Ultimate Guide to Hiring The Best Team for Your Startup by Eder Holguin

www.recruiter.com

The Ultimate Guide to Hiring

Best Team for

The

Your Startup Anne St. Hilaire

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inside Intro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 What Should You Be Looking for in Potential Candidates?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Remember: Hiring Will Change as Your Startup Grows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 How Can You Get the Best Candidates to Work With You?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

When your startup is just getting off the ground, you need to make some careful hiring decisions. You probably don’t have the resources you need to hire all the employees you’d like to hire. Instead, you have to prioritize. So, where do you start? Who do you hire first? How do you convince great candidates that your startup is the company to work for? If all of these questions seem familiar to you, you’re not alone. It’s tough to determine how to go about hiring for your brand new company - but we’re here to cover everything you need to know about growing a team of hard-working individuals who want to push your company to the next level. Here are some important things to consider...

What Should You Be Looking for in Potential Candidates? Based on “6 Must Have Qualities for a Startup New Hire” by Kazim Ladimeji

There has never been a more exciting time to be

But, the entrepreneurial dream does have a dark underbelly. Startup failure rates are, of course, high,

an entrepreneur. In fact, being an entrepreneur has

with reports suggesting UK three-year failure rates

moved from the status of ‘mad scientist’ to officially

to be around 30 percent, and in the U.S., these three-

cool, thanks, largely to a string of explosive

year failure rates are at 44 percent.

entrepreneurial success stories that now dominate the media, many of which now hold lofty positions

So, entrepreneurs have a lot of things to get right

in the Fortune 500.

when starting and managing their business idea to ensure success, one area of which is the hiring of top

Banks, angel investors, venture capitalists, celebrities,

talent, which can be a key differentiator in those

TV personalities, TV shows—and everyday folk who

critical early years.

have accumulated wealth during the recent boom years—now queue up to seed fund the next powerful

But it’s not just about finding top talent, it’s about

start-up. In the US, SMEs now account for nearly half

finding people that are culturally suited to that

of GDP and 85 percent of the jobs created in the

unique, energetic, random, chaotic, post crash,

EU between 2002 and 2010 came from SMEs.

generation two startup environment where there is now a more cultivated expectation of real

ideal qualities you should be looking for in your startup recruits to help maximize your chances of realizing your dreams. 1. Flexibility There may be a lack of established processes and procedure in a startup and the environment can become chaotic as you turn left, then right and then left to respond to customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs and a changing marketplace, which you may be acutely sensitive too at these early stages. Change will be constant in a success as opposed to just overinflated valuations

startup environment and employees who are not

and futures that never arrive. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s startup

flexible and adaptable will struggle to be effective in

environment, talent must have more than just ideas,

a startup; so, always hire candidates who are open

passion and energy; it also needs commercial

to change.

thinking, calculated risk taking and an unswerving focus on delivering tangible results against an agreed

2. Customer and Interpersonal Skills

business plan.

We live in a world of mass customization; customers are more sophisticated and fussy and want products

To help employers and recruiters who may be

and services that are more tailored to their

staffing up for a startup, we have set out a list of six

preferences. This means organizations are having

ÂŠ2015 Recruiter.com | The Ultimate Guide to Hiring the Best Team for Your Startup

to become more customer focused and become

4. Creativity

better at communicating with customers and

In a startup environment, there will be very few

understanding their needs. If smaller firms are to

established procedures and you’ll be facing many

compete with bigger firms in these area, they need

internal and customer problems for the first time.

all hands on deck, meaning all employees must be

You’ll need employees who are used to solving

able to effectively engage with customers. There’s

problems and coming up with original solutions

no hiding place in small companies. Always hire

and, they must be capable of doing so with limited

employees who understand the customer and who

resources. Problem solving and creativity are key

you can take or even send to see a client if need be.

skills that you should screen for.

