Build a winning frame shop team: with the right game plan, you can assemble a championship lineup of employees for your business

Art Business News, March, 2003 by Tricia Bisoux

Every employer knows, who they are--those employees who don t quite fulfill expectations. Oh, there's the employee who does good work but at half-speed, or the one whose costly mistakes run profit margins into the red. There's the world-class talker whose coffee breaks last for hours, the hothead who just can't get along with anyone or the good-intentioned part-timer who just never gets the hang of it.

But then there are the star players--the ones who learn quickly and work confidently or those diamonds-in-the-rough who have rocky starts but turn into the best employees a business owner has ever had.

As a retailer, you know star employees will set you up for success, while so-so staffers can cost you money, sap your energy and even damage your store's reputation. It's no wonder that hiring and managing staff may be one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of owning a growing business.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be. Putting the right procedures in place before you hire your next employee--from asking the right interview questions to writing a comprehensive employee manual--paves the way to nearly foolproof hiring and training. And by focusing on staff members' strengths, not their weaknesses, you can assemble a frame shop's dream team that brings more productivity and selling power to your business.

The 90-Day Interview

You've placed an advertisement, winnowed the resumes to a select few and begun the interview process. But short of having a crystal ball, how can you be sure if a person will truly work for your business from a single interview?

You really can't, many retailers admit. But then again, you don't have to make a lasting hiring decision based on an interview alone. A probationary period, with its duration and terms laid out to the potential employee at the outset, allows you to try out an employee "risk-free for 90 days," so to speak. It's not exactly a money-back guarantee, but it's the perfect arrangement for an employer, said Ellen Collins of Howard's Art & Frame in Hagerstown, Md.

"It once took me a year-and-a-half to work up the courage to fire someone who wasn't working out," Collins said. Establishing a probationary period, she noted, would have saved her more than a year of "hirer's remorse." She now recommends bringing in new hires for a short period--30 to 90 days--to provide an easy way out, if necessary, for both her and the employee.

More important, it's much less costly to find out an employee isn't right for you before he or she has worked the minimum time period to be able to collect unemployment from your business, pointed out Pat Bradley of Bradley's Art & Frame in Houston.

"There are people who really interview well but turn out to be big mistakes. So we have a 90-day probation period each new employee must work before benefits kick in, including 401 (k) and vacation time," Bradley said. "Within 90 days, you can usually tell whether or not an employee is compatible with your business. If it doesn't work out after 90 days, we can just shake hands and say goodbye."

(Employees usually aren't eligible for unemployment benefits until they have earned a minimum salary during a set period of time--usually about 90 days. The base period of employment and salary varies from state to state, however. Visit www.uchelp. com/database/data/qualify.htm to determine the base wages and work-time requirements in your state.)

Play to Personality

An employer can take some of the guesswork out of finding the right person for the job by asking the right questions during the interview. It's important to go beyond the resume to know whether the applicant's skills, strengths and personality will be a fit for your store:

* Ask questions that require on-the-spot problem-solving. Questions that begin "What would you do if ..." or "How would you react when ..." allow you to see how the applicant would cope with situations specific to your business and the position in question.

* If design is required, don't let resumes be the sole measure of skills. Put potential employees to work at the table, said Collins of Howard's Art & Frame. "I have them do a design," she said. "Of course, they're terrified!" Even so, such a trial by fire can give you a good idea of their eye for color, scale and style, as well as how well they perform under pressure.

* Know exactly what you need--via a well-considered job description--before you hire. "I once hired a girl thinking all I needed was someone to run the cash register for the summer," recalled Collins. "She could do that, but it turned out we needed more. I had to let her go because she didn't have an intuitive grasp of what we did here."

* Consider giving applicants (and current staff) a personality test. There are several personality assessment tools available, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator[R] (MBTI). Such assessments can be purchased affordably and give you a good idea of an applicant's personality and learning style, said Robyn Pocker of J. Pocker & Son. "We use the Myers-Briggs to glean if they have an outgoing personality, which they need if they're going to be able to sell," she noted. Pocker also uses the DISC[R] Profile System, a similar tool.