Here’s a short version of my hiring process and how I choose who I hire.

The general principles apply to everyone, but the details focus on hourly employees who work the counter.

As Always, Preparation First

Create a web form on your website. You have two conflicting issues. You want as much information as possible to help you with your hiring decision, but the longer the form, the fewer people fill it out. At least get the identifying information like name, address, e-mail address, phone number, etc. Ask for work history for 2-3 jobs. Ask about games or game categories of proficiency. I like to ask this part as an open-ended question instead of radio buttons. Random people with no knowledge of the hobby can press a button, but they have a harder time making up names for categories they don’t know.

I do not ask for resumes for hourly employees. Preparing a resume is a lot of work for a job that doesn’t pay very well.

Refer everyone interested in applying to the online application.

Avoid paper applications. If you lose them, then you might be exposed to a lawsuit for discrimination. Crew who collect applications might not pass them on to the appropriate person out of carelessness or maliciousness if they see the applicant as a competitor. If your application process is online, then you avoid all these issues. Applications stay in your e-mail and you can create a folder specifically for those e-mails so they’re easy to find when you need them.

Advertise the Position

Post your interest to your social media channels. Monitor these posts for comments. Some people might ask for clarification that allows you to improve your posting. Others might want to apply but missed the critical link and need more direction. Some people might post negative experiences that you can address or remove as necessary.

Also post notice in the store. Your in-store signs should include a QR code that links to the application. Some people decry them, but QR codes provide an immediate connection to the application and increase the number of applicants you receive.

The First Filters

After collecting the applications, review them, looking for exclusions.

• Reject anyone not legal to work in the US
• Unrealistic salary expectations are an automatic rejection
• Applicants without the skill set I need are excluded

Most people with the right skills get an interview because you learn far more about a potential employee by talking to them than you do by reading an application.

Other retailers minimize the importance of game knowledge because they expect to teach it as part of their training. That’s a perfectly valid approach. I’ve had exceptional salespeople with little gaming experience.

Schedule availability is another possible filter. If they can’t work the needed shifts, then it doesn’t matter how good they are. I have a great deal of flexibility on this point, but some things are locked in. My chief Magic person must run Friday Night Magic, for example.

The Interview: Introduction

Aim for privacy. If you don’t have an office, that might mean interviewing before the store opens or at a restaurant nearby. If you are at the store and have staff already, make sure you won’t be interrupted.

My interview process is simple. I engage in brief small talk to make the applicant comfortable. I’ve been on that side of the desk, and I know people can be nervous. Afterward, transition to the formal part of the interview with clear language.

Start by telling the applicant about the job. Explain their role in the company and how it interacts with the rest of the company. Also, describe their expected duties, and tell them what will make them successful. For example, I tell them “We are ‘shippers. We bring people together to play games. If you’re doing that, the rest comes naturally.”

Interview Questions

Ask about retail experience. I want to know about merchandising experience and customer interaction experience. I’ll teach these skills anyway, but it’s good to know their starting skill level and willingness to perform the required tasks.

If no retail experience, I ask them about other customer engagement experience. It’s the more important part of the job, and I want to give them a chance to say yes, they have that experience. If they keep saying “no,” I don’t want them to get dispirited and give up mid-interview.

Second, I ask them about their game experience. For one thing, that’s a skill I want from them. For another, they become animated when they talk about their passion and talk. The more they talk, the better opinion I can form. If they trash-talk another faction, that’s a negative, but it can be trained out. If they exaggerated their game experience on the application, I’ll notice it.

For my Games Workshop expert, I want them familiar with the factions. I ask them what armies they play for what games. I ask them if they paint their miniatures. If so, I ask if they’re comfortable with the idea of conducting a painting workshop. I watch for their reaction and their body language. If they shrink away from the idea of being the center of attention and leading a crowd of people, they’re not the person I need for a customer-facing position in a game store.

For a RPG expert, I ask what games they play. Do they run games? Do they use miniatures and terrain, theater of the mind, or a combination?

