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Hiring Humans

By David

I’m supposed to write about selecting and retaining employees, an area in which I have had some good fortune, although I seemed to have stumbled into this instinctively rather than following a plan with an H.R. seal of approval. Picture it: bluehouse in November 2005, an empty shell of a space with a hastily assembled folding chairs and tables, myself and my two managers madly interviewing dozens of people in a row, trying to fill fifteen vacant positions with just a week until opening. Our styles could not have been more different. While one manager focused on intense questions regarding character the other presented an array of hypotheticals designed to reveal work ethic, I decided to prompt the candidates I interviewed to talk about their passions and the things that captured their attention; in the midst of “what would you do…” and “tell me about a time…”, I was having conversations about music, comic books, ’zines, fashion design, the environment, volunteering for assorted charitable organizations, romantic relationships gone awry, and any number of other scintillating topics.

Now, as events later revealed, I probably should have snuck one or two questions about work ethic in there, but my goal was to get to know these people as, well, people. Did I like them? Could I relate to them? Were they being genuine or in “interview” mode? Did they seem bright enough to do what I needed them to do, even with no experience? At the sign-in table by the waiting area, my partner casually observed them interacting amongst themselves. As I pondered the applications, he could tell me who was outgoing, who seemed thoughtful, who appeared impatient, who had that certain approachable spark.

I had lured all of these people down with the promise of a higher than average salary—that is, a living wage—along with benefits for full-timers. I hoped to discover signs of life typically devoid in the retail world. Did I succeed? Well, you will have to visit the little family in our downtown Baltimore location and see for yourself. I think you would discover a group of people who are close, helpful, friendly, brilliant, and perhaps a little dysfunctional.

How do you retain good employees if you’re in retail? Sadly, you don’t always. We have our share of college students working to put themselves through school before finding jobs in their field, or career salespeople who got better offers. And there were those whose energy, shall we say, was not quite the right fit for their positions. But to the extent you can, I think the key is to create a workplace where people feel appreciated on the level of the paycheck and also on the level of themselves as individuals. I always tell my employees, “I want you to create your dream job, whatever that looks like for you.” That means, yes, you have to sweep under the tables and take the trash out, but you can also bring other elements of yourself into the work setting. So we now have people organizing open mic nights for music and poetry in our café, doing video podcasts as sort of “commercials” for YouTube, researching how they can sell their homemade baby blankets in our organic baby section, and so on.

I started bluehouse after a string of soul-deadening jobs that left me desperate to keep my personal and professional lives compartmentalized, and I was afraid that my employees would have the same reaction. That they have not is something I take no small amount of pride in. It’s hard work to be a good boss. It can take a lot out of you. But it can also put a lot into you.