Have you ever gone through a cycle of hiring and firing the wrong people, frustration of losing months of precious time, unfinished projects and unhappy clients? Did you think that its all because “some people just don’t get it”?
Unskilled interviewing and poor decision making in hiring people make teams weak and this is one of the key reasons why 60% of startup fail.
So if you’d like to start with avoiding common mistakes here are some.
HIRING A RECOMMENDED “GOOD GUY” – while recommendations are very good for recruiting process and sometimes bring fantastic people to the team, taking people onboard just based on someone’s recommendation is a risk. The same person could be a great addition to one team in one business, but when hectically placed in a different environment she or he may not deliver. Source and consider more than one candidates who fit the basic job requirements, involve other internal skilled interviewers, and make a joined decision to hire the best fit.
SELF MADE over SCHOOL DIPLOMA – some companies totally ignore the educational background and some still want to make sure that everybody in the team comes with honors from top schools. Both approaches can be good or bad depending on the profile of the business. Using one of them as a “company policy ” is not a good idea. Start your recruitment with a good plan, good company structure and a VERY good job description . Choose based on the blend of technical and soft skills, both are equally important.
SPEEDY HIRE – Facebook, Linkedin and other social media are great sources of talent. However you are bound to look at many inflated titles or unaccomplished achievements there, so be very careful not be tricked into a star, that will burn your business . It happens a lot under time pressure. Wrong hire costs time – does’t save time. Plan your selection process and stick to it, just like to every other process you want to be followed in your business.
USING COVID-19 AS AN EXCUSE TO UNDERPAY – startups usually work on very small budgets and in times of crisis a lower pay is commonly understood and accepted, but going really cheap, and taking advantage of people under economic pressure will most likely backfire soon. As soon as the new team members realize that this was the case, they will use you as a trampoline to the next great opportunity, and you will have to start from scratch . Only this time its going to cost a lot more. If you found the great person – value and respect her. Pay fair and make the compensation policy clear and transparent .
I’M OK , I USE HEADHUNTERS – using the search agents or executive search firms is extremely helpful and saves a lot of time. If you can afford it, it is not a mistake to ask for their help, but it will be a big one, if you delegate the final decision to the external consultant. The moment when you have to chose between the last two, or worse, three, candidates of which none has 100% of what you were looking for, the hiring decision is difficult but it must be made by you – the truly skilled founder. Be prepared, prioritize, identify areas where you can compromise – i. e areas that you can develop while having her/him in the team, but ensure that you are investing in the strong and well proven blend of soft and technical skills that your business needs.
Startups which survived last 4 months and still plan on “growing like crazy”, are in a perfect position to hire brilliant people now. However, hiring in such times can lead to neck-breaking decisions or painful mistakes, that are very expensive in the end. These 5 common mistakes are a result of lack lack of important skills. Hiring great people and building strong teams is the skill that Investors look at very closely; they often care less about the product or the innovative idea, than about the founders ability to grow the business with fantastic people. This alone should make hiring skill one of the most important priorities for founders and make them devote a lot of time on developing it with experience.
What are your observations – anything you would add?
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