Staff | The Barefoot Spirit

Successful Hiring takes Preparation, Permission and Patience

WITH PROPER CARE, YOUR EMPLOYEE WILL BLOSSOM

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

No matter what business you think you are in, you wind up in the personnel management business. Your first hires will require a great deal of your time and energy with no guarantees. Your way may conflict with their previous way of doing things. For the most part,...

Tailor Your Message to What Your Audience Wants to Hear

DECIDE WHETHER YOU WANT TO MAKE A STATEMENT OR A DEPOSIT

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

If you want to make a statement, tell them what you want to say. If you want to make a deposit, tell them what they want to hear. Sounds simple enough, but what do they want to hear and who are they anyway? Every successful business learns eventually that there are a...

Find Good People – Make Great People

BUILD A SQUARE HOLE FOR A SQUARE PEG

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

People always ask us what we look for in a job applicant because we had such a great staff. Sure, we looked at qualifications, but we looked beyond that. We wanted people who were not only qualified, but also had foundational qualities we could build upon. We wanted...

Job Descriptions – A Portrait or Snapshot

EVERY JOB CAN TAKE ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN – KEEP IT CURRENT

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

Job descriptions seem to have a certain amount of authority built into them. They can describe the job for the new hire and be a reference for the last word in duties. The problem is that nothing remains the same for very long. Constant operational changes and market...