Want to put a together a high performance team at your screen printing shop? Check out these strategies for hiring and retaining the best employees.
Hiring the wrong people or facing constant turnover can damage your business, and it can cost you time and money. Fortunately, focusing on some hiring and retention best practices will help you build and keep a quality staff at your print shop.
Hiring the Best Employees
- Define the position
Finding the right employee to fill the void in your shop begins with defining the position. You likely have a job title in mind, but what are all of the duties that the person hired will perform? Those duties should be clearly outlined and listed in all of your advertisements for the post. The clearly listed duties will help attract applicants with the right qualifications, and it will help provide you with a checklist for evaluating your applicants. - Ask the right questions
Just as it is important to have a solid list of duties for your applicants, it’s important to have a solid list of questions as you interview your applicants. Ask open-ended questions rather than “yes” or “no” questions. “Tell me about your experience with discharge printing” will yield a much more thorough response than “Do you have experience with discharge printing.” Also, make sure you ask all of your interviewees the same questions; this will help you perform an apples-to-apples comparison when you’re making your final hiring decision. - Consider talent versus skill
It is easier to look at a measurable skill set than an immeasurable talent, but it is important to take talent into consideration. If you’re looking for someone to help design artwork, for example, you might be better served by hiring someone with an attractive portfolio than someone with ample Adobe experience but without the portfolio. You can help a new employee develop their Adobe skills; it’s much more difficult to help someone develop an artistic eye. Similarly, a printer with an eye for detail can be trained to use the types of ink your shop prefers, while someone experienced in your print processes but who doesn’t see the importance of the steps required to get good registration is unlikely to be trained to become more detail oriented. - Get another opinion
If it’s appropriate, involve others in the hiring process. It can be helpful to have someone else’s opinions on resumes and interviews. If you don’t have a manager or another employee you feel would be appropriate to have directly involved in the hiring process, at least introduce your interviewees to your staff. This could help you to gauge your applicants’ personalities and judge how well they would interact with your existing employees.
Retaining Your Employees
- Clearly communicate expectations
As outlining job duties can help you in your hiring, it also can help you retain your employees. When you provide employees with a clear list of your expectations, you provide them with the opportunity to meet or exceed those expectations. When employees don’t know what you want from them, they can’t deliver, and they are met with your constant frustration, which can lower morale. - Take time for reviews
When you’re busy running your business, taking the time for regular employee reviews can seem like a burden. Regular reviews, however, have rewards for both you and your employees. It gives you time to outline for your employees what they’re doing well and to provide constructive criticism. It also provides your employees with the opportunity to improve their performance because it reinforces your expectations. At the same time, make sure your reviews aren’t one-way communications. As part of your face-to-face review, give your employee some time to speak about their position, the work environment and their workplace goals. - Give credit where credit is due
Minor as it may seem, taking the time to recognize your employees’ hard work is good for morale. Positive praise can be as simple as verbally recognizing an employee who went above and beyond on a project or as involved as buying the shop pizza to thank employees for completing a large order.
While it undeniably takes effort to hire and retain the best employees for your screen printing business, you’ll be rewarded with a well-run shop, and you’ll avoid the cost and time associated with constantly hiring and training new employees.
Looking for more tips on how to keep your screen printing business running smoothly? Keep visiting our blog!
