Recruiting Stellar Staff

Learn how to polish your staffing skills, from recruitment to interviews, with these expert tips.

by Rebecca Behrens
CBN Jun/July 2010

Not everyone has what it takes to work at a cheer gym. First and foremost, all of your employees—from the receptionist to those on the floor—need to love working with kids. But besides having a love for the sport and the athletes in it, what else should you be focusing on when looking for potential employees? How can you attract the best candidates for available positions and what do you need to ask to determine if they can lead your athletes to victory? We looked to our experts to answer these and other hiring questions. See their answers below for some helpful tips on staffing your gym.

Recruiting 101

Running ads in the paper or online and contacting temp agencies are great ways to recruit administrative staff. However, they’re not very efficient when recruiting a coaching staff, due to the specialized nature of the job. Morton Bergue, president of Cheergyms.com Inc., usually looks at his past cheerleaders first for potential employees. “We find that they have the most heart for our business and also understand how we do things,” Bergue says. He also chooses to post information about job openings on local cheer websites and online message boards and distributes e-mails to people in the industry.
According to Carole Martin, author and principal for InterviewCoach.com, Bergue is taking the right steps. She likens recruiting staff to selling a product: “Like anything you’re trying to sell—this is about selling [a job]—you have to go where your ‘customers’ hang out.” For Bergue, this means reaching out to the publications cheerleaders read and the websites they visit. Martin agrees that networking is the best source for potential hires. “You can even offer a finder’s fee for anyone who recommends a hire,” she says
Martin explains that you can save yourself and your potential employees time by clearly defining specifications about the person you’re looking for before you set up any interviews. “The secret to good recruiting is knowing exactly what you’re looking for in a person,” explains Martin. “By sitting down and examining the criteria for the job and writing a thorough job description, you’ll save everybody a lot of grief.” Don’t just interview for the sake of interviewing or to be polite; make sure that each interviewee already has the characteristics necessary for the job.

Conducting Efficient Interviews

For Sally Green, manager of Premier Athletics—Knoxville West, the interview process involves several steps. First, she conducts a face-to-face interview in which she determines if the person is a good candidate in general. “Obviously, we love it when someone has tons of experience with spotting and stunting,” she says. “However, the best athletes sometimes make the worst instructors.” Green pays special attention to the candidate’s personality to assess if he or she has what it takes to teach. She would rather hire someone who needs a little training but has a great personality. It’s during the interview that Green also judges where the potential coach would fit best at her gym (i.e., preschool, gymnastics, cheer or parties).
The interview process should assess on-the-job performance, as well. Green sets up a training schedule for potential hires, during which the candidate spends two to three days shadowing a senior instructor. If the trainer approves them, Green then takes the candidate through the staff handbook. Then the potential employee goes through a two- to three-month probationary period where Green observes classes and evaluates them on their performance. If the new hire does a great job, probation ends and they receive a pay increase and more classes.
Bergue’s hiring process includes a similar probationary period. All of Cheergyms.com’s contracts are for one year, which gives both employees and owners an opportunity to see if the new hires are a good fit for long-term employment. New coaches spend their first year shadowing or assisting before they’re given their own teams or classes to teach.
Martin agrees that on-the-job experience as part of the hiring process is a great way to test out candidates. She points out that liability issues exist for the candidate and the athletes during shadow-coaching or probationary periods, though, so make sure your pre-employment screening and insurance is under control beforehand.

What to Ask

Asking the right questions during an interview makes the most of everyone’s time. Martin explains that what the candidate has to say about him- or herself, in his or her own words, can be the most telling part of an interview. What does he or she focus on, and does he or she know and feel comfortable discussing his or her own strengths and weaknesses? “The number one statement to begin the interview with is ‘Tell me about yourself,’ says Martin. “Then listen and notice where the focus is when the answer is given.”
Green and Bergue have compiled questions they’ve found useful during interviews:

• How did you become involved in cheer, and what have you learned from it?
• What qualities do you have that would make you a good role model for our athletes?
• Why do you want to work for this cheer gym?

Green suggests asking questions about common scenarios at the gym (such as dealing with a child who won’t participate) and how candidates would handle those situations. She also discusses the commitment when coaching children, and stresses how different it is from working in a retail environment.

What Not to Ask

Some questions simply don’t help you get a better view of who your interviewee is or why he or she might be a great employee. “The worst questions that can be asked in an interview are closed-ended questions,” Martin explains. “An example of this would be: ‘Do you have any problems giving presentations to parents?’ This can be easily answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ A follow-up question would have to be asked to obtain the answer to: ‘Why?’”
Green doesn’t bother asking, “Why do you want to work with kids?” as she always gets the same response: “I love children of all ages.” Instead, she suggests asking what skills or qualities the candidate has that makes him or her great with kids, or what past experiences working with children have been like.
Bergue explains that, when interviewing, there aren’t any truly uninformative questions. “The reason we ask the questions is to see how a person answers them, not what they say,” he says. “Of course, I listen to the answer, but I’m more focused on their confidence in answering the question, their word usage and body language as they speak and their vocabulary. This tells me more about them.”

Hiring the Best Candidate

Before any decisions are made and any contracts are offered, as a gym owner, you must take precautions to protect the safety of your athletes by screening employees. Before new or potential hires start working with your kids (this includes shadowing classes or trial coaching), you should always complete a thorough background check. Many states have laws requiring criminal background checks for anyone working around children. If you’re unsure about what pre-employment screening to do, check with your state’s Department of Labor or see how local schools screen employees and volunteers. Never take a shortcut when hiring people to work with kids, and never assume an employee doesn’t need screening.
When it comes time to hire an interviewee, Martin recommends going back to your initial job description to make the decision. “Know the criteria for the job and the personality of the person you’re looking for,” she says. Green pays attention to the candidate’s training sessions. “If they’re hands-on, enthusiastic, have fun with the kids and willing to ask questions, they’re for-sure hires! If they just stand back and watch without even trying to interact with the kids—I don’t care how qualified they are—I don’t want them,” says Green. She stresses the value of a good personality and work ethic.
Bergue looks for willingness to work with different age groups among potential employees. “We get so many coaches who come in and tell me why they should coach a Level 5 team,” he says. “I need coaches who want to help the Minis and the high school teams; coaches who want to be there just because they love to coach.” Bergue also notes the importance of hiring people who will strengthen your staff. “You’ll be with these people a lot, and this tends to be a very emotional business.”

Pay special attention to how the potential hire interacts with kids during training sessions as an indicator of a good coach.

After making your final decisions, be prompt and polite in notifying the other candidates. “Every candidate who comes in for an interview has given you his or her time,” says Martin. “That’s worth something. You should at least acknowledge that they gave you this ‘gift’ of time and let them know you’ve selected someone else for the position. Never apologize—just state that you appreciate them applying and interviewing but that you found a candidate who more closely fits the requirements of the job.” Finally, be respectful throughout the interview process. Martin explains, “Each person interviewing will leave with an impression of your company. You want that impression to be a good one.”
Recruiting and interviewing staff can be a long and involved process, but doing it right can grow and improve your organization. Staff up smartly, and your gym will have something to cheer about.