We’ve all come across the images of chimps in call centers wearing headsets, poking fun at those of us who work on the phone. I find them funny as well, and I laugh just like everyone else, but it makes me reflect on the people I work with every day.
It’s true that anyone can pick up a phone (they were invented in 1876, after all), but it takes a unique set of skills to get complete strangers to talk about the business problems they face at work. I still recall my first day when our president told me how important it is to hire smart employees and that this job isn’t for those who aren’t capable.
I recently read an article on Chron.com entitled Importance of Smart Employees in Today’s Workplace. It argues that hiring smart people is essential to a successful business, especially in the fast-paced, rapidly-changing world we all live and work in today.
In addition to my normal job functions, I am also heavily involved in our recruitment and training program. Our team, composed of other business development representatives, works together to design best practice scenarios for recruiting, interviewing, and the training program. New hires get a lot of information thrown at them in the first week and require the ability to digest that information very quickly. Once someone’s on a project, the real training begins. Being able to make strategic adjustments to a project and think on the fly when a prospect asks a question out of left field is not a role for the weak of mind.
Companies that let their employees’ voices be heard will see direct benefits from the results. Instead of a 10 person management team keeping tabs on a bunch of drones, we have a 50-person team that not only offers ideas and feedback to the management, but is encouraged to do so. Several recent changes have been a direct result of employee/management feedback, and the company is reaping the benefits as a whole.
We’ve all worked jobs with stifling management or greedy owners looking at how much they can squeeze out of their employees for as little as possible in return. Smart employees don’t last long at those companies. Embrace the intelligence of the people you work with and your company will only grow and improve as a result.
