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Grow Your Interior Design Team The Smart Way - Episode 255

2022-03-09

Is it time for you to grow your team? What are the signs it’s time to hire another team member? What process should you use to hire the best candidate for the job? Jamie Van Cuyk—the owner and lead strategist of Growing Your Team—is an expert in hiring and onboarding teams within small businesses. She shares some spectacular tips and strategies that you can implement immediately to grow your team the right way. What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut Social [1:05] Check out our next webinar with Stacey Martin! [3:03] Mini News...

What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut Social

[1:05] Check out our next webinar with Stacey Martin!
[3:03] Mini News Sesh: TikTok rolling out LONG videos
[6:28] Learn more about Jamie Van Cyuk
[9:36] 4 signs it’s time to hire another team member
[13:54] Is your waitlist working for you—or against you?
[16:11] How to craft the perfect job description
[22:37] How to afford the help that you need
[27:20] Myth-busting: Should you hire for passion over skill?
[30:15] How to ensure someone is the right hire
[38:42] Jamie’s opinion on the use of personality tests
[42:27] How many candidates should you interview?
[45:50] The What Up Wingnut! Round
[49:03] How to connect with Jamie Van Cyuk
[53:40] Blooper Reel!

Connect with Jamie Van Cyuk

Growing Your Team
Friend on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Check out her Pinterest
Connect on LinkedIn

Resources & People Mentioned

Check out our next webinar with Stacey Martin!
Stacey Martin’s Formula for Rockstar Interior Design Presentations
Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet
Easy Render

4 signs it’s time to hire another team member

Jamie shares that there are 4 things to watch out for that are clear signs you need to grow your team. But they aren't things that are normally top of mind during your day-to-day work. So Jamie recommends that you review these signs quarterly to see if it’s time to hire:

Are you saying no to your ideal clients? If you’re saying no because your team is at capacity, it’s a problem. These people want to give you their money today. You don’t want to be losing clients that are the ideal fit for your business.
Are you losing customers due to poor customer service? Are customers pulling out of projects or backing out of contracts? If you’re not communicating and meeting their expectations throughout the process, you not only lose their business but you lose them as a referral source.
You want to do something new but you can’t. Maybe you want to start offering coaching, education, or open a retail store but you can’t because you don’t have time.
You lack skill or knowledge that is needed in your business. You can go and learn something yourself—or you can hire for that skillset. Are you the right person to learn and execute that skill? Sometimes paying the expert is worth the money because it lets you spend your time where it should be focused.

Once you’ve decided it’s time to grow your team, what are your next steps? A great hiring process.

How to craft the perfect job description (and where to post it)

Jamie believes that you shouldn’t use a templated job description when creating a job description. The job post may attract someone who can do the skill you’re hiring for but likely doesn’t speak to the right fit for your team and culture. Their style and personality have to mesh with you and your team values. So what do you do? Walk through these questions:

What is your ideal candidate?
What are their roles and responsibilities?
What does success look like in your business?
Who will you be happy to give your money to?
What’s unique about your company?

What will make someone say, “Yes, this is the place for me!” The goal of a job posting is to attract the right candidate and turn away the wrong ones. Once you develop your ideal person your job posting should speak to that person.

You can design a room that you love. But is that the right room and right design for every client? No! It might not work in their home. You may use the same concepts, materials, and create a similar flow but things will look different. A role might have similar responsibilities but will look different in each company.

Where is the best place to post a job opening? Should you hire for passion over skill? Listen to hear Jamie’s take.

How to ensure someone is the right hire

Ask questions that produce answers of value. You need to reduce the number of hypothetical questions you use, i.e. “What would you do if…?” Instead, ask questions that have them support their answers with examples: “So tell me about a time when…?” Ask them about something they will experience working for your business. Have they worked with high-end, demanding clients? How did they handle the experience? If you’re hiring someone entry-level, they may not have had those experiences in an interior design company but have had similar experiences where they have worked. They can transfer those skills to your business.

Develop a case study or opportunity for them to present their skill. If they say they know how to do CAD drawings, give them everything they need to sit down and complete a quick project. What are they able to put together? You have to know what you’re testing them on. Are you testing their ability to think through the information they’re given? Their ability to use a tool? Their thought process? You can’t test them on something that aligns with your brand because they don’t know that yet.

Move through the process quickly. Align a case study with an interview so they knock out everything immediately. But Jame is careful to note that you can’t ask too much of them before you’ve spent time with them. Don’t waste their time—and yours—if they won’t make it to the next round of interviews anyway.

What’s an easy way to weed talent out of the process (not necessarily in a good way)? Should you use personality tests in your hiring process? How many candidates should you interview? Jamie covers these questions—and so much more—in this episode!

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