CMETRICS are not data points on a chart. I won’t be boring you with big data or complex theories. The CMETRICS I’m talking about are specific things that you should be looking for when attempting to find your next hire. CMETRICS is simply an acronym to help you remember the following things you need to look for in your hire:
Competent
Mission Motivator
Enthusiastic
Trainable
Reliable
Inspired
Compatible
Solution Driven
These are the individuals you want as managers in your store. Let’s look at these individually, and how to uncover them in the interview process.
R=Reliable
I like the word reliable because it closely aligns with dependable or trustworthy, but some prefer the word responsible. They are all closely tied together and such important traits to find in your management team. Imagine this ad “Wanted one irresponsible, dishonest, unreliable individual to manage a team of sales professionals.” No one places that ad, at least not deliberately, but some get the results of that ad inadvertently when they make bad hires.
The first item to watch is the screening process itself. When you have a highly structured process and the candidate doesn’t follow instructions that can be your first indicator that this may not be the person for you. I don’t care if you are a competent, mission motivator who is enthusiastic and teachable if I can’t count on you and trust your word, why would I want you on my team?
How do we uncover reliability in an interview?
“If I asked your coworkers to describe you in 3 words what would they say?” I can always follow up the answer with more questions, like why would they say that?
“Tell me about a month in which your department did not meet goals or expectations?” I’m listening here for where the blame is placed? As a manager did they take responsibility for the unmet goal or expectation or did they blame everyone else. You want someone who takes responsibility and is willing to be held accountable.
“What are three weaknesses you bring to the job?” Yes, it is a question that causes a lot of debate in HR circles. It’s old. It’s a canned question. But here’s what I know about this question after asking in hundreds and hundreds of times. People still don’t prepare for it, especially when you ask for three of them. The individual who says I don’t have any is deluding himself and is far from honest which makes me doubt their reliability and trustworthiness.
The reality is any strength can be a weakness when taken to the extreme.
For the individual who tries to “spin” a strength into a weakness, my all-time favorite “I care too much” you can push harder. Can you give me an example in which your caring too much has created a problem for you or the dealership? If it’s a weakness then it has created a problem for you somewhere along the way, otherwise, it wouldn’t be a weakness.
“Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a situation at work?” Does their idea of going above and beyond align with yours?
I recently interviewed a guy I thought was a perfect fit for an HR position in a dealership and made a recommendation for the dealer to interview the candidate. The dealer calls me after the interview and says “I loved the candidate, but let me tell you what impressed me the most.”. After a 2 hour interview, the candidate walked out to their car and on the way met a customer on the lot. The candidate then walked the customer back into the dealership showroom and turned them over to a sales manager before leaving the store. That’s the reliable, dependable, responsible candidate you want.
Next week, I’ll discuss inspiration and how to look for it in potential employees. If you missed last week’s post about the trainability, click here to catch up!