Why I Stopped “Hiring in a Hurry” (And How You Can Too!)
Stop desperation hiring for good. These 7 simple steps helped me recruit better employees, avoid Monday-morning surprises, and build a more stable service team.
KickStart: Convert your desperation hiring into an ongoing, routine system. The result? You’ll always have pre-vetted, pre-tested “Employees in Waiting” ready to jump in.
I’ll be honest—nothing ruined my Monday mornings faster than those dreaded “quitting without notice” texts from techs who bailed when we were booked solid three weeks out. 😡
One Monday, I finally called my tech Bill, because he was already late for his first residential job.
Me: “Uhhhh, Bill, where are you?”
Bill: “Uh… yeah, Steve… I got another job over the weekend. Just mail me my last check.” CLICK! 😲
There I was, staring at the phone like it had personally betrayed me. Then I turned to my office staff and screamed, “Find me a warm body—NOW!”
SPOILER ALERT: Every single time I hired in a panic, it blew up in my face. If you’ve ever done “Desperation Hiring,” you already know—it leads to headaches, callbacks, lost clients, and lots of lost sleep! 😥
Finally, I learned that if I wanted better employees, I needed a better system. And it had to become part of my everyday business routine—not something I dusted off when I was already drowning in work pulling the shifts of two techs who quit with no notice!.
Here’s the 30,000 foot overview of how I fixed my hiring issues…
My 7 Steps to Stop Desperation Hiring (and Start Attracting Better Employees)
1. We treated recruiting as a daily habit—not an emergency switch.
Once I accepted that consistent recruiting had to be an ongoing, routine system- everything changed. I wasn’t scrambling anymore. Instead, I was simply preparing for the inevitable. Negative? Maybe. Or was I realistic? Either way, as part of this process…
2. We routinely pre-screened and pre-interviewed long before we actually needed a new employee.
When I wasn’t desperate, I could spot the Very Best Prospects (what I call VBP’s) a mile away. It’s amazing how clear your instincts are when you’re not panicking and well… desperate!
NOTE: Words are important. So instead of the common “applicants” (or worse, “victims”!😁) we started calling these folks “Career Candidates”. Sure, even a Career Candidate might work three months and then quit- but at least we treated each person as if they were embarking on an exciting, long-term career!
3. I stopped “proposing marriage on the first date.” 😦
Instead of desperately rushing people immediately into full-time roles, after carefully vetting a Career Candidate, we then:
a) Did a paid “Working Interview”. This “Trial Hire” is great for everyone. (Some folks interview great but simply won’t like the daily physical work. Better to find out before you hire them full-time!) Loved the work? Then…
b) We normally started our Career Candidates part-time or on-call. This gave all parties concerned time to see if we both fit—without pressure. NOTE: This practice worked great if the Career Candidate was still at their original job, which leads me to…
4. We encouraged our VBP Career Candidates to keep their current jobs while waiting for a full-time spot with us. (I called them “Employees in Waiting”.)
No guilt. No games. Just honesty. And you know what? The great ones appreciated the flexibility. If an applicant was desperate to be hired, that was a red flag for me.
5. I made the waiting worth it by offering a real career—not just a job.
A “real career”? Yep, as in better pay, clearer growth paths, better training, better culture. If we wanted better employees, we had to BE a better workplace worth waiting for. (See point #4.)
6. I kept my VBP’s “warm” with a simple monthly update email.
Just a short note about what was happening inside the company. It reminded them we cared—and that there was a great career waiting for them. NOTE: Be sure to send this newsletter :bcc or using a simple mailing list service.
7. Always be planning ahead for staffing needs.🤔
I stopped pretending “everything will work out” with employee issues. When I saw work volume rising or someone looking shaky, I already had my Employees in Waiting ready—and since they were VBP’s they needed time to give notice to their current employer
Want to get those new hires trained fast? (Don’t we all need this?) 🙄
We used a simple “Fast Track” training system that helped us get new techs up to speed without babysitting. It saved me hundreds of hours—and a whole lot of lost sleep!
Now, don’t you have some Career Candidates to recruit?
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