IAM1434 – CEO Helps HR Leaders Get the Right People

Founder and CEO of Hire Talent, Fletcher Wimbush, has interviewed over 10,000 applicants, assessed tens of thousands more, and has presented to numerous business groups and HR leaders on best-recruiting practices based on his published content such as “Hiring Talented Team Players: a Guide to Getting it Right,” The Power Interview Guide, various eBooks, and thousands of articles.

• CEO Story: Fletcher is a natural homegrown behavior and assessment leader inherited from his father, continuing the legacy of helping the right people get onto the bus.
• Business Service: Enable people by teaching techniques and strategies and giving them tools to execute them.
• Secret Sauce: Human support as a Saas company. Giving the human touch gives strategic insight. Customer service and delivering your promise.
• CEO Hack: Planning and scheduling gives him freedom. Self-scheduling tools, people first.
• CEO Nugget: Refocus, avoid distractions, and keep the focus on one clear direction course of action.
• CEO Defined: Setting the direction, coaching, and enabling others to be successful in what they do, providing the tools.

Website: www.preemploymentassessments.com

Our Book Hiring Talented Team Players https://www.amazon.com/HIRING-TALENTED-PLAYERS

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE

Transcription

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!

Please Note: Our team is using the AI CEO Hacks: Exemplary AI and Otter.ai to support our podcast transcription. While we know it's improving there may be some inaccuracies, we are updating and improving them. Please contact us if you notice any issues, you can also test out Exemplary AI here.

00:26 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:53 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. Back on the show, might I say Fletcher Wimbush of Higher Talent Flet. Super excited to have you on the show.

01:05 – Fletcher Wimbush

Thank you, Gresh, for having me back, man. Looking forward to it.

01:08 – Gresham Harkless

Yes. Excited to have you back on. And Fletcher was on episode number 780 of the IMCEO podcast. So super excited to hear about all the things he's been working on and all the exciting things that he's doing to kind of help out the community. So before we jump in and do that, I want to read a little bit more about Fletcher so you can hear about some of those awesome things.

So, founder and CEO of Higher Talent Fletcher has interviewed over 10,000 applicants, assessed tens of thousands more, and has presented to numerous business groups and HR leaders on best recruiting practices based on his published content, such as Hiring Talented Team Players, A Guide to Getting It Right, the Power Interview Guide, various ebooks, and thousands and thousands of articles. And as I mentioned before, he's back on the show. So, Fletcher, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community again?

[restrict paid=”true”]

01:51 – Fletcher Wimbush

Oh, yeah. Thank you.

01:53 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Let's make it happen. He was born for this. So try to kick everything off. I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit here a little bit more on what you've been working on, what you've been doing since we last spoke and had you on the show.

02:04 – Fletcher Wimbush

Yeah, well, I think that's good timing. Yeah, I mean, it's been probably like almost two years, I think, maybe, and a lot has changed in our world. And so, I mean, we're primarily a talent assessment, so we help, organizations evaluate candidates in the hiring process, whether that be through some of these interviewing techniques that you mentioned. And that's where we spend a lot of time sharing that content with anybody and everybody, you know, to help them get better at that. But our core product is a talent series of talent assessments. We offer 30 different plus assessments and their behavioral aptitude, skill, and culture-based assessments ultimately also help facilitate the selection of the ideal candidate.

And as part of our journey, like many, our platform has to evolve. And probably right before you and I started connecting a couple of years ago, we began the journey of developing and redeveloping our whole delivery platform for helping our clients which ultimately turned into what we will call our discovered performance hiring platform which we're really excited about. It's just coming out of beta. So it spent the last year we've added 200 plus users to that platform and they're getting great results from that. And now it's getting pretty close to its official launch date and it's really exciting. But that tool really helps people not only just evaluate candidates, but also talent acquisition.

So collecting and managing the hiring process and then and then allowing people to use all our different talent evaluation tools. So it's not just our assessments but it's like automated reference checking one-way video interviewing interview guides or power interview guides and 72 other interview guides are all built in there and then ultimately a performance management piece. So once you collect candidates, you figure out who's going to be the ideal fit for you and then once you hire them, you have to provide them regular feedback, constructive feedback set goals, and help them maximize their potential. Right. So it's a really cool platform and we're really excited about it.

And the other kind of cool thing I was just talking about you mentioned Gresh is that on Monday we bought a company and it's called Integrity First and so it's a 40-year-old assessment. So it was a singular product assessment platform and they had many, many loyal followings. And we acquired that product, we'll be adding it to our lineup and it's got all sorts of cool things but it's really, really great for making sure that you find folks that who are going to be really ideal good team players and eliminating risky behaviors in the work workforce.

