When I co-founded Larsen Jewellery over ten years ago with my husband Lars, I knew that finding and hiring the right people was essential to the success of the business!
I believe that having the right team around you to represent your vision is essential in building the brand reputation you want and the overall growth of the business! In saying this, hiring the right team is not easy and it takes time and experience to learn what skills you really need out of your employees.
After many years in the business and having built up a team that truly represents our brand, these are my top four tips for hiring the perfect team –
1. The ‘right’ attitude
Having the right attitude is extremely important and is at the heart of how we choose and train our team. Enthusiasm, passion and a friendly persona is key – probably even more so in the jewellery industry where purchases are highly personal. The right person will be able to communicate in an informative and relaxed way so that customers feel like they can make informed decisions stress-free and without feeling pressured.
Team members who have the right attitude are both motivated and adaptable which makes them more open to learning new skills and selling techniques, which play a crucial part within this competitive and fast paced industry. Individuals having the right attitude will also impact a team’s productivity levels, which will have a positive knock-on effect amongst co-workers.
2. The ‘complete package’ employee
When hiring new staff it is always important to keep the business’ vision in mind. So, it’s not all about hiring the best technical person for the job, but the complete package. Customers are at the core of everything that we do within our business and so we always look for the person that is happy to go the extra mile to ensure that the client is happy. As an employer, this brings an abundance of benefits to the table, one major benefit being that less time will need to be spent on training team members.
3. The ‘perfect fit’
We highly value our employees and always have them front of mind when hiring a new staff member. It’s important that anyone new will mesh well with the existing team, as being able to work effectively together and support fellow team members is essential to any business. Team members who share a healthy working relationship can operate more efficiently together in achieving company goals. As a business owner, it is paramount to employ people who will share a common vision, who will allow the business to move forward and grow.
As an employer you must also have a solid understanding of your current company culture and how you want to grow this. This is important as it allows you understanding of what skills their team may be lacking in and what sort of personality traits will fit in with the existing team.
4. Face to face compatibility
The importance of face to face compatibility is immeasurable. When using external job advertising platforms, I always recommend calling prospective team members or bringing them into the studio for a meeting rather than just emailing. This allows you the opportunity to chat with them on a one to one basis, find out about their previous experience, what stage they’re at regarding their career plans and to get a sense of who they are as a person.
As the jewellery industry operates on a much more personal level than most other retail industries, potential colleagues must perform well within face to face interviews as this will speak volumes about their sales techniques and ability to connect with consumers.