3. Loyalty

5. Passion for What They/You Do

Loyalty takes on a disproportionately large

In a startup environment, you might not have all the

significance in a smaller company. If a company

correct HR procedures in place to motivate your staff,

of 50 loses one person in a year, it loses 2 percent

yet you’ll need them to be completely driven. Try

of its workforce. Yet, a company of five loses 20

and hire people who are borderline obsessive about

percent of its workforce, seriously eroding its ability

what they do, that is they spend their days and nights

to deliver against client commitments. Loyalty is

thinking/doing it, and then all you really need to do is

one of the most important qualities to look for in

channel it. This kind of raw passion can be the engine

a new startup recruit.

of startups.

6. Can Be Channeled and is Commercially Focused

delivering a usable, customer-focused end product

The quickest way to burn through your seed funding

at some discernible point in the near future. You must

without return is intense, uncontrolled creativity

find enthusiastic talent, which can be channeled.

without any short, medium or long term focus. This, of course, works for a while but canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go on for ever.

Although we understand that you may not be able to

And there is much less patience for it in this post-

get the perfect balance of each of these qualities in

crash generation 2 startup world. So, while it is

an individual person, at the very least you should be

important to hire passionate and creative people,

able to generate a balance of these qualities across

also make sure they are, to some degree,

your entire team.

commercially minded and understand the value of

ÂŠ2015 Recruiter.com | The Ultimate Guide to Hiring the Best Team for Your Startup

Remember: Hiring Will Change as Your Startup Grows Based on “Hiring the Right Employees for Every Phase of Your Startup” by Matt Faustman

Hiring the right employees is crucial to your startup’s

These initial employees will be developing your

success. It’s important to know the type of worker

mission statement, product, business processes, and

you need for each specific stage of your company’s

more. They are the inventors, designers, and R&D

lifecycle, as your company’s growth will rely on

types who have experience developing new products

different traits and strengths as it grows. Here’s a

and businesses, as well as the confidence to take on

simple guide to hiring the right employees for every

projects themselves with little to no supervision.

phase of your startup: Stage 2: The Managers, Builders, and Improvers (11-50 Employees)

Stage 1: The Jack of All Trades and Individual Contributors (1-10 Employees)

At this stage, you’ll need people who can grow your

The onset of a new business is the most volatile stage.

business at a fast pace and manage the rapid rates

Your team will be dealing with the highest levels of

of change that accompany launching a big new

uncertainty, and the challenges you all face will

product or service. I’d advise looking for managers

change dramatically on a day-to-day basis. Thus,

and builders — people who can take the initiative

at the beginning, you’ll need to hire people with

and who demonstrate strong organizational skills.

versatility — those who thrive on creative problem-solving and strategizing.

Since you’re a startup and are building your business

structure to your company’s systems, improvers

from scratch, it’s best to catalog certain aspects of

can enforce direction and stability by eliminating

your business as you grow. All of the nitty-gritty work

unnecessary bureaucracies and gridlocks. The best

should be documented and organized so that when

candidates for these improver positions are detail-

new employees are onboarded, they have a solid base

oriented and will deliver exceptional customer service.

of knowledge from which to learn right off the bat. Stage 3: Experienced Managers and Specialized Contributors (50-200 Employees)

In addition, you’ll also likely need improvers — people

One of the many upsides to this stage (if done

who understand how to reengineer and enhance

correctly) will be your ability to predict your business

inefficient processes; people who can ensure your

needs further in the future. This means you can start

growth remains sustainable. By adding scalability and

hiring qualified managers — people who can follow established processes and who have histories of repeated task execution at high-quality levels. It’s also best to hire in-house counsel and contractors to build the executive team. This in-house staff can help you accomplish specialized tasks in an efficient and knowledgeable manner once they’ve been integrated with your team and understand your business and legal needs.

Stage 4: Specialists (200+)

look far outside of your established employee

Once you’ve made it to this stage of your business,

networks to find the right candidates.

you’ll need to start hiring much more specialized employees. Hire a VP of talent, along with specialized

Throughout every stage of this process, remember

recruiters for each company division; public relations

this: at no point can you compromise on hiring the

and social media specialists are also great additions to

absolute best people for the job, nor can you sacrifice

your business, and they can develop the company’s

building great company culture in the process. It may

brand and image in a variety of spaces and platforms.

take a while to hire the right people, but these people

This stage is the most difficult to hire for because

are going to ultimately be the determining factor in

you’ll need people who can accomplish highly

whether or not your business succeeds. So put in

specific tasks (and do them well). You may have to

that work — and good luck!

