It is a more profitable system to determine, in advance, what is your highest margined product/service and be sure that there is enough goal to ensure that the salesperson focuses the right amount of attention on that segment. An example would be:

Product A: 55% gross profit

Product B: 45% gross profit

Product C: 35% gross profit

If Product C is “easier” to sell and your salesperson only has to reach that dollar goal, they will naturally lean towards selling Product C. However, if they have to have a minimum dollar sales of Product A, they will be encouraged to sell more of this product in order to qualify for their commission.

Along with this, it is critical that retention be built in whenever possible. This could be accomplished by paying the salesperson a residual incentive for retaining clients they brought in. This could also be managed by profitability goals. This would show that the company’s net profitability for this salesperson’s portfolio is growing. It doesn’t benefit a company to have a “super” salesperson who doesn’t retain clients because sales are probably their major focus; and therefore the new sales only marginally cover lost business.

Net/net, the company loses money in this scenario because they are paying a salesperson when the net profitability doesn’t increase enough to even cover the commission. The average cost to replace an existing client with a new one is 3 times the cost of retaining one!

Finally, it’s okay and even advisable to have qualifiers in your plan. Your sales staff have to adhere to things like representing the company’s vision and mission. They have to be a team player, closing a sale generally involves working with others in the company. If you have someone that loves to go out and bring in the business but can’t work well with those that actually have to get the backshop part of the process done, the system breaks down. You may think of other qualifiers that will ensure that you have an all around star employee, internally and externally.

Commission sales can propel your company forward, hopefully this will help you hire the right sales people to ensure the overall success for them and for you.

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It is sad, however, that many companies not only don’t provide an orientation, but expect the new employee to be able to figure it out themselves. The problem is, if you don’t provide a formal orientation process, the employee will still receive an orientation and it may not be the one that will benefit the employee, their co-workers or the company.

As part of the hiring smart philosophy, orientations can be simple to prepare and conduct. All it really takes is planning. It actually begins at the point of hire when the offer is first presented. The offer letter can include a welcome and a brief overview of benefits, time to report, who to report to and what to expect the first day, week and follow-up months. By merely making sure the new employee is listed on the company roster and in the phone system can make the first impression very favorable.

On the first day, the employee should be given a tour of the facility, no matter the size, and especially those areas the employee will be most involved with during their work day. Introduce the staff and prepare a list of their names and job functions. Time should be made to go over the basic operations of the company and department, such as work hours, timeliness/punctuality, explaining the time tracking process, pay day schedules (including direct deposit information or banks used in the area), overtime policy, lunch time or break time policies, parking, telephone and Internet policies, security regulations and how the telephone system works. In addition, a review of the new employee job description, the filling our of necessary forms, and a schedule for any additional needed information – such as training.

This is an opportunity to explain to the new employee the importance of their position and how it works to the support of the goals of the company. Orient the employee to their work area and make sure they have all needed supplies, materials, documents and manuals that may be necessary for them to do their job.

Just as important as the work schedule and pay schedule is the listing of Holidays and time-off provided by the organization, or how to report a sickness or necessary absence. Explain that a 90-day review will be conducted to ascertain any difficulties or answer any questions about the job.

A good orientation may take a day to actually complete. A great orientation will continue throughout the next 3-months as the new employee learns more about the company and the job. This is accomplished by following up with the employee and asking for their feedback or evaluation of the orientation program.

A carefully planned and executed orientation program will go a long way toward helping to retain good employees because it shows the care and time given to the program. A poor orientation may tell the employee that nobody really cares. PodTech has a great article on the On-Boarding process.

Just asking the employee, “How are you doing?” will go a long way toward making your orientation a great one.

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Your Own Website

Here candidates will learn about your company as well as the details regarding the open position.

TIP: An excellent opportunity for Employment Branding – sell your organization as an excellent place to work!

Employee Referrals

A great source — often overlooked. Your employees know your company, your standards and work policies. Employees rarely recommend people that they cannot vouch for as they are putting their own reputation on the line.

TIP: Consider a reward system for a referral. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of a check. Why not an extra day off with pay

Print Media

Newspapers and other print media have traditionally been the most utilized resource to advertise for employees. While many other options exist, this is still a viable resource to consider.

Newspapers charge by the size of the ad, so be economical with your use of words and use abbreviations as long as they can be clearly understood.

Tip: Job seekers who are computer literate and comfortable with technology will probably not consider the reading the classifieds, at least not in the initial phase of their job search.

