It seems fitting to discuss, as the calendar rolls over into October, a month traditionally associated with spooks, scares, and Halloween, one of the most frightening parts of business an entrepreneur can face. Accountability is, for the entrepreneur, an interesting and odd concept.  Unlike the work force of the majority, it is not often that the entrepreneur has a boss to report his success or failures back to; it is much more common that the entrepreneur is the boss, the one with whom the buck stops, and to whom all other employees are ultimately accountable.  Within this framework, and the lack of direct and obvious accountability an entrepreneur has to any one person, it is easy to unintentionally invite a host of problems into one's business.

This is certainly not to say that accountability does not exist in the entrepreneur's business and role in some sense.  The entrepreneur is accountable for his decisions, his vision, his success, and, as he is the one in charge, he is accountable for the overall success or failure of his business.  At a glance, one might believe that this burden, the heaviest of any in the organization, would be sufficient to keep the entrepreneur on track.  Often times, though, this is not the case.  Truly, the entrepreneur knows, in the back of his mind, that their decisions impact the business, and that if success is to happen, as the old adage goes, "if it is to be, it's up to [him]."  Why, then, do entrepreneurs seem to let this fundamental truth get away from them?  Why do entrepreneurs not achieve the levels of success they are capable of?

A lack of accountability to a singular person, such as a employee has to his boss, creates a disconnect in the feedback or effect caused by any action (or inaction, as the case may be).  When the entrepreneur has to steer the company, he is considering a wide plethora of options and decisions, on top of trying to manage the day-to-day activities that fall upon his plate.  The lag between decisions (or non-decisions) that have more subtle impacts creates a situation wherein the entrepreneur, too busy with everything else he has to do and lacking accountability to any single person, does not tend to track the data on cause and effect.  Consequentially, the entrepreneur is not working on the high-level executive decisions he should be.  It is a sloppy game of guess-and-check, and the results are predictably subpar.  Rather than continuing to accept the inconsistent or seemingly random results of your business, this October, force yourself to find the time to become accountable to yourself.  Track metrics and data, follow up with yourself on decisions you have made, and act as your own boss, demanding that your work be effective and efficient.  And of course, if you find yourself at a loss of where to begin, BMI is there to help; our HR team can create report cards to help you track your crucial data, and our VIPs Group is to hold you accountable.

If you are looking to build the ultimate dream team for your organization, look no further. The entire fate of your business depends on creating a team that will boost your organization's productivity and livelihood. If you are in the startup process and are ready to start assembling the perfect team, keep reading. There are certain steps you need to take to ensure stability and a bountiful future for your company.

What To Consider Before Gathering Your Team

You need to start by identifying the positions on your team. This first step has to be done far before beginning the hiring process. The founders of the organization are some of the most important team players, especially when it comes to ultimate decision-making and policy creation. Before you hire anyone, you and your co-founder (if you have one) need to discuss who will make which decisions for your startup. From there, you need to plan out which positions you will need to fill immediately.

During startup, the most important positions to fill include:

• Marketing and sales

• SEO

• Account management

• Project management

• Programming

• Human resources or management generally

There are several additional positions you may need to fill based on the type of business that you have. In fact, that was a very short list of positions that you might need to fill. Keep in mind, you’ll want to find people who are professionals at the tasks that you need completed. 

Last but very much not least - you need to prioritize your financial situation and make sure you have the funds to support each team member you decide to hire.

Right Before The Hiring Process  

You may have heard the phrase “hire slow, fire fast.” Though this is bold and brash, it works exceptionally well for startup organizations, and you need to keep this in mind before finding the right candidates. First and foremost, you don’t want to settle for someone who isn’t the right fit for the team. Take your time to consider the people you want to bring onboard. It will end up costing you more in the long run if you hire someone that you have not fully evaluated. Spend some time on the recruitment process, and you may be able to avoid constantly replacing people who are poor fits.

So, what’s the “fire fast” portion all about? It’s exactly how it sounds. 

If you recruit a team member that turns out to be a bad fit, you’ll want to simply pull the plug quickly rather than have them continue making potentially company-threatening mistakes month after month. On top of that, the cost of keeping them will be devastating. You want to grow your startup, not waste time constantly cleaning up messes. Surprisingly enough, roughly 41% of companies say that a bad hire costs the company upwards of $25,000. It’s important to keep evaluating your team members after they are hired, and by doing this, you will be able to stay on top of how the individual affects business objectives. And always, always follow your gut instincts - you know what you need to do to make your organization more efficient. 

