Hire Slow, Fire Fast

By Lenny Ventimiglia III, President, Apollo Image Enhancement Center, Houston, Texas

In 1997, I took over Apollo Image Enhancement Center at the ripe old age of 22. When I started with the company, there were 13 people doing jobs that could be done by a team of six. In my first company meeting, I looked around the room and felt that only one person there would be around for an extended period of time. 27 years later, not only is she still a member of the team, but also one of my closest family members. She is celebrating 40 years with Apollo this year. Also, two other managers have now been on our team for 18 and 17 years respectively.

The foundation of any relationship is trust! It took me over ten years to learn the importance of hiring the right people and having a diligent hiring process. Our philosophy now is "hire slow, fire fast." Apollo has found our most success in the hiring process is from using referrals and recommendations from co-workers and friends. I had always been taught to not work with family. But I have found that by hiring referred friends and family members, you can create a familystyle work environment that clients can see and feel.

What we have found to be the best hiring process is (regardless of what platform you use to find potential candidates) is by using our management team, not just myself, to sort through the applications to find who they think would be the best team addi- potentially a new member of the family! tions. Once an interview has been booked, we set up a time for the management team and me to meet with the candidate separately. Their opinions are very valuable in the hiring process because they will be working with the new hire every day, this is

Once a new hire starts with the company, they are provided with a detailed employee handbook and a regimented training period. The first 90 days of employment is a trial basis. This allows us to make sure that they are the right fit for our team. If both parties decide to move forward at the end of that period, they are restricted to back room work and removal/cleanup of the clients over the next 90 days. All of our hires have been stylists that have never worked in hair replacement before, so this gives them a chance to learn what we do and how our business is different from a typical hair salon or barbershop. After the first six months of employment, new stylists are then presented with a non-compete agreement before working with clients one-on-one.

When hiring, our main focus is on abilities: respectability, dependability, reliability, accountability and responsibility. These are core values for our team. Our long-term employee retention rate is an indicator of their abilities to create and maintain a strong company culture.

The reason we have found it crucial to hire people from outside of our industry is because in our state of Texas, learning a specific craft can help enforce a non-compete agreement. Not having a non-compete agreement specifically tailored to your state's laws is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in business. It has literally cost me millions of dollars. "Earn" from my mistakes!

Once you are confident that you have found the right member of your professional family, it’s on you as a business owner to retain them and consistently improve company culture. We are constantly trying new things and working towards improved and amazing team culture, especially as we aim to grow our business.