Hire For the Smile

The old adage is "Hire the smile, train the skill." I cannot tell you who coined the phrase, but it is one that has changed the way many hiring managers, including the guy writing this blog post, have looked at applicants. There are many reasons to "hire for the smile." Alexander Kjerulf wrote a great blog post earlier this year called More and happier retail staff = more sales. That post, along with the rest of his blog is a great read about the effects of happy, smiling employees.

Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

While most people can learn the basic skills, policies and procedures that they will need to execute their job duties, it is difficult to teach someone to be happy and charismatic. The phase I always use personally is "People before programs." If you are hiring someone for a sales, customer service or employee support role, here is a scenario to keep in mind.

Think about your favorite restaurant. Why do you love to go there? Do you have a favorite dish, or a favorite server? Is the hostess extremely friendly? Do they know you by name, or what you like to drink?

What would you do if you went into that establishment and received an under-cooked piece of chicken? I am sure your favorite server would sweep in and send the food back to the kitchen and bring you a new dish. The manager would probably make a call to your table and possibly even comp the meal.

Now what would happen if you had the same great dish that you love to order, but with an unwanted side helping of attitude. Rarely will a manager come out in this situation, because they will not know about the poor service you are receiving. The server with the poor service skills certainly won't tell them.

As a customer, which of these two experiences is more likely to keep you from coming back to the restaurant? As a manger, which of these two situations is easier to deal with? I'd love to hear your thought on this topic.

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