Hire Only Good, If Not the Best Employees

Everyday sunglasses store owners have a lot to think about. Sales, marketing, logistics, where to purchase their wholesale sunglasses – they sure got a whole lot going on inside their heads. And oh yes…manpower, and how to get only the best.

Ladies and gentlemen, the ever critical art of hiring the right employees.

Critical but exciting, that’s what it should be. Your employees, especially the salespeople, are the frontliners of your sunglasses store business. These people are practically your store ambassadors. Doesn’t matter if you are able to get the best deals on wholesale sunglasses that you’re able to price them right; if you have incompetent salespeople, your business is not going anywhere.

In a retail store especially, sometimes the business is only as good as the people that sell them. Remember, they are your direct link to customers so be sure you are able to get the right ones.

Photo credit: ioehope.com

Screening

Define the role well, making sure every aspect is included. During the interview ask the right questions to highlight the applicant’s skills and attitude. Ask situational questions. For example, instead of just asking how he deals with irate customers, ask something like: “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an irate customer. What did you do? ” Not only will this help you gauge the applicant’s personality and people skills, it will most likely generate straight answers.

It’s important to look for relevant experience. But if you have to hire a fresh graduate, make sure the applicant is highly teachable and is like a sponge in that he is able to absorb valuable information that will allow him to do well in the position.

Evaluation

Once you have come up with a decision, allow a few months for evaluation. At this point a lot of questions may have already been answered:

-          Is the employee as promising as he seemed during the interview?

-          Is he courteous enough to customers?

-          Does he get along well with other employees?

-          Is he punctual?

These are just some of the questions. If the evaluation yielded negative results, you can either give the employee a chance or start looking for a replacement. If the results are positive, then good for you. Just be sure you know how to keep and take good care of efficient employees. We’ll talk about that in future articles.