You know you should define your ideal client and filter prospects against that definition. Those ideal prospects are the only ones you want to convert into clients. Sticking to that axiom is going to help you create a business you truly love as you work for people (and on projects) that really get you fired up.
But what about those that work for you? Have you defined your ideal employee? Do you have a profile written down for the type of people you would prefer to work with?
I don’t mean just the technical skills they should have. Really, those should be some of the lowest things on the priority list. A good programmer that doesn’t yet know WordPress can learn to build a good WordPress site. Skills can be taught.
Think about the things you can’t teach. What is the personality you want? How do you want someone who represents your business to think about your clients? When an issue comes up, how should they approach it?
Do you want an employee who views a customer site as a series of technical check boxes, or as a dream they are fulfilling for a client?
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How does that employee define their ideal project? Does that fit with the ideal project for your company?
If you don’t have an ideal employee profile, then take the time to create one this week. It’s likely that you’ll need to refine it a few times, but starting it now means you at least have some direction when you’re ready to hire.
Yes, it’s much easier to hire against a list of technical skills, but that’s not going to get you the employees you really want.
3 responses to “Your Ideal Employee Profile”
This reminds me of an episode of the Businessology Show, in which Jim Macdonald outlined the hiring process at 3Seed Marketing.
http://www.businessology.biz/show/interview-with-jim-macdonald-managing-partner-of-3-seed-marketing/
This company is a full service marketing agency, that merged with another agency, so they are sizable. Their process involves interviewing for Core Values before they even look at technical qualifications.
Compare this to how some agencies hire, which is to read a laundry list of technical specs, and hire mostly based on how much a candidate “hero worships” the agency or founder(s). You may think I’m exaggerating on this last point, but I can assure you I’ve seen this happen more times than not.
Th biggest things I respect about your vision, Curtis, is the way you believe in bringing more good into the world, valuing people over money (though that’s also important), and having defined values for SFN that you stick to. Defining values, and why you have them makes the decision process more clear.
My values act as my standard operating procedures, or at least the fall back if I don’t have one for a specific situation. First off is the old ‘do unto others as you would have done to you’. I’d want my employer to treat me like a person first and an asset second, so that’s what I want to do.
I am 100% down with that.