So as drug use, hostility, theft, and lying. So it's really squarely focused on that and it's great for anybody who has a large population of frontline workers essentially. So where unfortunately sometimes those risk factors, somebody driving a forklift stone can be a Problem.

05:12 – Gresham Harkless

Right, Right. Just a little bit. Yeah. No, I appreciate you sharing that. Kind of like the word that was coming to my mind is the word moat. And kind of how you've been able to. It sounds like, each of these aspects of these complimentary aspects of the business where it's not. It's not so much that, okay if you. If you find or read one, read your book or your ebook, you realize that you need to have talent. You realize that you need to hire talent, you need to do these things, but you don't know how to do it.

And then, oh, by the way, you have this behind door number one and door number two and door number three. So it sounds like you've been able to really. And I don't want to put words in your mouth, understand that journey that employers and especially have been, I imagine, disrupted during these times, but provide them the tools and information and knowledge so that they're able to be a success. Successful as possible.

05:56 – Fletcher Wimbush

Yeah. We think about it. We enable people by teaching them the strategy, and the techniques, and then we give them the tools to make executing the strategies and the techniques way easier. Right.

06:10 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that makes sense.

06:12 – Fletcher Wimbush

I always equate it to marketing. Right. You're a marketing guy. Right, Rush. So, there's. It's so complex. Right. And you. You've got to have the strategy, you've got to have the techniques, you got to know those things. You have to become an expert in them. And that is its own learning curve. But then you need the tools to make it easier. So I think like HubSpot or ActiveCampaign. Right. And those tools are, they got to be paired with that expertise to a degree. But ideally, a good tool like HubSpot, you know, I think, generally a pretty great tool. They have that whole learning database and bank. And so the tool, they're. They're also teaching you as you use the tool. Right. So we really love that model.

06:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I love that. And you hear so many times in business that sometimes when you come up with ideas or innovations or something, you guard it close to the chest because you don't want anybody to take those tools.

07:04 – Fletcher Wimbush

Yeah. These things are complex. Right. I mean, there's no. Just a simple silver bullet to hiring or marketing or maybe even sales or whatever it is. Right. And so, you know, the tools make it easier, but the strategy and the technique. Yeah. With that knowledge, also helps you strengthen your ability to leverage the tools that you have. So it's great. It's really fun.

07:26 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. I love that. So you told us a little bit about, you know, how you're serving your clients and definitely please let us know if there's anything that we didn't touch on that you do to kind of help support and serve the clients that you work with. But I wanted to hear more about what I like to call your secret sauce. And that could be for yourself, the organization now, or a combination of both. But what do you feel kind of set you apart and make sure you?

07:47 – Fletcher Wimbush

Yeah, I think as much as we are a tech-forward platform and we identify ourselves as a SaaS company again, I think it goes back to that educational aspect of it. We really embrace that very hands-on with our clients. And you see that throughout all our reviews. We have over 200 reviews across Capterra and Trustpilot 10 video testimonials and counting every day. The common theme is that kind of human support. And I see technology companies all the time and we all use different tech tools.

And I think for me, one of my big rubs always has been is like, well, I got to submit a support ticket via email and then they get back to me and they don't even answer my question. It's just so annoying. It's been over technologized. You know, when you're dealing with some complex matters like hiring or marketing or whatever it might be, you know, it's nice to have an extra human touch there where you're having a client success person really, you know, not, not just teaching you how to use the tool, but giving you that strategic insight as well so that you can bring all that together.

Right. So, you know, I feel that customer service, I grew up in running concession stands and selling hot dogs and breakfast burritos and espressos. And I was just, it was ingrained that customer service is like the most important thing in business or one of the most important things I think hiring is. But you know, but delivering, you know, on your promise to your customers is so important. And so we put a lot of emphasis on that. I think that's helped us have a loyal following, right?

09:31 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have. What's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

09:43 – Fletcher Wimbush

Okay. All right, here's like this is the first one that came to my mind. I probably have many, but so first of all, I'm like scheduling, like I'm So like, the schedule is. Sets me free. Right. You know, so you've got a million things going on in my life and at work. Right. By having everything planned and scheduled, it gives me freedom. Ultimately, it might seem constricting, right? You got all these appointments you got to go to, and my calendar is full or whatever.

But no, when I'm end of the day, I know I've done all my work, I know I'm completed with my tasks. I've been to all the appointments, I attended them. I did everything that I needed to do. And so I can shut off on the weekends or after work. And this leads to probably my. My favorite hack is just self-scheduling tools. Right. If you haven't discovered them yet, I really encourage you to do so. But I've also, I've kind of come up with my own way and how I use those, so. And again, thinking about people first.

