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In his insightful book "The Ideal Team Player," Patrick Lencioni identifies three essential traits for effective teamwork: humility, hunger, and people smarts. For building service contractors (BSCs), finding janitorial team members who embody these traits is crucial.
Know Your Audience
Traditional interview questions often fall flat with janitorial candidates. For example, asking "What motivates you to work?" may not yield insightful responses. The reason is because many janitorial candidates are primarily motivated by providing for their families.
To uncover humility, hunger, and people smarts, smart building service contractors must tailor their questions to resonate with this audience. Here are a few strong examples of what BSCs can ask in job interviews to identify strong candidates.
Evaluating Humility
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Tell me about a mistake you made and what you learned from it.
This line of inquiry assesses the candidate's ability to admit and take ownership of mistakes, emphasizing personal growth and accountability without placing blame on others. Encourage candidates to share examples from any part of their life, not just work-related.
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Who has been your favorite supervisor or teacher, and what did you learn from them?
By exploring the candidate's respect for a mentor, this question gauges their humility in recognizing and valuing the influence and wisdom of others.
Evaluating Hunger
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What is the most difficult thing you have ever done in your life? Why was it difficult, and how did you overcome it?
This series of related questions delve into the candidate's resilience and determination, seeking examples of how they have faced and persevered through significant challenges.
Evaluating People Smarts
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Describe a situation where you had to interact with a difficult person. How was the person difficult, and how did you handle it?
This question evaluates the candidate's interpersonal skills and their ability to navigate challenging interactions. It provides insight into their ability to collaborate effectively under difficult circumstances.
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Describe the last time you felt like you were treated unfairly. How did you handle that situation?
This question assesses emotional intelligence by exploring the candidate's response to perceived unfair treatment. It offers insights into their ability to manage feedback and maintain harmonious working relationships.
Supplementary Questions
While questions like "What do you enjoy doing outside of work?" or "Why did you apply for this position at our company?" can provide additional context, the five questions above are designed to efficiently identify whether a janitorial candidate possesses the essential qualities of an ideal team player.
By tailoring your interview questions to assess humility, hunger, and people smarts, you can better identify candidates who will excel in their roles and contribute positively to your team.
Jeff Carmon, CBSE, is the Business Development Director at Frantz Building Services. He is also a consultant, content creator, and speaker for Elite BSC, which provides resources and education for like-minded BSCs.