The Most Important Parts Of The Hiring Process 

After considering the previously mentioned points, it’s time to think about the hiring process and the efforts it will take to perfect it. There are a few steps to get this process right, and when done correctly, it can be a simple task. The first thing you need to do is find qualified candidates.

1. Full-timers, contracts, advisors, and partners: You might not have to hire full-time employees when you first start. You can hire skilled contractors or freelancers that know the ins and outs of what you’re requesting. Locate talented advisors by reviewing industry-leading blogs; you can find so much good help doing this alone. Many people find that having contractors first, and then moving to full-time employees is the best route.

2. During the hiring process: Have you found some qualified candidates? The next step is the actual onboarding process. This begins with interviewing people. The interview is all on your terms, so let’s talk about what needs to happen next. You’ll want to do a background check or some fact-checking on the individual you interviewed. If all goes well and you get an overall good vibe, hire them! You can then begin to test them on their abilities. Start with a small project and see how they handle it. You can eventually work up to larger tasks and projects. While doing these projects, you will see how he/she communicates with other team members, how they handle pressure, and if he/she can actually get the job done effectively.

3. Post-Hire: Did the person you hire prove their potential within your organization? Did they pass all the tests and meet every work requirement? Awesome! But does that mean the process is over? Absolutely not. After the employee works with you for a while, you’ll want to do a post-hire assessment. This means that you will need to have strategies put in place for their career development, extra training, and promotions. These incentives will help keep team members motivated and at the top of their game. You, as the boss and founder, need to take care of the employees you decide to hire. 

When searching for candidates and beginning the hiring process, you should keep these three steps in mind. You have a great chance of putting together a winning team if you follow these tips.

Final Thoughts  

Your company’s startup is hands down the most important time of the company’s life, and hiring the right team for every job will ensure that startup and continuation will run smoothly. Hiring the right person for your team isn’t always about who has the correct qualifications or fancy degree; it’s about who is motivated and has their spirit in the right place. For example, the way someone vibes with you during the interview process speaks volumes when it comes to hiring someone.

Your organization will benefit greatly from ensuring that you are hiring the right people, and you, as the boss, will need to provide your candidates with the necessary tools and training that it will take to help your company flourish. It all boils down to using the correct hiring steps and protecting your startup process at all costs, even if that means letting people go to find the perfect fit. 

Why is this happening? 

It could be due to differences between what recruiters offer and young workers’ aspirations. These days, it is simply not enough to post a job opening and then select the best talent from the numerous candidates that apply. In any case, competition for these young workers is high, and they know it. They are looking at who offers the whole package - not just monetary value. 

By expanding professional development, giving millennials a sense of purpose and offering them job flexibility, there are several ways to attract quality young talent.

How do you ATTRACT the right quality talent?

Hiring people with a broad idea of what you need will be difficult. For example, a social media manager is an expansive title. Many millennial are well-versed in social media, but to attract exceptional talent, you need to pinpoint what tasks the job entails and ask specific questions during the interview.

Asking about their biggest failure and how they dealt with it allows you to understand the steps they took to manage something that did not work. If they say they took all the credit without any help, it would be better not to hire them. (Check out this video on interviewing tips)

Millennials are a confusing and sometimes frustrating generation; unfortunately, many of them have been failed by higher education. Often, individuals who have made professional progress outside of college have more drive and real-world experience. 

If someone is good at what they do, they know they will eventually make money, so give them more than just a salary. This could include health benefits, ownership, travel compensation, shares, or anything that might apply; consider what your competition is offering.  (Watch our video series on recruitment strategies here)

Express your brand story across all channels that can reach millennial - blogs, social media and your website. To attract the right talented millennial, you need to inspire them with your purpose and brand story.

Some other recruitment strategies are: 

• Find innovative recruitment processes - think outside the box to see how potential hires react to the non-status quo

• Seek a passive candidate - short list quickly and propose an offer faster. 

• Use appropriate yet specialized job boards - posting a job for a Java developer with 5 years of experience on LinkedIn would be ineffectual when a more definitive posting could be on StackOverflow 

• Reaching out to previous employees

• Host a meet-up - send a representative to a nearby event happening, which will potentially be attended by people with professional talent. 

• Adopt an hourly remuneration - some millennial may be attracted to a shorter commitment

• Attend job fairs.

Reaching the right talent is not sufficient. Retaining them is equally important. What appeals to young professionals is ever changing , so let us, Bickert Management Inc. share a few suggestions on how you can bring in young, suitable professionals and retain them for the long term.

