The right technology can help you recruit, develop and retain the best people for your snow company. Before you jump into buying the newest software, it’s important to map out and understand your processes. Grasping how you currently do what you do will set you up to pick the right tech product for your company.
First, write down your current processes for recruiting, hiring, onboarding and training. Take the time to capture every detail. Once completed, ask yourself the following:
What steps (if any) are efficient and effective?
What steps have a longer time investment and/or lead time?
What steps can result in frequent errors?
What would we like technology to do for us to improve our processes?
With this information, you can begin to look for specific technologies that can address these issues.
While the correct technology can help you recruit, develop and retain the best people, beware of treating it as a “miracle fix.” After you’ve reviewed your processes, ask your team which pain points or functions are the highest priority when looking for new software. No single technology is the best for every business. Knowing your pain points and where you are looking to find efficiencies will guide you to the right tech.
In addition to pain points, consider how a new system or app will integrate with your current technology. Technology that does not integrate by automatically sharing data will force you to manually enter and update data in several systems. Every time you have to manually update a record, you increase the chance of error. This not only cuts down on efficiency, but it also takes your people away from doing higher-level operational and/or strategic work that drives value for the business.
One final thing to consider is that you need to be open to what software can and can’t do. You may not get everything you want from a system, so you need to know your priorities. What are the “have to haves” and what are the “nice to haves?”
Taking time to map out your processes and brainstorm your needs will show you where you are, help you see where you want to go, and aid you in getting to the desired destination. Baseball legend Yogi Berra said it best: “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” Map out your processes and wind up at success!
Evan Tachoir is the founder of Jack of All People Trades, HR/People Consulting to help snow companies recruit, develop and retain the best employees. He leads the monthly networking/teaching series NET Gain. Email him at evan@jackofallpeopletrades.com.