Just once has Maryles Casto
hired someone on her own — and she’ll never do it again.
Casto, founder, chairman and
CEO of Casto Travel Inc., has long
trusted others in her 200-employee, full-service travel management
firm to help her hire. But when
she found a young woman who
embodied the many things she
thought she wanted in an
employee — a graduate degree
and a shining resume — Casto
ignored those who said she
wouldn’t fit in and hired her
anyway. After just six months,
she realized she couldn’t ignore
how poorly the woman blended
in with the culture and had to
make a change. Lessons like
that have helped Casto learn
that success is a result of the
culture at her travel company,
which had 2007 revenue of
about $150 million, and that
comes directly from who she
hires.
Smart Business spoke with
Casto about why you have to
hire first and then grow, and
how consistent kindness keeps
employees happy.
Take the time to hire right. The
most important thing you can
do for your company is bring
in the right team, and you have
to make the time. If I’m interviewing someone, I won’t just
slot 10 minutes, I will slot
probably an hour and a half.
I walk them around, I introduce them to everybody, and
I’m watching how they interact. You’re watching them, and
they’re also watching you.
I want them to interview me.
I want them to know that this
is going to be their home and
take the time to get to know
the company. It takes awhile,
but how much you put in is
what you get out of it.
You need to feel that you
belong in the company, and it
takes a little while for both
parties to really feel that blend.
Very rarely have we made a
mistake. Sometimes it will
take two months before we
will hire somebody, but we
make sure that we interview
everybody, and they come
back a few times.
One person told me, ‘I’ve
never been interviewed this
way,’ and I said, ‘Well, you’re
getting to interview us, as
well.’
If you can’t take the time to
interview the person that is
joining your firm and is going
to be part of the future, then
you’re not worth working for.
Slow growth to meet quality. I
was here when the valley was
just exploding and had to
make a very quick choice that
I wanted to be part of the
explosion. I had a very small
window, so I started hiring
people just to fill bodies
because of the growth.
That was a big mistake
because I couldn’t service the
explosive growth and finally had to say, ‘No more business.’ I had to stop growing
until I could refocus and get
the right people because I
wasn’t taking the time and
effort in interviewing and
hiring, I was just hiring.
I learned I can’t do that —
not if what I say is that quality
is important, and we’re the
best at this and that. I learned
that if you say you are going to
do something the right way,
stick with it.
Be consistently kind. The most
important thing in leadership
is ethics and kindness. You
have to be kind to everybody
and communicate with them.
It’s not when we’re doing well,
it’s when something happens
to employees that we really
show we are a different company by taking care of them —
and that builds loyalty.
You show your kindness in
how you deal with people
daily, and people respect that
and respond to it. It’s not one
day you are this and the
other day you are not; that
confuses people, and it’s very
hard on them.
But if you consistently
make your decisions with
compassion, people understand that. They trust that
you’ll guide this company,
and that this company is the
most important thing, and
then you get them to buy in.
Make your word count. If you
have to choose between
integrity and the easiest way to do something, you have to
really look at it and say,
‘How should we be doing
this based on who we are?’
My father used to always
say, ‘Your word is your
honor,’ and I really believe
that. If I give my word, that’s
the way it should be, and you
can’t do anything otherwise.
You know what’s right and
what’s wrong, and you have
to do what you feel is right.
If you take pride in what
your name is, you take pride
in what you do. That should
be your guideline.
Let employees leave with dignity. I’ve had to let people go, and
I make sure I personally do it
because it has to be done in
a way that takes into consideration who they are and what they’ve done for the
company. I make them
understand that it’s not
about them, it had to be
done.
Help them in any other way
you can in trying to secure
another job or giving them a
good recommendation. Don’t
just cut them off because
they left.
After they’ve gone, I’ve
called and said, ‘How are you
doing, and what can I do to
help you?’ I’ve had people
who left and who are still
really good friends and have
called us and come back and
visit.
HOW TO REACH: Casto Travel Inc., (800) 832-3445 or www.casto.com
