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have heard fails to ignite their enthusiasm they are invited to enjoy the refreshments
before leaving with Gerber’s sincere thanks for taking the trouble of coming. Those
who decide to stay are advised that they face an interview. The interview will be
carried out neither by Human Resource professionals nor by senior management. Their
potential colleagues will interview prospective members of the team and the
applicants will be asked only two questions:

n What excited you about what you have heard today?
n What is the contribution that you intend to make?

The applicants are advised, however, that they should take every opportunity to quiz
the interviewers so that they fully understand what will be expected of them, what it is
like to work in the company and how people are assessed and rewarded.

Please think about it for a moment. What do you really need to know about
people beyond that they share your dream and are clear about what they can and will
do to make it a reality?

Leaders who see merit in Gerber’s approach need to ask themselves the
following essential questions:

n Are we able to attract the best in our business to work for us?
n Do good people apply to us when we are not advertising vacancies?
n If we cannot attract the very best and if people don’t beat a path to

our door, should we consider a different approach?
n How might we improve on Gerber’s ideas and make them relevant

to our operation?
n Is the Gerber approach something that we could adapt and

adopt?
n Can I think of an even better approach?
n Are our vision and mission sufficiently inspirational to appeal to

the very best in our industry if they were to have no other
information than the written word?
n Do our values, vision and mission consistently get all our people to
the barricades when the chips are down?
n Do all our best people confirm that they are proud and happy to
work with us when talking to friends and families?
n Are we known in all the local bars and clubs to be the best
employer and the best company in the area?
n Do our best people stay with us in spite of constant attempts by
competitors to lure them away?
n Do we know whether competitors are trying to poach our best
people?

The best use of the best people 39