How To Use Core Values To Hire and Fire

It's not hard to know how to hire, promote, or fire anyone for your business.  The key is using your Core Values as a screening tool.  I've got four core values for LIFT Enrichment, my main company that is at 8-figures in revenue and only takes me 8 hours a month to manage and the same values are for my consulting company, Win Win With Eric.  They are:

1. Win-Win
2. Get It Done
3. Follow The Process
4. Bring The Fun

 The Core Value Filter

Here's how you use the Core Value Filter

1. Identify your core values.  These should be 4-5 values.  I don't recommend 6+ because people will forget.  4 is the best amount, in my opinion
2. Pick one staff member to review.  This could be someone you are thinking of promoting.  Or someone you might fire.  This could also be a potential staff member you might hire.
3. Rank that staff member for each core value using +, +/- and -.  (Plus, Plus/Minus, Minus).  It's a very simple way to see if this person represents the core value a lot, or is just "ok," or not at all.
4. Consider a MINIMUM score.  This is called the "bar" according to Gino Wickman's "The Entrepreneurial Operations System" in the book Traction.  My minimum is that any staff member who wants to remain on my team must have at the bare minimum two "Plus" and two "Plus/Minus."  If it's lower than that, or if there is one "Minus," it's a problem.

For Hiring

If you're interviewing prospects for a position in your company, have yourself AND your key team members rank the prospect on each core value.  It's just a gut opinion. For example, if you're hiring George for an Operations Director position, here is a good score I might share: "I give George a plus for the "Win-Win" core value because he talked about how his department grew a lot in his previous role.  He also worked well with his boss.  For "Get It Done," he gets a “Plus” as well.  I'd give him a plus/minus for "Follow the Process" because his previous role didn't have a lot of written processes.  For "Bring The Fun" he's a plus because he has good energy and smiles a lot." If I met someone who was low on any of the core values (and the team agreed) we'd know this person wouldn't be a good fit.

For Promoting

Every quarter, it's good to have ALL of your supervisors review all of their staff.  It's a written document and a key part is doing the Core Value filter. Let's say you're thinking of promoting your sales rep to sales manager.  You would go through the Core Value Filter and fill it out, then review each core value with that staff member. If you gave someone a Plus/Minus, explain how they could do better.

For Firing

If someone is going to get fired, the Core Value Filter provides an easy way to see how someone is not a good fit. This person often has one or more "Minuses." If it's a first-time offense, then do a conversation recap and explain why you gave the score you did for each core value.   Sometimes, people will get better when you do another Core Value Filter in the next 30 or 90 days.   It's a simple but effective system. Plus, you have a paper trail if they repeatedly had a low Core Value score. —--- Want to scale your business from 7 to 8 figures, just like I've done?  I run an 8-figure service company with a staff of 300 people that teaches 18,000 kids a week how to cook healthy foods…and it only takes me 8-hours a month. I help businesses with 1-on-1 consulting, including aesthetic clinics and recruitment companies, among others.  Here's the link to hop on a consultation call to see how I can help you grow