In any startup, one of the most crucial tasks is hiring new team members. The process of prospecting, evaluating, interviewing and negotiating can be very daunting and time consuming in relation to the other types of activities you may be performing on a daily basis. Like any business, it’s important that the final candidate fits into the environment that you’ve taken so much time to create and that he or she can perform in the role structure that you’ve created as well. So we’ve taken that four-part hiring process and added our own ingredients to really get at the root of “environmental fit” and “responsibilities execution.” Our approach to this just so happened to gain us coverage on ABCNews.com and San Diego’s CW 6.

Every job posting and role description on the web lists some type of responsibilities. These are the things that you can assume you’ll be doing on a daily basis. It gives you a good indicator of whether you’re qualified or have enough know-how that you’ll be able to quickly adapt to anything you’re not that familiar with. As a person doing the hiring, this is your list of checks and balances for one of the areas where you’re evaluating each candidate. As we were developing the lists of responsibilities for the Community Manager role at SuggestionBox, we decided to use a few of their responsibilities as part of the hiring process. Hence, enter video resumes.

Whenever you’re evaluating any candidates on paper, the paper resume can help you filter down to the most qualified in terms of experience and ability to perform some of the duties associated with the role. In this case, being in front of the camera, creative, engaging and proactive were some of the things we were looking for in each of the candidates. So we gave them the option of sending in your standard cover letter or a video stating, “Why I Am The Best Community Manager?” That simple question gave us the ability to see a candidate’s approach to their new role, how they were in front of the camera, did they add in their own creativity and to what lengths did they go above and beyond the assignment? And in addition to the initial video resume submissions, the three final candidates would be conducting their own video interviews with myself and our team would be giving feedback.

So by simple taking that standard “responsibilities” list and being innovative, not only were we able to find great candidates, but our approach received some recognition on the following websites:

Lights, Camera, Hire Me! - ABC News

Video Resumes Catch on in Tough Economy - San Diego CW 6

What better way to grasp the importance of customer feedback than asking someone who is embracing it in so many ways. I recently had the opportunity to email interview Andy Beal, well known blogger, speaker, author and analyst. I’ve had the opportunity to interact with Andy as a founding Gooru on Gooruze.com and as a customer of SuggestionBox. I sent Andy 3 questions covering customer feedback, how he is using it for Trackur and the benefits of publicizing your “customer interaction points.” Enjoy.

Why is it important to listen to your customers and capture their feedback?

For years, customers have discussed companies, products, and services in their homes, offices, and coffee shops. Now the conversation has shifted to the internet, we shouldn’t cover our ears. Instead, we should realize that, as businesses, we have a huge opportunity to learn from our customers and provide a better experience.

The customers that take the time to provide feedback are generally the ones that sincerely hope you’ll listen and make the improvements they’d like to see. Listening to that feedback–especially when echoed by more than one customer–allows you to build better products, provide better service, and ultimately, improve your profits.

How are you applying the above steps to the development of Trackur?

I’m all ears! I’m learning from blog reviews, Twitter feedback, customer questions, and services such as SuggestionBox. Does it make me wince, when I receive some negative feedback? Sure, it does. But then I see the opportunity to make Trackur even better. When you build a service that includes feedback from your customers, you gain their loyalty and they’ll take partial ownership in your success–they’ll be active in helping your grow.

What effects could a company expect by publicizing their “customer interaction points?”

How many companies can you name, that seem to care about the feedback you provide. Chances are, your list is very short, but the ones you can name stay top of mind because you are impressed by their radical transparency. With that in mind, why wouldn’t you want to have your feedback show up in multiple places online.

If I’m torn between a similar product from two rival companies, as a customer, I’ll more likely buy from the business that demonstrates it listens to its customers and gives them a platform to share their reviews, suggestions, and general feedback.

Thanks Andy!

If you want to learn more about Andy Beal and his work:

• Attend his Online Reputation Management Workshop in Raleigh, August 7th.
• Learn about his new book Radically Transparent
• Monitor your reputation automatically with Trackur