All State Van Lines Relocation is a moving brokerage firm based in Margate, Fla., that coordinates residential and corporate moves and relocations nationwide. In the following interview with Presentation Solutions, All State Van Lines Relocation describes its hiring philosophy.

Presentation Solutions: A service company like All State Van Lines Relocation is so much more than its president or CEO, isn’t it?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Absolutely. Our employees are the ones meeting and serving customers. That’s why we take so much care in hiring.

Presentation Solutions: Tell us more about that.

All State Van Lines Relocation: Hiring the right person isn’t easy. We can train, but we have to find people who have certain natural talents and characteristics first.

Presentation Solutions: What would those be?

All State Van Lines Relocation: First, we’re looking for people who are honest. After an initial interview, we do an extensive background check, since All State Van Lines Relocation employees work directly with the public.

Presentation Solutions: What else do you look for?

All State Van Lines Relocation: We look for good previous employment references and evidence dependability. Someone who will not just show up for work but will actually do the job of serving customers. All State Van Lines Relocation is a service company.

Presentation Solutions: Is there a certain personality type you look for?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Everyone is different, but basically we want positive people who are focused on finding solutions, not complaining about setbacks or challenges. All State Van Lines Relocation is a “get the job done right” kind of company.

Presentation Solutions: I would think handling people’s personal items would require special care, right?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Yes, so we focus on training in a big way. All State Van Lines Relocation employees undergo training that molds them into expert packers and movers. It’s a science of sorts.

Presentation Solutions: What do you mean?

All State Van Lines Relocation: There’s a right and a wrong way to pack furniture and belongings. All State Van Lines Relocation has more than 20 years’ experience in getting it right, and we train our employees accordingly, using top materials and highest industry standard practices.

Presentation Solutions: Your employees probably have to make a lot of minute-by-minute decisions when moving an array of items.

All State Van Lines Relocation: Yes, and that’s where the character issue comes in. We look for people with good judgment and a desire to please customers. That’s why we also depend a lot on referrals from within our All State Van Lines Relocation staff.

Presentation Solutions: You mean hiring friends of your current employees?

All State Van Lines Relocation: The experts do say that’s a good place to start. People who know what the job requires are often good at figuring out folks they know who might be a good fit. But they still have to go through background checks.

Presentation Solutions: And networking sites?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Yes, they can be good for upper-level staff. But sites like LinkedIn are really just sophisticated referral sites—people who know people and can vouch for them.

Presentation Solutions: Why is this so important?

All State Van Lines Relocation: It’s a lot tougher on everyone to terminate someone who’s not working out than to make a good hire at the start.