Print Solutions July 2006
President’s Message
By TIMOTHY J. MEHL, CDC
People Create Opportunities
A note from DMIA President Tim Mehl, CDC:
I can’t think of anyone more willing to share management strategies than Andy Kohn,
CDC, president of the Jerome Group in St. Louis. If you attend any of DMIA’s freewheeling, public roundtable discussions, you’re likely to benefit from one of Andy’s ideas. In this month’s column, he writes about one of the keys to success.
Often, fellow DMIA members ask me about our success at Jerome Group, since we
have grown from a $2.5 million forms distributor in 1984 into a $45 million
direct marketing and digital communication firm with 280 employees.
We transformed ourselves completely out of the business forms industry, but it
didn’t happen overnight or without plenty of mistakes along the way. All along, we’ve learned the key to our success was, and is, people.
We’re in a people business. We sell to people. People do the selling. So it makes
complete sense to hire only the best people—they’re almost always worth their weight in gold.
We look in many places for those special employees. Rarely do they respond to
newspaper ads or web postings because the best people have jobs already and
they don’t need the newspaper to find new opportunities. Since they are good at what they
do, the best employees find you, or you find them. Where? From your contacts,
of course, including referrals from current employees, customers, prospects,
accountants, friends and advisers. You want winners, not job hoppers, and not
someone else’s problem employee.
Once you’ve identified a prospective employee, you’ll conduct interviews and tests, and you’ll do some research by calling references. In fact, call the references late at
night, at work. That way, you have to leave a voice mail. Say you’re considering hiring “Joe Candidate,” and if you do not hear from the reference, you’ll assume the candidate is not recommended. This takes the reference off the
hook and eliminates an uncomfortable conversation if the reference can’t honestly speak fondly about the candidate. If the reference is motivated to
call you back, you’ll know that the candidate really made a positive impact to win the
recommendation.
Depending on the importance of the candidate you’re hiring, determine the amount of testing and review necessary. If you are
looking for a CFO, have your accounting firm help with the process and the
interview. Test that CFO extensively. Make sure he or she is better at
accounting than you are. If you hire employees who are better at the function
you are hiring for, chances are you’ll build a strong organization. An organization filled with winners,
self-starters and talent is destined to be successful, particularly in our
industry.
The environment you create is every bit as important as finding that winner.
Winners want to be rewarded for hard work and extra effort. Rewards come in
many shapes and sizes, and money is rarely the sole motivator. Achievement
recognition, positive atmosphere, communication of corporate mission and
long-term growth opportunities keep your stars on your team.
It may sound simple, but finding the best employees, testing and confirming
their talent, and then providing a positive environment is the best way to
achieve your sales and profitability growth.
Timothy J. Mehl, CDC, is CEO of Dispatch, a manufacturer in Erie, Pa., and DMIA’s president.