The Internet

There are many providers of job listing services, e.g., Monster, Career Builder, Jobing.com, and other internet sources. The costs vary and they can be an excellent source of candidates. Unlike newspaper ads, you can be as descriptive as you want about the job requirements and qualifications, word limitations are very generous. There are new job boards popping up every day. Some niche job boards also exist and some smaller job boards are here. Some college newspapers even have their own boards.

Tip: Take advantage of any tools available to qualify the applicants. Some sites allow you to ask screening questions and then score the applicant so you can focus on those candidates who meet your criteria. You will get a lot of “hits” using the internet, but many of the candidates will not meet your criteria. It is too easy for someone to hit the “Send” button to forward their resume.

Professional Organizations

Many professional organizations have job posting boards. Some are free to members and others charge to list a position. If your job requires a certain professional background, this may be an excellent way to source good candidates.

TIP: Inform the organization if you hire one of their referrals. They appreciate the feedback and it is an excellent networking opportunity.

Educational Institutions

Community Colleges, Universities, etc. can be excellent sources for candidates, especially for part-time and internship opportunities. You can post your positions for little or no cost in most instances.

TIP: If you want to advertise in the college paper, be aware that often they have tight deadlines.

Job Fairs

If you have several openings to fill, a Job Fair may be the way to approach your search. It is normally not cost effective to participate in a job fair for one or two positions.

TIP: Plan for enough staff to manage your booth at the job fair, particularly if it’s an all day event. It is recommended that you collect resumes and then schedule the interviews at a later date.

Networking

One of the best ways to recruit, but often misunderstood. Networking is not limited to your professional contacts. When it comes to recruiting, networking means letting everyone you come in contact with know about your job opening.

TIP: Beauticians, dentists, doctors, etc. come in contact with people of all different backgrounds during the course of a day. Get the word out there!

Recruitment/Temporary Agencies

Recruiting Firms can also be a resource for employees. The can work in several ways:

Flat out fee to find you someone, usually around 3% of the employee’s salary, and often with a 90-day guarantee. Recruiting firm does all pre-screening and reference checking and many will also do drug screening.

Temp to hire: Employee remains on the temporary agency payroll, usually for

90 days or a certain number of hours. The agency pays all employment taxes, etc. This is a good way to see if someone is a “fit” for your organization before you put them on full time. Utilizing temps is also a good way to handle seasonal employment

needs.

TIP: Let the agency know immediately if someone isn’t working out. You do not

have to keep them for 90 days. They are more than happy to find someone

who will be a better fit to keep you happy as a client.

Government/Social Services Agencies

Department of Employment Security (unemployment) and other government and social services agencies often provide job search assistance to their clients.

TIP: Many of these candidates have not been successful in getting employment on their own. Some are disadvantaged in terms of their background, e.g., criminal record, etc., and may not meet your hiring criteria.It’s best to be up front regarding your hiring criteria so they can refer appropriate candidates.

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ABC’s of Résumé Reviews

As you begin the process of reviewing the résumés, it might be helpful to have three separate piles;

A – those résumés you know don’t fit your criteria,

B – those résumés that may need a second look, and

C – those résumés that are definitely interesting.

Establishing which résumés fall into which category can be done by going through these steps:

1. Is there a cover letter? For the most part, unqualified applicants fail to write a cover letter or a cover email message (depending upon the position).

2. Scan the résumé to obtain an overall impression of the applicant.

3. Identify the easy-to-find qualifications. For example, if your position requires a college degree, does the applicant have one? If not, reject the résumé or place it in your “maybe meets qualifications” pile or electronic folder.

4. Read the description of what the candidate says they are looking for in their next job This could tell you how seriously the candidate is taking the job search and how carefully they are reading the ads.

5. Look for a summary statement of qualifications and experience. If the candidate has taken the time to customize their summary, it will enable you to quickly find the characteristics you seek from your job description. Make a note to check on the accurate, actual dates of employment. These résumés quickly fall into the “further review” or “B” pile.

One rule of résumé review that will never change is to look at proper spelling and grammar. Your quick, first skim of the résumé should yield an overall impression of your candidate’s grammatical style and attention to detail. A résumé can be a simple way to assess a candidates worth. Assuming the candidate’s résumé passes an initial inspection, the Hiring Smart process can move forward.

At this point, you should have found enough similarities between the applicants’ résumé and your job description or requirements for the position. Place the résumé in your A, B, or C piles. Red flags are items that are not clearly explained on the résumé or in the cover letter, and may include:

¨ employment gaps,

¨ evidence of decreasing responsibility

¨ short-term employment at several jobs

¨ multiple shifts in career path

Next, you can conduct a telephone screen interview or set up a face-to-face initial interview with the prospective qualified candidates.

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