Attracting and retaining talented employees is essential to the
success of any business. However, it can be a daunting task to figure out the
best ways to attract and retain great employees. This week, we’re sharing how RCI
member Romolo Chocolates has been able to build a successful team by utilizing
effective recruiting and hiring practices, nurturing a healthy company culture
and rewarding performance, so that you may be able to apply some of these
techniques to your business.
Recruiting
When recruiting potential candidates for a job opening, it’s
important to look in the right places, as this will increase the potential pool
of qualified candidates and make the recruitment process more successful. Romolo
Chocolates has found the most success using Indeed.com for online recruitment. Indeed
offers employers the opportunity to ask questions which helps to pre-screen
potential candidates. They also utilize bulletins at local colleges and high
schools to post job openings. By simply posting signs about hiring in their
windows, they’ve had success with generating interest and interviews.
While Romolo has tried using social media as a recruiting tool, it has not led to a single successful interview. Instead, they have found it to be more of a platform for their followers to post I Love Lucy memes.
Hiring for the Right Fit
It's not often that businesses come across true star employees,
but when they do, these people can become a great asset to the team. Despite
best efforts, it can be hard to identify the qualities of a star performer from
resumes and interviews. Even if that person appears to have the right
qualifications, that doesn’t always mean they will be a good fit for the
business.
When assessing potential job candidates, it’s important to
identify those who share the same values and goals as the business. It is also
beneficial to assess the candidate's attitude, desire to learn and grow, and
ability to collaborate with others.
Company Culture
When asked to identify their most successful tool for retaining employees, Romolo Chocolates says, it’s
their company culture. They have spent time exploring the company’s culture from the founder’s perspective and historical successes, which has allowed them to define their values, vision, purpose and “key ingredients” for a successful team. To introduce the new culture, the staff was reoriented over the course of several culture education and Q&A sessions.
Romolo Chocolates’ culture is constantly evolving to ensure that
management and team expectations are met. It covers important topics such as
safety and customer experience, for which everyone is responsible.
New Hire Training
At Romolo, new hires come on board under a 90-day probation
period before receiving benefits. The team usually knows within the first four
hours if the hire will work hard and absorb the knowledge they are teaching.
On their first day, new hires take a tour of the facility with
a member of the culture team. At this time, paperwork has been completed and
they are wearing a new uniform when they step onto the floor. During the
first two weeks of training, they attend a culture session with other starting
or returning team members, which helps them understand the company values and
purpose, as well as the expectations and policies.
Team members are assigned a trainer each day who not only
teaches, but also takes breaks and lunch with the trainee. The culture of
Romolo Chocolates emphasizes kindness, and they ask their employees to train
with respect and kindness.
Cross Training
Romolo Chocolates encourages cross training, and employees who
are trained for more than one position earn higher hourly wages. Cross training
allows employees to be versatile and proficient in multiple roles. Cross
training staff can offer numerous benefits to businesses, such as improved
performance and greater job satisfaction.
Performance-Based Rewards
The company rewards employees who excel at their job. Employees
are rewarded with wage increases, continuous learning opportunities, gold-tier
health insurance, a paid time-off program and pension plan. In many instances, maintenance
hires who excelled at their job have been moved into production work with wage
increases. Team members who demonstrate great people and organization skills
have also been promoted to leadership.
Romolo Chocolates is proof that effective recruiting, hiring for
the right fit, creating a healthy company culture, training and performance-based
rewards are all powerful tools for building and nurturing a successful team.
With the right tools and knowledge, any business can create an environment that
encourages and rewards excellence. As a result, these businesses are more
likely to attract and retain top talent.
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