Mountain West Motor (MWM) is a company started by my good friend Jake Casperson in Hyde Park, UT. What started as Jake purchasing cars in Canada and driving them down to Utah to post online and sell for a profit is now an autobody, detailing, wholesale, and resale company with 30+ employees. They were growing fast and didn’t have an in-house HR rep to help support the people operations aspect of their expansion. In other words, mo’ people, mo’ problems.
After chatting with Jake a few times and learning of the problems MWM was experiencing, I offered my assistance. He gladly accepted. I started by meeting with Jake and six of his business leaders for general feedback on HR-related issues that they wanted help solving. I’ve compiled these notes below.
Structure and Policy
Things were too lenient at MWM. Flexibility was an intentional perk of working for MWM, but many employees were taking advantage of this. People took long lunches and showed up late to work. Training, job interviews, and disciplinary procedures were unstructured and inconsistent. Most workers weren’t even sure what their job expectations were, and ended up leaving work early if they finished a project and their manager wasn’t around to provide further instruction. As is common with a startup, no policies, procedures, or job descriptions were written down on paper. This was primarily due to the fact that new jobs were invented each month, and jobs were continually evolving as the business’s needs and priorities shifted often.
I started with job descriptions, the foundation of any HR practice. Job descriptions are the base of so many other people-related functions, and I knew that starting with them would help everything else I did come together more smoothly. I spoke with Jake and got a general organizational chart so I knew which jobs were more standard and expected for the future. Next, I interviewed job incumbents and managers to compile lists of job requirements and responsibilities. I finally formatted these notes in official job descriptions with the sections Summary, Supervisory Responsibilities, Duties/Responsibilities, Required Skills/Abilities, Preferred Qualifications, Required Education and Experience, and Physical Requirements. I made job descriptions for an Automotive Bodyman, Automotive Painter, Detailer, Prepper, Title Clerk/Receptionist, and Purchaser.
One of the ways these job descriptions would be used would be to share with new and existing employees. I suggested Jake have each of his managers sit down with their direct reports with their job descriptions and discuss responsibilities and duties. It’s very common for job expectations to be miscommunicated and misunderstood in companies, and MWM was no exception. Having managers set clear expectations for jobs would clear up a lot of confusion and ensure all employees were staying on top of the most important tasks, and staying busy with other work when workloads lighten.
Next, I got working on an employee handbook. I pulled SHRM’s employee handbook template, removed inapplicable sections, and got to work filling things in. MWM needed written policies on breaks, discipline, dress code, and relationships. More importantly, they needed to communicate policies on drug and alcohol use, harassment, and safety to stay compliant with state and federal laws. With nothing written down or regularly communicated, MWM would be in a very bad spot if anything were to happen to an employee at work. I made sure everything was in the handbook to protect the company and its employees.
It was difficult finding ways to add structure to MWM without taking away from its flexible, laid-back work culture. We had multiple discussions about this, and I carefully adapted policies and procedures to this culture, all while keeping them compliant and safe. It’s important not to let HR paperwork destroy a work culture. Culture, after all, eats strategy for breakfast.
Recruiting
Jake was frustrated that he couldn’t the employees he needed to keep up with his growing business. He had job ads out but wasn’t getting enough responses to fill his staffing needs. With shiny new job descriptions, I committed to diving deep into their recruiting practices and finding all the ways things could change or improve. Turns out, this pool I dove into was only two inches deep!
One of Jake’s managers showed me how they were trying to recruit employees. I was blown away when I saw the one and the only thing they were doing – a single job post on Indeed with a two-sentence job description. The copy had typos. The job title didn’t match their org chart. Not a single thing was stated about the benefits of doing the job. Just something along the lines of “Seeking an automotive bodyman. $15/hr plus benefits.” That’s all.
I cracked my knuckles and got to work. I pulled out the job descriptions and did some copy/pasting and rewriting, as well as writing some new copy to highlight benefits and perks. I put benefits at the top, and “About MWM” at the bottom. I had a detailed job description. And I did this for each of the jobs Jake was hiring for. I also did some research into Indeed’s job sponsorship programs as well as other platforms he could look into, including KSL jobs and the universities job board. This was all I was able to do with the time I had with Jake, but it was just scratching the surface of the recruitment strategy. There’s always more you can do to source the talent you need. Fortunately, MWM’s jobs didn’t have many requirements and I was confident there were plenty of local job candidates that would do the job wonderfully, as long as MWM advertised the best way they could.
Onboarding and Engagement
Jake knew that he wasn’t getting the best out of his employees… Yet. They didn’t offer any on-the-job training, and employee onboarding was pretty much nonexistent. New and existing employees were set loose to do what they were asked, but nothing was done to really empower them to do their best work.
So first, I helped build an onboarding program. So far, MWM onboarding consisted of meeting with a team member for a run-through with their time tracking and payroll system, then getting buddied up with somebody for the week. I knew there was more that could be done to unlock the talent of new employees. Starting simple, mocked up a couple of single-sheet summaries of benefits and policies for a welcome packet, and established a program for meetings with managers and expectation-setting. These would ensure employees knew what their job was, what they were expected to do, and what they were getting in return. All essential things to know, which many employees up to this point really knew much about.
To further engage employees, I suggested they build and implement a management training program. Company culture lies with the company’s leaders, and hardly any training or assistance was provided to help managers help their direct reports. Not only would leadership training be offered, but also training on performance management and new policies set forth in the handbook. These trainings would help managers enable their employees to perform at their best and stay consistent with company policies.
Conclusion
I ended up moving away from Logan before I was able to see this project through to completion. But an entire HR strategy was suggested, and tools were provided to overcome the challenges MWM was facing when I first walked into their office. Concrete policies were built, stronger recruitment strategies were implemented, and solid onboarding and engagement programs were designed. All these strategies combined would protect the company, arm the company with needed talent, and provide said talent with the tools needed to succeed.
Thank you Jake for allowing me to consult your business, and I hope to finish my work soon!
