2023 MVPs on How They Hire & Fire, Train & and Retain Employees

We asked our 2023 multi-unit franchisee MVPs (Most Valuable Performers): “How do you hire and fire, train and retain employees?” Here are their responses. For more MVP responses to this question, click here for part 1.

Shirin Kanji, 2023 Multi-Brand Leadership MVP (9 Rent-A-Center, 7 Neighborly brands (15 under development), 2 Marriott Hotel, 1 Hilton Hotel, 1 Hyatt Hotel)

Our recruitment philosophy has evolved over time. We now focus more on aligning candidates with our company mission and brand-specific core values. We have found greater success hiring for attitude and training the skills versus hiring based on experience. When it comes to retaining and training, we have had our fair share of challenges, as many have in today’s labor environment. But we have worked hard to improve our benefits offering, the scope and depth of our training programs, and to provide clearly defined career paths to produce the best place to work in each of our industry segments.

Raj Patel, 2023 Multi-Brand Leadership MVP (88 Dunkin’, 6 Dave’s Hot Chicken, 5 McAlister’s Deli)

I feel like this goes with our management style of finding someone who shows up and is willing to do the work to grow as an individual. Those are always the people you retain the most.

Antonio McBroom, 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion MVP (15 Ben & Jerry’s)

Based on our core values of passionate, fun, servant leadership, resourcefulness, and knowledgeability. We look for candidates who align with these values and can be culture champions, and we fire when a team member is not meeting our bar in relationship to showing these values day in and day out. We train these values through our Primo Fundamentals, which are 30 key behaviors that show these values in action, and we retain by recognizing and rewarding team members based on these values and fundamentals.

Michael Chalmers, 2023 Innovation MVP (9 Spherion Staffing)

We are purposeful in who we choose to join our organization. We use a testing methodology to determine fit, along with multiple interviews. Candidates are also interviewed by someone in the office where they will be working.