Finding employees that fit the culture at Green Latrine is no easy task. But owner Will Niccolls has developed a sound strategy that helps: Wear a recruiting hat 24/7.
“I’m always on the prowl, looking for competent and capable people,” he says. “Whether I’m at a coffee shop, a restaurant, a bakery or a retail store, I look for people with what I call emotional agility."
“I look for people who are responsive and proactive and that can handle stress and manage people in situations that might fluster other folks,” Niccolls continues. “You should be recruiting every time you’re out in public.”
As an example, Niccolls cites Candy Hiler, the company’s operations manager. He saw her in action one evening when he went to a very busy Olive Garden restaurant on a Friday night in Beaverton, Oregon — with 18 kids on a club soccer team of which Niccolls’ son was a member.
“We thought we had a reservation for about 30 players and parents, but we didn’t,” Niccolls explains. “But instead of turning us away, she started making it happen.
“She handled things in a way that I’d rarely seen someone handle that kind of situation.”
Later he chatted with Hiler and discovered they had some common “small world” connections. He asked for her phone number and she wrote it on the back of an Olive Garden glass coaster, he says.
“Four or five months later, she moved here to join us,” he says.
It doesn’t matter one bit if people don’t have any experience in the portable sanitation industry; Niccolls says that emotional intelligence and other skills are totally transferrable, as well as universally desirable, in any field of work.
“Only one of our six managers had any experience in the restroom industry,” he says. “It’s much more critical to hire really good people who are a good fit for your culture. They can learn about restrooms as they go along.
“We want to make our company an exceptional place to work and hiring the right managers to build that culture is essential.”
Niccolls also hired Paul Brown, the yard and warehouse manager at Green Latrine, after seeing him in action while he was a manager of a Satellite Industries warehouse in Portland. The same is true for Bob Wilkens, the company’s fleet and luxury trailer manager, who used to work for the parks department in the city of Seattle.
“I observed Paul, Candy and Bob successfully managing people in stressful situations,” he says.
The company’s other three managers are Shirley Damian, sales; Heidy Martinez, billing; and Tim Brown, field service.
“The way we hire people to fit our culture is very deliberate, intentional and thoughtful, which helps us make great hiring decisions for managers,” Niccolls says.
Read more about Green Latrine in the December cover profile of PRO Magazine.