How Can You Get the Best Candidates to Work With You? Based on “How to Hire the Best Startup Team” by Keith Griffin

Startups can be a tricky hiring environment. You need

Hone Your Time

to balance hiring good employees and workers who

Katie Hughes, director of talent at VC firm Draper

have an entrepreneurial spirit. Melding the two to form

Fisher Jurvetson, told TechRepublic the top hiring

the best startup team might be harder than you think.

challenges are, “Lack of time and a less-thaninspiring story.”

TechRepublic.com says, “The team behind your idea is the most important piece of the startup puzzle. Once

What that comes down to is enabling others in your

you choose a great co-founder and go as far as you

company to do the recruiting for their departments.

can with just the two of you, it’s time to start building

“Referral programs, function-specific recruiting

the rest of your team. If you are a non-celebrity

teams and consistent feedback metrics are cost-

entrepreneur, you will have to do some determined

efficient ways I’ve seen founders offset recruiting

recruiting to convince the right people to fill the

responsibilities by empowering their employees,”

roles on your team.” Unless you’re Dr. Dre or Kim

Hughes said.

Kardashian, keep reading.

TheGlobalRecruiter.com offers some good

people to drink your particular batch of Kool-Aid is

perspective on hiring that is relevant to startups.

one thing, but you also have to acknowledge that

“Very few companies have any effective means of

they have something to lose,” the article points out.

working remotely or of capturing information at meetings with candidates … Firms that build a

There’s also more to employment than Foosball

portable IT resource that is fully

tables and free cappuccinos. As

compatible with, and connected

TechRepublic observes, “As you hire,

to, the main office infrastructure

focus on the personal and

will save hours,” the article says.

professional growth of your employees. This is the best way to

Be prepared to get out of the

show employees that you care and

office to recruit. Just make sure

that you see the value they add to

you have the right tools with you

your team.” There’s a need to make

to make the process time efficient.

employees, especially at highturnover startups, want to stay there

Experts also say that it’s important

for the long term. Turnover is always

to stick to your guns when hiring. Don’t settle for

disruptive but even more so at a startup company that

people who meet 90 percent of your needs because

more than others needs consistency during its volatile

that is 10 percent below your company’s needs.

first year.

Good Benefits

One good example of personal growth would be no

“Startups are risky for everyone involved. Convincing

vacation policy. That doesn’t mean no vacations for

employees but, instead, allowing employees to take

employees a budget and let them find what works

time off as needed with the understanding that their

best for them.

accomplishments justify the policy. Make Hiring for Your Startup Enjoyable The no-vacation policy goes back to the point that you

All in all, hiring for your startup can be a challenge, no

hire people who are 100 percent in sync with your

matter what positions you are looking to fill. Startups,

organization’s needs and culture. You’re not going to

like many other organizations, have to look at many

hire slackers who abuse the vacation policy and they

factors when it comes to a desirable candidate, such

will appreciate your trust in them.

as keeping up with ever-changing work environments, transferable skills, and a work history that proves they

Another benefit to consider is free food from

are the right fit.

breakfast through dinner and including snacks. An obvious benefit is it keeps employees at the office

But if you make sure that you are pinpointing the

and, ideally, eating nutritious food instead of fast-food

right strengths and looking in the right places, finding

fare to keep employees healthy. Plus there’s the added

hard-working and innovative individuals to join your

benefit of freeing up their personal time. Errands can

team will be an attainable (and even fun) task. You

be accomplished during time spent packing lunch or

will find that in your recruiting you will meet many

buying it. It makes for a less stressful personal life.

individuals that can help your company grow and connect you with the right people, which makes the

Finally, one last benefit for professional growth would

entire process worth it. Use these tips when hiring for

be putting the right tools in employees’ hands. Don’t

your startup and you will see a strong, dedicated and

enact a top-down policy on acquiring technology. Give

passionate team form right before your eyes!