LAKE LAS VEGAS, NEV. — Some hiring pitfalls can be avoided by plastics firms, according to staffing pro Russ Riendeau.
“If your sales people aren't good enough to sell guns in a prison, it doesn't matter what you do,” Riendeau said at the 2015 Plastics News Executive Forum, Feb. 4-5 in Lake Las Vegas.
Delaying gratification also is an important concept when hiring, he added. “If you don't delay gratification, you end up hiring the wrong people for the job,” said Riendeau, executive vice president with Chicago-based Jobplex Inc. “If someone has had 16 jobs in 24 years, that means they're good at selling themselves to you, but they're not the right hire.”
He also cautioned against defaulting to people with industry experience when hiring because “you get the same results.” It's also not realistic to expect new sales hires to bring a book of business with them from their previous jobs.
“Sales people are opportunity-motivated,” he explained. “They're not money-motivated — they like their freedom.”