How to attract and recruit the right service talent

Start by making it easy for candidates to consistently see, hear and understand what your organisation thinks about service. Those who align with your vision and values will be drawn closer and want to learn more about your spirit and purpose. Those who think, feel or believe differently won't be attracted, and will naturally select themselves out. Both are positive outcomes for your culture and your future.

1: Share your engaging service vision
Use every opportunity to explain your engaging service vision to prospective candidates. Place an uplifting message about your company culture on the website, in your employment ads, and in all the literature. Stress the importance of your service vision with your staff when you ask them to make new employee referrals and recommendations.
When job seekers apply, ask them to share in their own words what your service vision means to them. You can quickly check if candidates are aligned with your service vision by asking good questions and listening carefully to their answers.

2: Involve your culture leaders
As the service in your organisation grows stronger, some of your team members become culture leaders. These people are like tuning forks- vibrating strongly, keeping everyone else in key, and helping your symphony of employees, managers, and departments serve more smoothly and skilfully together. In a recruitment situation, these tuning forks can easily assess who will resonate with the culture and should be hired, and who is far off key.

3: Ask your candidates to get to know your service
For real insight into your applicants' service mindset and understanding, ask them to experience your service, evaluate your competitor's service, and then make suggestions to improve your current service. If they can't see anything you might do better, you might be happy with their performance for awhile. But if your candidate comes back with constructive ideas, or suggestions for a new practice, you will be more successful- and for much longer when that person joins your team.

4: Involve all of your staff as recruiters
Your people already know and understand your service culture. Ask them to make recommendations of people they know, or who they worked with in the past, who would be great additions to the team.

5: Be patient
Having a staff position vacant can be uncomfortable and costly. But don't let the "empty seat syndrome" drive you to fill that position with the wrong person too early. The impact of a misfit climbing onto your bus can make the ride unpleasant for everyone. And when that person ultimately quits, or stays on and others quit in frustration, you will go through another round of disappointment. You only want to hire the people who make your service culture even stronger.