, you want a person that is self-motivated and a smart hard worker.  These are the people who will always do the right thing whether anybody is watching or not.
  • Results Oriented – are your staff members focused on the chambers bottom line?  Are they cognizant to the fact that the organization met its overall recruiting goal, retention goal, or met the number of attendees at your annual meeting?

If you hire people who have the above attributes and are results oriented I suggest you’re going to hire a winner.

And, your chamber will be better off because of it!