Other Topics

In all cases, I ask if they’re part of any communities—Meetups, Facebook groups, Discord servers, or in-person club. I ask if they attend any of the local game conventions. I want to know about their network. Can they introduce me to a new one in which I’m not already involved? Can they bring the store to the attention of a large group of players at once?

If they have no answers for any of these questions about gaming or related work experience, I ask them to tell me about previous work experience or work-like experience for a first job. I really want them to talk, and what they talk about doesn’t matter at this point. I watch for their comfort level while recognizing that they’ll be more relaxed with co-workers and customers than they are with a potential employer.

My interviews tend to go quickly. I know what I want to see and hear, and I can quickly tell if an applicant doesn’t have those talents.

This focus on a few short topics focuses the interview, but it also helps me avoid asking questions that could expose the company to liability. Here’s a brief guide regarding some of those questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtAmHJOgnuw

Solicit questions from the applicant when you’re done with your questions. If you have not discussed wages, that’s by far the most common question at this stage. Take note of common questions and integrate their answers into your routine.  

Thank the applicant for their time and give them a deadline for a reply. “I have more interviews scheduled, so I can make a decision today, but I plan to make a decision Friday.”

Follow-Up

Check references. An application doesn’t tell you if someone was fired for theft or violence in the workplace. A former employer might not tell you those things—but they might. It’s worth asking.

I once had an employee who turned out to be terrible. I won’t provide details, but it was like a horror story of badness. When he left me, he went to work at my bank! I called my bank to candidly discuss the cash discrepancies on that person’s shift. They said that he had already raised red flags and implied that they would terminate his employment. If someone had alerted me the same way, it would have saved me a great deal of trouble.

Calling that former employee’s current employer involved a degree of liability. I didn’t say anything I couldn’t support with evidence, but defending myself in court against a lawsuit could have been costly. In this rare case, I considered it worth the risk. The point of the anecdote is that checking into past employment could have led to a better hiring decision.

For most positions, I don’t care about education. If I did, I’d We’re not doing science or a specialized trade. You don’t need to demand certifications.  

The Decision

I look for people who bring unique skills to the company. I want an applicant who makes my company better.

For standard counter positions, I hire category experts. My must-haves are

• Magic expert
• Games Workshop expert
• Roleplaying games expert

This mix matches my sales by category. If my top 3 categories were different, my hiring priority would be different.

Note that your skills count. If you’re a 40k guru with 10 armies and an Imperium tattoo, you might not need to hire a Games Workshop expert. If you are never the primary person on the cash register, then your staff must represent all the skills among themselves.

I hire others as needed. If my Games Workshop person can double as a board game expert, then that category gets less priority with the next hire. Once I cover all the necessary skill sets, additional hires should have skills and availability that complement existing skills in a proportion that supports the community.

I also take into consideration additional skills that a company needs. Someone skilled at social media can expect to take on a larger share of that burden while also helping to reinforce my training of the rest of the staff.

The Paperwork

If you use a payroll service, they’ll handle all the paperwork. Direct new employees to create an account and submit the appropriate information. I recommend using a payroll service because the liability transfers to them.

Popular credible payroll services include

• Square Payroll
• Gusto
• Paychex
• OnPay
• Justworks

I’ve only worked with the first three, but they all do what you need. Compare current prices, make sure they do what you need. If all else fails and one doesn’t work well for you, it’s easy to switch.

If you are doing everything manually, ensure the employee is eligible to work in the United States. The form for this process is the I-9. You can download it here: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9.pdf.

Notifications

After you conduct interviews and make the decision, inform the chosen applicant and schedule their training. Inform them of anything they need to know to start working—uniform standards, where to park, what time to arrive, etc.

Tell the other applicants that you have made your decision and that they were not chosen at this time.

I have—on rare occasions—been so impressed with more than one applicant that I created a new job to bring both people on board. If you can afford that, great! You have discovered a treasure.

Once you have them on board, it’s time to train them.