Hiring for a Startup in 2019

Hiring for a startup in 2019 can be quite a challenge. With unemployment, at record lows in 2019, recruiting and hiring highly skilled workers is challenging.  To gain insight into what it takes to hire great teams I attended a startup panel on Recruiting and Culture. 

The featured panelists included Cheryl Roubian, Head of People at Greenhouse Software; Kate Smith, Director of HR at Betterment; Sonia Mammen, VP Head of People at Movable Ink; and Debra Hreczuck, Head of People at Culture IQ. The panelists had extensive backgrounds helping grow and scale businesses. They offered advice that both startups and small businesses can easily implement. 

Keys when hiring for a startup in 2019

Stay Focused 

One common mistake that entrepreneurs make when hiring for their startup is staying focused. First and foremost know what the role and responsibilities are that you need before you start interviewing. A classic mistake is not clearly defining what the responsibilities are for the position you are hiring. Ultimately this leads entrepreneurs to often hire for the wrong position or not providing clarity to a candidate. Be clear in what you are hiring for and stay focused throughout the interview process. 

Have a Tight Recruiting Process

A startup with a tight recruiting process is more likely to identify, vet, and hire the right folks. You want to clearly define the recruiting process for a candidate and be able to make a decision quickly. Quality candidates are hard to find so being able to move quickly is important. In order to move fast must have a tight process based on the role and responsibilities, you are hiring. Your hiring process has never been more important than it is as a startup in 2019.

Referral Bonus

When it comes to sourcing high-quality talent your best resource is often your current employees. Offering a referral bonus will encourage employees to bring other people from their network to join the company. As a startup, this is a quick way to jump-start the recruiting and hiring process in 2019.

Diversity

There are many studies that show the importance of diversity. The more diverse companies perform better than their peers on average. As a startup recruiting diverse candidates starts with looking outside of your network. Your network typically comprises people that are similar to you thus it is important to expand your search. Examples from the panel include going to the communities, events, and colleges that are more diverse. Getting out and tapping into new communities and networks one crucial tactic. Another tactic is to ensure you interview a number of diverse candidates for each role. 

Employee Lifetime Value

You may be familiar with customer lifetime value. A measure of how valuable your average customer is to your business long-term. You can apply this same concept to your employees. Think about the inputs to get really high-quality employees and the output that exists from finding long-term fits. This concept also helps when thinking about training and investing in your employees. As a startup in 2019 hiring is a challenge hence the importance of investing for the long-term. The value of each team member rises as their employee lifetime value

On-boarding

When it comes to successful hiring and recruiting, it is important as a startup that you have a regular cadence. This tends to happen naturally with smaller teams. Yet as you scale it is important to have check-ins at the 30, 60, and 90-day mark. Early check-ins allow you to ensure proper knowledge and skill transfer, that you identify challenges early, and ensure cultural integration.

Resignation

When it comes to resignations understanding why as quickly as possible is imperative. You’ve spent a lot of resources on your employees and you don’t want to lose quality talent. Thus it is really important is to prioritize the why behind the resignation and work quickly to find a solution. Andy Grove in High Output Management talks about how this becomes your number 1 priority as a manager. Grove also highlights that time is not on your side so you must act fast.

Firing

When it comes to firing there are various different philosophies. One important piece is that it must be clear that it isn’t working out. You should always document your conversations and communications about an employee’s quality of work. There must be an opportunity for an employee to improve and proper guidance to help them succeed. You’ve spent a lot of resources to hire and train this individual. Therefore you want to ensure you’ve given them every chance to succeed. If you struggle with providing quality feedback or having difficult conversations, check out Radical Candor.

Implementing these best hiring practices as a startup in 2019

While the challenge of hiring quality talent is difficult for a startup, the above strategies will give you a blueprint. In order to effectively compete and scale quality, talent is crucial to your success. As you put your team in place hone in on marketing, product development, and raising venture capital. You will be faced with tough decisions that no amount of reading or studying will prepare you for (just ask Ben Horowitz). Check out the linked posts for additional business building tools. Good luck on your entrepreneurial journey of building a successful business.

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