Most of us have found ourselves in this situation at one time or another: You have a full slate of jobs lined up and not enough people on your crews to do them. In a state of panic, you look past the serious doubts you have that an applicant is a good fit for your company and hire them anyway.

It rarely ends well when you do this. Unable to mesh with your culture and team, the new hire soon quits—or is fired—and you find yourself back right where you started with an opening to fill. And if that person damaged relationships with other team members or clients, then the situation’s even worse than before.

Defining your ideal team member, and staying true to your standards when hiring, is crucial to building and retaining a winning team.

Do you have your ideal team member defined? If not, you need to.

Put it in writing, and make sure everyone making hiring decisions at your company knows it. Clearly document both the qualities and behaviors you’re looking for as well as the ones you want to avoid.

In the tight labor market we’re currently in, it can be tempting to stray from the rules you set for yourself, but I challenge you to get creative about how you’re finding applicants rather than compromise on your standards.

Succeeding with Signing Bonuses

One of the recruiting tactics that’s really delivered results for us at Grunder Landscaping this season is offering signing bonuses to new hires. They’re a great way to stand out from other companies, and a real hook in advertising our openings. What’s more, we’ve structured the way we pay them out so that they serve as a retention tool too. We’ve found a number of ideal team members this way, and they in turn have helped us find others through the people they know and recommend.

If you want to learn more about what we’re doing at Grunder Landscaping to find and keep a winning team, join me for a live webinar on July 26 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. EDT. Through video, I’ll take you on a deep dive into tools and tactics that work.

Learn more about the webinar here.