10:47 – Gresham Harkless

Right.

10:48 – Fletcher Wimbush

In a sense, it's like it. Sometimes it feels a little disingenuous to be like, hey, Gresh, here's your book. A call. Here, use this link. It's sort of like me telling you what to do, kind of. So I always use this line in every single one of my communications where there's an appointment or a meeting to be scheduled, right? So I say, hey, Gresh, what would be some times that are good for you for us to connect this week? Question mark, Right. And then right below that I put if it's more convenient for you, I have this easy scheduling link that you can use. Right. So I reposition the Hey, Gresh, use this to book an appointment with me.

To put it into your terms. Like, hey, if this makes your life easier so that you don't have to, like, we don't have to go back and forth and, you know, you don't have to ask me a bunch of questions or I send you three times and you're not available. Like, you know, this is to streamline your experience of working with me as opposed to like, this is making my life easier. Right. And ultimately makes both our lives easier if they use it. Right.

12:00 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call CEO nuggets. So this is a little bit more word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It could be around, you know, all the awesome work that you do for clients, you know, what you've been able to kind of do with acquiring a company, or anything that you might tell your younger business owner.

12:14 – Fletcher Wimbush

Wow, well, that's a good one. You know, again, you know, people first I think is definitely A big one. But I think. I think focus. I mean, as I've gone through my entrepreneurial journey, every time we have refocused, you know, sometimes, you know, we have focus, we have direction, a clear path, a course of action that we're going down. But sometimes that can begin to fade and become more murky, right? So anytime we've done that where we said, okay, this is what we're focusing on, this is the problem we're going to solve for people.

This is how we're going to do it. And we're going to avoid distractions. Revenue just skyrockets every time we've done it. And we've had to do it a few times over the evolution of our company. Right. So I think that that's a key piece. I think as a young entrepreneur, we want to do all sorts of things. And, you know, there's lots of shiny objects, right? But we have to work on putting the blinders on and just point in one direction and keep laser-focused on it.

13:15 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Fletcher, now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping that different, quote, unquote, CEOs on the show. So, Fletcher, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:25 – Fletcher Wimbush

Wow. Well, you know, I think it, you know, I think of the E myth we're visiting, right? You know, you know, technician, the manager, the visionary, Right. In the early days and even today, you know, I still wear many of those hats. But, you know, as the business evolves and it grows, it becomes much more difficult to be. To be the technician. Right. And, you know, I really think that it is that, you know, it's setting the direction, it's coaching and enabling others to be successful in what they do and to a degree, of staying out of their way.

Right now, it doesn't mean that there's no, like, guidance or accountability necessarily, but it's, again, it comes back to that focus. Like, the more focus we can give to each person, each. Each role in our company, right? Then the more successful they can be in that role because we're not distracting them with things that are unnecessary. And so it's our job to be that visionary, to set those, to set the course and to continue to reinforce and then support people with the tools and the education and the things that they need in order to execute on their course of action.

14:44 – Gresham Harkless

Right?

14:44 – Fletcher Wimbush

So that supportive aspect of it, it just never does as much good or it's never done me much good to meddle too much in the details. Again, this doesn't mean that I'm perfect. I'm definitely far from perfect in this area. Right. But I'm constantly figuring out how to like, okay, you know, I just need to let them do what they do and kind of stay out of it to a degree and just give and provide the guardrails and then the tools that they need to be successful. Right.

15:14 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Fletcher, truly appreciate that definition. Of course, I appreciate your time even more. So what I wanted to do now was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know and of course, how best people can get a hold of you. Find out about your books, all the awesome resources and platforms, and the technology that you've been able to create.

15:32 – Fletcher Wimbush

Yeah, awesome. Well, you can definitely, you can check us out@thehiretalent.com or.IO so higher spelled H I R E from the pun there. But so there talent.com and their talent IO are great sites where you can check out some of our different tools and services. Each of those takes you to kind of the different platforms that we offer. Yeah, we have a couple of books on Amazon, so hiring talented team players. Just type that in. My last name is Wimbush, you can find that on Amazon, and then you find me on LinkedIn or Facebook. Always happy to connect there as well.

16:15 – Gresham Harkless

Well, Fletcher, truly appreciate that we're going to have the links and information in the show notes too, so that everybody can follow up with you. Thank you so much again, my friend, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:24 – Fletcher Wimbush

Awesome. Thanks. Gresh.

16:26 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

[/restrict]