“Hire character. Train skill.” That directive was made popular by Peter Schutz, the former CEO of Porsche whose book, The Driving Force: Getting Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People, was a bestseller. Schutz applied this principle at several Fortune 500 firms along his career path, but would the same idea apply to hires that a painting contractor might make?
Painting is trainable
Let’s start with a basic premise that experienced painters and employees are more likely to perform efficient and high- quality work, resulting in happier customers and more profitable projects. So when you are faced with a hiring decision, the answer – hire the most experienced, skilled applicant available – is easy, right?
Well, only if that applicant exhibits the character, attitude and personal qualities that fit your company culture, according to hiring specialists. Multiple studies have shown that skills can be taught and transferred, but changing character is a near impossible task. Schutz’s work cited one study that showed people who were dismissed from jobs across multiple industries were dismissed for reasons associated with character 89 percent of the time, while just 11 percent of dismissals were skill-related.
While there’s a world of nuance and skill sets that separate a competent, quality painter from a novice, keep in mind that all of it is teachable. And many training opportunities are available, such as skill-specific instructional videos from Sherwin-Williams (PaintProTraining.com), or formal training opportunities such as new painter training available through the Painting Contractors Association (PCA). This program provides a clear, standardized and approachable training program that contractors can use to develop staff and personnel at no cost.
Character sets them apart
For contractors such as Jason Phillips with Phillips Home Improvements in Plano, Texas, skills matter, but it’s the character of his team that he relies on practically every day.
“We want team members that are all in. Because when we’re all in, we can do so much more. It’s about building a culture, and really taking care of one another.
Phillips notes that having high-character people was particularly valuable in times of crisis, such as that we all recently experienced with COVID.
Aideline Amarán of Amaran Group in Miami reports that having high-character people helped her deal with a COVID-driven slowdown when her team had to shift gears from strictly painting to repairs and other projects that kept revenue.
“My team was like, ‘We’re here, whatever you need. We’re painters, but we’ll do whatever it takes,’” she says. “I’m very proud of them and all the support I get from my team.”
Great hires build a strong team
Character-driven hiring helped improve retention rate for Live Painting in Naperville, Illinois.
“My Sherwin-Williams rep asks me how I can maintain the same staff,” says owner Ricardo Ortiz. “Maybe the most important thing is to treat them well. Many employers put pressure on them, give them a hard time if they use their cellphones, send them home if they are late. But from the beginning I tell them that I want a job well done no matter how long it takes, but I don’t want to go back to the customer’s house because he has complained of a spill here or for paint on the floor.”
Get more great ideas for how to build and improve your painting business in the Pintor Pro magazine archive.
