The Microbrewery Handbook

Chapter 16How to Hire Well and Eliminate Turnover in Three Steps

Photo Credits: Jeremy Cook

I'm going to share a hiring process with you that will cultivate many great things within your company. This hiring process, if done correctly, produces better candidates, saves you money by limiting turnover, improves employee engagement, fosters an ownership culture throughout your staff, and improves your chances of a strong onboarding for new hires.

And crazier still, this process can save you money.

Packs a punch, right?

I call it three‐step interviewing. I've made a few tweaks from what I've learned about this process, which is often used to hire CEOs or high‐level executives, to develop this process for our industry. And while we're talking about a miniscule sample size, our employee retention has lapped the industry average. Many factors play key roles in that – culture, engagement, and others we'll address later – but none have the singular impact as hiring well.

Hiring Key: The Job Description

In the hustle of everyday operations, it would be easy to cut and paste someone else's job description from another brewery, fill the role as quickly as possible, and hold your breath.

But don't overlook the value of a sound job description.

When asked what he looks for in strong leaders, Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione said it starts before they're even brought in for an interview. ...