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.