This is the third and final part of my series on hiring for startups. Two weeks back, we covered the first step in the hiring process – how to identify and source the best talent for your organisation. And last week, we covered the evaluation process. I recommend reading those articles first for context before reading this final part, though you can read it independently too.
You’ve done the hard part. You’ve identified a great candidate. The team has spent a lot of time with them, and can’t wait for them to get on board. Then at the last hour, the candidate declines your offer, often even after initially accepting it, and decides to join somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this nightmare scenario is all too common in today’s talent scarce and capital-rich environment. A lot of people are chasing a small pool of talent which means that the best people often have the opportunity to take their talent elsewhere.
Sourcing and identifying talent is only half the battle. You must close the final link of hiring to increase the probability of your chosen candidates actually joining the organisation. You have to sell to them.
Thankfully always be selling is a credo most founders understand too well – and therefore, they would understand when I say that if you only start selling to the candidate once you have gone through the entire process, it may already be too late. Your entire process should be geared towards selling to candidates at each level
At sourcing
The first point of interaction someone has with your organisation leaves a lasting impression. That is why, when it comes to hiring, a well-drafted scorecard is so important. The clarity in the scorecard gives the candidate the confidence that the company knows what it wants and the problems they are supposed to work on.
As I touched upon in the piece on sourcing, it is also important to brand yourself as a good place to work. This does not necessarily mean that you have a ton of perks – it would be hard to compete on perks with larger companies. Rather demonstrate the enormity of the problem you are trying to solve, the independence that people get in solving them and rewards that come with a job well done. To alphas, this is much more important than any perk you could share.
During the interview process
How you treat people during the interview process is a reflection of how you treat people once they join the organisation. Are the interviewers well-prepared? Do they come to the interviews on time? Do they take the time to introduce themselves and make the candidate comfortable? Do managers and recruiters follow up with candidates in a timely fashion?
A well-run interview process impresses on the candidate that this organisation not only cares about the people joining it (intention) but also has the ability to run a smooth process (capability). Too often, startups line up mass hiring interviews and make candidates wait for hours while they run the process. Too often, they ghost on candidates after the interview. If you don’t respect a candidates time when you are wooing them, how likely are you to do it when they actually join you?
From offer to joining
Once you narrow down on a candidate, there are two large hurdles you have to cross – having them accept an offer that works for both parties and getting them to finally join the company. Both have their own challenges.
When it comes to accepting the offer, all that has happened before (in sourcing and interviewing) is very important. It is also important how you make him feel about the role at hand. Does he feel valued? Will he have the independence to make decisions and the space to grow? Will they have fun along the way? If the candidate feels wanted and excited about the role, they are much more likely to join.
The second important piece in this journey is agreeing on compensation. While this is a much larger topic than we can cover in this blog, you must do your homework before extending an offer. It is important to know how your salary and stock option packages compare with the companies that you compete with for talent.
As I have mentioned before, the best people tend to be in demand, tend to know what they are worth and bring much more to the table than an average person in their peer group. They expect the compensation package to reflect that. If they have clarity on what success means in the role and how much they can expect to gain if they are successful, it can even overcome some differences in expectations.
Once you have agreed to the compensation package, there remains a long and almost interminable period while the candidate serves out his notice period. However, you don’t have to make it more fraught than it already is. Schedule regular check-ins with the candidate – ideally by the reporting manager rather than the HR team. Keep them updated on what is happening at the company and how things are shaping up. Get them excited about what they are about to join. And then hope for the best.
After Joining
Even after the ideal candidate has joined the firm, you are still not done selling. The biggest failure point, especially for senior hires, is the first couple of months after they join. Unlike large corporates, there is no patience for months-long training periods in startups for new joiners. It is crucial to plan an aggressive integration for new team members that makes them settle in and helps them get up to speed quickly.
This is especially important for people coming in from a more structured or non-startup background, as can often be the case when you grow and start looking for specialists to join the team. In leadership roles at large corporates, you are typically gunning for 4-5 significant objectives every quarter. In startups, you could easily be handling 30 or 40 major initiatives in a quarter. If the incoming candidate is waiting for people to pull him into the thick of things, they will keep waiting. Any new joiner has to understand the rhythm of the organisation, roll up their sleeves and jump right in. A failure to integrate and give feedback early only sets up these candidates to fail.
So there it is – a comprehensive guide to hiring for startups. I have drawn from my experience working across startups at various stages and across different industries to bring together what I believe is a process that works. But as with all playbooks, you need to play around and build a method that works for YOU.
It is important to realise that each founder has their way of approaching hiring. For example, Jack Ma always insisted on hiring candidates who were a notch or two below the top performers in their schools. Given his experience of multiple knocks earlier in his own life, he always felt that toppers would get frustrated when they encountered the realities of business.
Similarly, you need to bring your understanding and reality to hiring. But whatever you do and however you do it, just realise that this is likely to be the most critical lever in building your business. So give it the respect and attention it deserves.
Hope you liked the article. For more of my musings on startups, books, and personal growth visit my site. If you like the content, do spread the word by liking, sharing and commenting. Thank you!