How to retain the right talent in your business

It has recently come to light that a great number of employees are willing to explore the gig economy  (a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs), abandoning the traditional 9-5 hours, leaving CEOs and business leaders anxious about the future of their ventures.

Does that sound disheartening? 

Be comforted by the fact that there are still high-performing millennial and Gen Z employees who are  eagerly looking for a stable company with which to build a long-term career. We just need to turn the tables to retain these top players. Get to know what they are looking for in a company, manager and a career. If we cannot adapt and provide the younger generations with what they want, we make it too easy for them to jump ship and join a competitor.

So, what exactly do millennial look for in a career? Certain themes come up time and again, which we will explore below.

Nowadays, young employees do not just want to complete their assigned tasks and go home at 5 pm. Instead, they look for regular, meaningful feedback and reflection from their managers. They want to know how they performed throughout a day or week. Many companies have transitioned to a performance management process known as Agile, which is the abandonment of single annual appraisals replaced with regular performance discussions. This can also be backed up by real-time communication and an open-door policy, which modern software can facilitate. It means that rather than feeling like a small cog in a big machine, employees feel as if they are a valued part of a well-functioning team.

The days of tyrannical managers are over; young talents are rejecting such managers and are seeking authority figures who can play more of a coaching role. 

Otherwise, prepare for the reality that they may - sooner or later - leave. Many young, talented managers switch jobs specifically due to a lack of thorough training and mentoring from their direct superiors. 

According to Harvard Business Review, more than 1,200 high-performing millennial complained about an expectations gap between the type of coaching they thought they would get, and what they received in reality. This results in frustration and higher turnover. 

Another study by Deloitte has shown that millennial with a mentoring relationship with their managers report higher satisfaction rates.

With that in mind, managers have to be forward-thinkers, helpful and avoid being retrospective and critical; instead of informing them of their under performance, work with them and assist them in helping them improve. 

Managers also need to take a step back and let employees develop their own approach to the assigned tasks while providing guidance when requested along the way.

The third fundamental aspect of attracting a young candidate is all about flexibility, trust, and kindness at work; after compensation, the next thing millennial look for is flexibility. 

What many professionals seek in a job - 

Work-life balance is becoming an important issue for new generations; young experts prefer to be “nomadic” and leave behind the hassle of everyday working life. That is the reason why many jobs allow physical absences and flexible schedules; all credit goes to the internet for making communication instantaneous and seamless.

SHRM’s study of job satisfaction shows that over two-thirds of workers value mutual respect more than their remuneration; all the studies on younger generations tend to show that they find the work atmosphere and the relationship with their managers equally important. 

It is almost impossible to attract young talents with old school approaches based on permanent control, lack of feedback, distrust and lack of good communication. It is time to focus on “dialogue”, “openness” and “transparency”, to bring out the best of your teams’ creativity, passions and intellect, giving them a voice and recognizing their contributions. 

Businesses must be sure that their young employees do not become the next start-up competitors by following Family-Friendly Policies - sabbaticals, paternity leave, job sharing, and telecommuting - are all paramount.

Most of today’s young talent believes that the skills needed today are vastly different from those needed previously, and their approach to tackling challenges at work or sharing knowledge is also different.

According to the CEO of Goodwall, 

"Today’s young talent is diverse, entrepreneurial, and more tech-savvy than previous generations... Young professionals bring a strong digital mindset and a wealth of experience and achievements to today’s workplace. To attract them, you’ll need to craft a talent recruitment strategy that engages them in new and unique ways."

Today, many young professionals prefer to be remote, surf the net, code, have co-working spaces or freelance. So, to retain them, dance to their tune, or at least make a few adjustments by hiring more remote talent or replacing physical meetings with online alternatives.

Although they are often accused of lacking purpose, both purpose and meaning are core to young talent; the desire to create real meaning for themselves and others contradicts how millennial are frequently stereotyped. 

A work environment rich with purpose and addressing something they are passionate about helps in retaining employees.

Let the young talent contribute his or her abilities to the attainment of goals, allowing them to imprint real changes to the world.

This quest and desire for meaning and purpose is always backed by a dose of energy that must be tamed and channeled for productive purposes. Great leadership encompasses exuding business values, upholding integrity and commanding obedience if necessary.

Last but not least…

Be attentive to your young employees and the culture of the company, usually in the form of support and training (money doesn’t hurt either) and the result will be a happier yet talented workforce focused on moving the company forward instead of what competitors are offering.

Perpetual refinement in business refers to the process of continuously improving products, services, and processes to achieve better performance and results. It is a critical aspect of business success, and here are three reasons why: