CEO Hiring Secret

As a former maid turned CEO, Saya has a technique that always helps her company select the best-qualified candidates. She knows how people act when the lights are out, and no cameras are watching and uses this knowledge to her company’s benefit.

 

There are no problems, only opportunities to learn and grow.

 

I was once a maid but am now a CEO, so I understand human nature and how we can behave when no light and no camera is watching.

 I started my company, Look Good Services, a decade ago and found an excellent hiring technique that works every time. It’s pretty simple: I turn to a building janitor for the final interview to help us select the best-qualified human beings.

 My name is Saya, and I am the CEO and founder of Look Good Services in Lagos, Nigeria. I started my company out of necessity, and it has grown from one employee to 703 staff members and partners.

When I was twelve years old, both of my parents died in a house fire, and my older brother could not take care of me because he had his own family of six. Since I had nowhere else to go, my older aunt asked her daughter-in-law, Ma Ayi, to hire me to care for her children as she was already looking for a maid.

Ma Ayi was honest and told her she wanted an adult who could run the household.

Fortunately, my aunt convinced her to take me in, saying, "Saya can grow with your children, learn from you, and be a member of your family. My daughter, remember our culture. She is your daughter now. Invest in her, and in a few years, you will be proud."

When I turned eighteen, Ma Ayi took me in and promised to help me learn a trade. I was naïve and young; all I wanted was a roof over my head and food to eat. I didn’t once consider that she wouldn’t keep her word.

The Ayis had their own problems. They had five children under seven, so I worked from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. for nine years. However, those long hours and stress in the family gave me an idea for my own company. I will be forever grateful to my aunt and Ma Ayi for that.

My company provides janitorial services to businesses on Broad Street in Lagos. We also provide transportation for school children, maid services for children and seniors, and waste management for large companies in seven states. We also opened the first janitorial schools in the city to offer training and consulting services.

My company grew exponentially in the first few years, and I was in constant need of more managing staff.

Unfortunately, I ran into a hiring problem. During the first few years, whenever I was hiring a new manager, I would get stuck with two candidates I liked. Once, I even ended up tossing a coin to choose. Often, the selected, well-qualified candidate—vetted by a paid consultant—ended up not being a good fit with our company values.

With no other choice, we would let the candidates go, and the severance package cost the company a lot of money. This same hiring problem repeated itself a few times.

One afternoon, after letting one of the newly hired managers go, I thought long and hard about my nine years with the Ayis. I reflected on what happened to me when I was a home janitor, babysitter, cook, driver, and, let’s face it, a punching bag for my bosses and their children whenever they got mad.

I remembered.

When I turned eighteen, Ma Ayi did not keep her promise because she knew I would leave them after I finished my apprenticeship. Instead, she said, "I'll pay your salary until you turn twenty-five. Then you can go to a fashion school for two years. My friend who owns the school thinks you would do well, and I know you would be a great designer. You are so creative."

That was not the deal. I had my plan, and Ma Ayi knew I was ready to leave.

These events taught me something of great importance. Never tolerate people who treat you poorly—unless they feed you. You want to stay alive and learn great life lessons, after all.

The Ayis’ five children never lifted a finger to do anything in the house. I waited on them, and they insulted me just as their parents did.

Then, one Sunday, the oldest son took the insults even further. The worst happened.

He busted into my room in the middle of the night and tried to rape his slave.

This is the person I cared for almost a decade. He was seventeen and in college, and I still cooked and cleaned for him and his family. It was a known secret that maids were raped by bosses and their children. Is this how people reward the ones who care for them?

I was tired, but God gave me the power of David, and I defeated Goliath, causing a brawl in the house and throughout the neighborhood. I was furious, and I’d had enough.

To the Ayis' credit, they sent their first son to live in a boys' quarters from that day forward until I left their home. They tried to be nice to me after that. Ma Ayi allowed me to get my hair done and two hours free on Sundays to get out of the never-ending housework.

I knew I had to act on my plan immediately.

Before the failed rape attempt, I had spent years studying the Ayis and their neighbors. My mission was to become as successful as my bosses. I endured insults and sleepless nights and worked non-stop for eight people, sometimes ten.

So when I told her I would help the children from the car to the school compound as the driver usually had problems parking the car and walking the children to school, she told me that I would need to wake up at four to finish my morning duty before I could join them. I agreed to do it just s

Even with the pain and suffering, I noticed that my bosses had a better life than most people I grew up with. I promised myself that I would not be poor. And most importantly, if or when I succeeded, I would never treat people like they treated me.

On school days, I woke up at four, joined the driver, and dropped the children off. The driver, John, taught me how to drive within a few weeks. I also discovered that he was a kind person. He had a beautiful family and lived in our boys’ quarters with his wife and five children.

I had no idea how he and his wife managed the household with his monthly salary of twenty thousand naira. That is what Ma Ayi paid her two children’s tutors per week, and the tutor came to the house twice a week with a fancy car!

I was thinking, why? And so, I learned.

I knew how to drive. John was highly impressed and suggested I get a license, that is, if Ma Ayi did not mind. Ma Ayi didn’t want to hear or know that I could drive, and I didn’t care to tell her.

I’m a helper.

My bosses were away for their anniversary, and the driver got sick. I drove the children to school for three days without any issues.

When Ma Ayi returned, her children told her I could drive, and they would prefer me to drive them to school. She was impressed and paid for my driver's license. With my new driving skills, I was treated better—a step toward a better life.

My driving skills gave me freedom and a new job. For the first time, I could explore my neighborhood. I often said hello to a woman who was always friendly at her gate. I wondered why she was always walking around her entrance.

 One day, I stopped and spoke with the woman. She told me she was a widow, and her neighbors detested her because she rented her rooms out to people.

 "They are mad because my tenants are not as rich as they are, and they hate seeing many people walking down their golden paved road." She laughed. "I used to behave like my neighbors until my husband died, leaving me with massive debt. My tenants help me pay some of the bills, which keeps me alive."

The conversation led me to ask the woman who cleaned her yard. 

"I pay one man, but he is not doing a good job, and I'm looking for another person who can clean my compound with a smile on their face," she replied.

I asked how much she paid the person.

"Seven thousand naira a week. The fancy company I used to use charged me 11,000 naira per week."

I told her I could do the job for 5,000 naira per week. 

"You can clean my compound?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yes, that is one of my many jobs for my boss. Please, don't tell them, though."

She thought about it. "Okay, do it for six weeks, and if you do a good job, I'll refer five of my neighbors. My sixth referrer brings my fee to 3,000 naira per week. That is a win-win."

"Yes, Ma. That works, and I'll charge your neighbors 5,000 naira per week." I smiled.

She accepted the deal. " Call me Mary since we are business partners now. What is your name?"

"Yes, Ma Mary. I’m Saya," I responded.

I had nine compounds to clean within a few months, and I did a great job. All the owners even trusted me with their gate keys.

I had finally accumulated enough money to leave the Ayis, so I moved within nine months of starting my cleaning business. Ma Mary rented me a room, and Ma Ayi was furious. She threatened to sue Ma Mary but knew they would lose, so she moved on.

Over time, my business grew from me as the only employee to what it is today.

 After reflecting on my experience as a maid, I devised a hiring technique.

It was as simple as ABC. The number one thing l looked for in a candidate was that they were a good human being. Why? Because our company was a people business. Therefore, in the final round of interviews for a new managerial hire, we used a specific criterion for selection.

We had the best five candidates, with the same experience and qualifications we needed, come on the same day for the final interview. As they walked to the conference room for their last interview, I would clean the hallway wearing our company’s janitorial uniform—an apron, a hat, and gloves.

I’d first look for whether the candidate said good morning to me, the janitor. Most of them did not.

Then I’d consider if the candidate answered my own “good morning.” About half of the candidates would respond. Next, I’d notice who engaged in eye contact when saying hello. There were always only one or two candidates that would do this.

Finally, the candidate who engaged in small talk, asking about my work or family, would keep my interest. Consistently, only a single candidate did this, so the candidate was chosen. This candidate always stayed in our company until starting their own business.

This process always helped our company grow and save money. Rarely did we have any candidates that met this requirement.

Disclaimer

The characters and events in this story are fictitious. Any similarity to a real person, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by me.