Hiring for Success

By Danielle Lirette,
Human Resources
ChampionsWay Inc.


It’s an exciting time at ChampionsWay, we are currently undergoing a significant expansion to enhance our ability to provide exceptional service to our customers and to facilitate our development of our next generation products. After hiring over 20 people in the last 4 months we thought we would share with you some of the lessons we have learned and provide you with some helpful tips we have come across in case you are considering the addition of a new member at your school.

Hiring for success is not always easy, especially when you are under tight deadlines to fill a position immediately. Here are a few steps to follow to successfully hire a new member to your team.

Start with defining the “core competencies” of the position. What attributes do you think are important to be successful in this position? Examples include: Detail oriented, Customer Service, Ability to problem solve etc. Keep in mind there could be hundreds of things you want to have in a team member, but to find somebody in a realistic amount of time, you need to be able to narrow it down to 5-7 main skills they need to have. Sometimes this is the hardest part, but figuring out what you really need in a person will help you to narrow in on the things that are the most important. Something else to keep in mind is that working in the Martial Arts industry is very unique and requires people who have the right character and integrity along with the core competencies to do the job. It is just as important to determine the “values” aspect of what you expect from all of your staff within your Organization so that way you ensure a “team fit”.

Then, create a job description of the “outcomes” you expect from this position. Outcomes, or responsibilities, should be stated as clearly as possible and should encompass the entire scope of the person’s responsibilities. So, rather than stating a duty like “Bring class reports out to Instructors”, say “assist Instructors in receiving any necessary information needed during classes” this way it encompasses the entire responsibility, not just the task and it allows a staff member to see the bigger picture of what is expected of them.

Once the core competencies and outcomes are defined, then you can build interview questions that specifically address each area. The best way to ask a candidate a question is “Give me an example…or Tell me about a time when you did…” This will focus on the experience they are bringing to your organization rather than hypothetical questions like “What would you do in this situation..”. Sometimes a hypothetical situation is good, but for most of us, it’s hard to know exactly what you would do until the time actually comes. For your reference, a sample interview sheet is attached for hiring a Student Manager & Front Desk person. ( Click Here )

After your interview you need to have a way to determine how a candidate rates according to your requirements. Keep this simple by rating them on a scale from ‘1 to 5’ or ‘1 to 10’. Sometimes you may need to find a way to test their knowledge and there are many ways to do this. If the position is financially related, there are many online testing centers that can evaluate mathematical abilities or other skills that candidates say they have. Another way is to have a practical scenario where they come into your school and you get them to show you their customer service skills in action. Really what you are doing is asking your candidate to show you that they can do what they say they can do. A word of caution is that not everyone performs well in a testing situation and the testing aspect should be only part of how you evaluate a candidate overall.

It can sometimes be disheartening when the quality of candidates you are interviewing are poor and you feel the sense of urgency to fill the position. If it’s one tip that you take away, please remember to Never Ever Compromise on what you are looking for! If you’ve done a good job of clarifying exactly what you are looking for, there is somebody out there to fill the role and it’s worth the wait to find them. If you hire hastily, it’s only a matter of time before they quit or you let them go and then you will have wasted your valuable time in training and teaching this person, only to have to start all over again.


Simply put, the best way to successfully hire someone is to first, know what you want. Secondly, be able to recognize those attributes when you meet somebody. Thirdly be able to make sure that the candidate can actually do what they say they can and lastly to be able to compare candidates to one another so you make the best choice. Hiring right, the first time will save you countless hours and thousands of dollars so take your time and enjoy the benefits of successfully adding people to your team!

By Danielle Lirette,
Human Resources
ChampionsWay Inc.