Finding & Engaging people that will take you ahead (pdf)

Your business is made up of your team. They are your biggest asset. The work you do together and the decisions you make together will make or break your business. That’s why building the right team should be your top priority. Hiring the right people, motivating them, mentoring them, training them, and collaborating well are all necessary things you need to do to build the right team.

No matter how good your hires are if you defined the wrong position, you will end up hiring people who can’t add value to your company and can’t increase your chances of success. Their skillset will simply not match your needs regardless of how strong they are. This makes defining the positions you need to fill, with the right responsibilities and the right skill set, extremely important. Take this step very seriously.

1. Each hire has to have a core competency that your business desperately needs. Do not hire generalists who do not have a core competency. A much-needed core competency often results in more action. Also, hire people with a bias for action. People who get stuff done. People who build and ship often. You need to move fast.
2. Every hire needs to be a generalist to some extent. In business, everyone needs to be able to see the big picture, even while they’re working on the small building blocks. In addition to hiring those who are capable of that, try to foster it in your environment.
3. Every hire in a startup needs leadership potential. If you are an entrepreneur, you are used to assessing what needs to be done and then doing it, so you might take this quality for granted. Actually most people don’t work that way, and you can only afford to hire the people who do.

Look for employees who:

• Embody the company’s values.
• Work hard and work smart.
• Have the specific skills required.
• Learn quickly when new skills are needed.
• They are able to work with little supervision.
• Take the initiative to make things happen.
• Are you comfortable in the uncertainty of an entrepreneurial situation?
• Are flexible to business needs and changing requirements.

You can’t typically grow your business without growing the number of people with whom you work. Your success will depend on your ability to put together a team of highly qualified people who are committed to the goals and objectives of your firm.

If your business is in an early stage of growth, you will most likely be the person doing the recruiting and hiring. As your business grows, it will be important to hire the right top managers, as these managers will recruit and hire the staff. Plan a method for recruiting and hiring the very best people you can find. Such a plan requires four strengths:

• An understanding of how hiring will support your business strategy
• A philosophy of whom to hire and recruit
• An employment package that can entice superior employees
• A step-by-step hiring process that follows your state’s and federal hiring laws

Organizations with a solid business strategy are more likely to succeed, but they have to align their business operations to their strategy. Nothing is more important in this regard than your hiring and recruitment efforts. When you begin thinking about hiring, ask yourself why you’re considering it and make sure that your rationale is aligned with your strategic objectives.

__