Q. How do you attract
employees?
We try to get referrals
from other employees. If
they can bring somebody
in, and that person lasts
for 90 days, we’ll give
them a bonus. If an
employee knows someone who’s looking for a
job, it makes more sense
to hire that person.
We run a statewide
background check, but
that really doesn’t say
how hard they work or
their attitude — you don’t find
out those things until after
they’re hired. But, if someone
says, ‘I know this person, and
he’s a good worker who’s going
to do his share of the job,’ we
prefer that route.
Q. How does hiring that way
benefit you?
That helps the quality of
employees; hopefully, they’re
better than you’re going to get
off the street. If you run an ad in
the paper, you have no idea the quality of the person. They may
have a clean background, but
you don’t know how good of a
worker they are.
With privacy laws now, most
employers will not honestly tell
you what an employee’s like. We
try to put the percentage on our
side. It may not work for other
people, but it works for us.
Q. What advice would you
share with other business
leaders trying to grow their
company?
Keep your employees informed and ask for suggestions
from your employees. I’ll meet
with my top management, and
we’ll kick around how we can
save a customer money or how
can we give them a better job
than they’re getting now. You’d
be surprised at some of things
that other people come up with.
My management style is
autonomy with accountability.
My managers have the autonomy to make changes that will
result in a better outcome. They
also have to have accountability.
It’s a two-edged sword; they’ve
got the freedom, but they also
have the responsibility.
You don’t have to make all the
decisions yourself. Everybody
shares the decision-making, and
you empower your management people to do the job that
they think should be done.
I don’t believe in bullying or
management by intimidation;
that’s not my style. I absolutely
hate that, and I will not have it
in my company. That went out
of style 30 years ago.
Q. How do you deal with
people who don’t make good
decisions?
We discuss what was wrong
with the decision and how we
can correct it. Hopefully, they’ll
learn from their mistakes. If
they make the same mistake
over and over again, then you
have to discuss whether they’re
in the right business or not.
Our customers are tough.
Dollars are harder to come by,
and they want more for their
dollar. If you can’t do it, they’ll
find somebody that can. Everybody is doing more in their jobs
with less people, and there’s
more demand on everyone.
HOW TO REACH: Aetna Maintenance Inc., (800) 330-2400 or www.aetnamaintenance.com
