What you should look for in a second in command

You’ve spent many years building your business. Your culture is amazing. The employees in your organization are happy. Your customers are feeling the effects of all the great efforts you’ve created. Now it’s time for you to enjoy the fruits of your labor and take a much-needed vacation. But first, you’ll need to designate a Second in Command (SIC).

An SIC is the person that fits the criteria you deem fit to run your business when you’re not there. You would train this individual on your standard operating procedures and expectations until you’re confident that they could run your shop on their own — the real test of independence.

For some shop owners, this test is a difficult pill to swallow. They take that much-needed vacation that they’ve been putting off for the last year, but it makes them feel uneasy. They’re constantly watching the phone to see if they got any calls, until they finally give in and call the shop. Meanwhile, their wife and children are irritated and feel ignored and less important. These shop owners don’t trust that their SIC has it covered because they don’t trust that they’ve hired the right person.

In some cases, the shop owner’s suspicions are confirmed. They find out that the SIC does not have everything covered and under control at the shop. They call the shop and find out bad news: customers are upset, their lead tech is ready to quit, their service advisor needs help, or that their SIC only worked four hours that day. As you can imagine, their vacation is ruined, and they spend the rest of their week fielding phone calls and running the shop from afar.

So, how did this happen? The answer is simple. Chances are they didn’t hire the right person for the SIC position. And, the reason why many shop owners make this common mistake is because they don’t take the time to define and set their expectations. Then they don’t allow the new hire time to learn while the owner is still present in the shop to mentor them. To learn how not to let this happen to you, let’s listen to ATI Coach Bobby Poist explain how he mentors shop owners on dealing successfully with this extremely important position.

How to hire the best SIC     

The first step in hiring an SIC for your shop is to create a job description. Think about what duties your SIC will be responsible for on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis and write them down.

Once you have a job description you can interview potential candidates based on the criteria. You can also use this information to determine whether promoting from within is best. I urge you to consider whether any of your current employees would fit the job description and be effective in the role. You already know these individuals and have seen their track record of successes.

If none of your current employees meet your expectations, look outside your shop by placing an ad for someone with management experience among other qualities. You can use your job description to help write the ad as well as pre-qualify candidates before interviewing them in person. Knowing what you’re looking for will help you stay on track to finding the right person for the job.

Last, you should also create reference check questions based on your hiring criteria. A candidate with a good professional background usually comes with great references and no shortage of past employers that will gladly discuss their performance.

What to expect from a good SIC

The SIC’s main duty is to free you up to do the things you enjoy and allow you time to work on growing your business. You can’t do this if you’re tied up in running the day-to-day operations of your shop. In order to be the reliable support you need, a good SIC must be multi-faceted and possess the following attributes:

Good communicator. An effective SIC listens and communicates with their shop owner. They’ll understand what you want and regularly keep you updated. They possess good upward and downward communication skills, along with the ability to be an active listener on the team. Once you establish what’s important, the SIC can start executing your plan to keep the business moving in the right direction.

Empowered decision maker. One of the biggest complaints I hear from shop owners is that the shop can’t survive without them. Empowering SICs to make decisions is crucial to their success and your ability to have free time. SICs should be problem solvers and take the initiative to work toward overcoming daily challenges without being micromanaged. They can be more creative when they think of the consequences to their decisions.

Shared values. A shop can only be successful if it’s powered by the owner’s strategic business values. As a shop owner, you should identify what’s important to you and what made you successful. Understanding your strategic business values is very important and necessary for educating your SIC. This level of understanding is crucial to achieving desired results.

A drive to succeed. A good SIC will recognize where your shop needs to focus to be successful. They’ll take the time to work with employees and customers to achieve the best results. They’ll strive to make your shop look good and aim to please internal and external customers. Their goal is to identify areas of improvement and work to make it better. With your guidance, they'll come up with ways to keep the company in a healthy growth cycle.

So there you have it — the power to hire a good SIC is in your hands. Start with creating a job description to execute your hiring plan. Placing the right person in this role will make your business grow, and you’ll regain some of your own passion. The time and effort you’ve put into the business should allow you to reap the benefits of all your hard work. You’ll have added free time with your family as well. The time has come to start living the life you dreamed about all those years ago when you started your business!

Getting started

Once you have a good job description, the best place to start is with a great interview! If you are not sure of what you need to ask them, a great place to start is our Prospect Interview Questions. Instead of trying to think of what to ask once they are there, you can have these proven questions to get you started. These questions have been time tested and proven to be effective. Why not give yourself the edge you need to find the people that you deserve. To download your very own copy of these questions simply go to www.ationlinetraining.com/2019-09 for a limited time.