Hire the Heart, Train the Hand .Attitude is everything.
Hire the Heart, Train the Hand
Headline: Stop hiring for years of experience. Start hiring
for capacity for kindness.
I can teach a new hire how to use our latest AI-integrated
CRM in a few days. I can show them how to navigate our refund policy in an
afternoon.
But I have never—not once—successfully taught someone how to be a decent human being under pressure.
The CX Hiring Trap:
We look at resumes for keywords like proficient in SaaS or Expert
in Omnichannel. But in 2025, AI is going to handle the proficient parts of the
job.
What’s left? The Human Connection. How to Spot the CX Mind:
- Look
for Service DNA: Don't just look at corporate roles. Someone who worked as
a nurse, a teacher, or a server in a busy restaurant often has more Service
DNA than someone who has sat behind a desk for ten years. They understand
the Invisible Labor of making people feel safe.
- The Waitstaff
Test: I’ve heard of leaders who take candidates to lunch just to see how
they treat the waiter. If they are dismissive of the person serving them,
they will eventually be dismissive of your customers.
- Interview for Empathy, Not Answers: Instead of asking How do you use X software?, ask: Tell me about a time you broke a rule to do the right thing for a person. A Software Mind will struggle with the rule-breaking. A Kindness Mind will have a story ready.
Your customers don't stay because your agents are fast at
typing. They stay because they felt heard during a moment of friction.
Hire people who are naturally inclined to help, and then
give them the best tools in the world to do it. The software supports the
service, but the kindness is the service.
#CX #HiringStrategy #HumanResources #CustomerService
#Leadership #EmpathyAtWork #CompanyCulture
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