Hiring for startups is unique for each one, to successfully build a team, the foremost trait that a founder should look for is accountability. Is the new backend engineer going to be reliable enough to complete the task with the lowest supervision? Consider the learning curve and training all this while working on the main service & fund raising?
When people are placed in positions slightly above what they expect, they are apt to excel. —Richard Branson
To ensure the right person joins your team, there are a few sanity checks you can undertake to assess the potential of this very important decision.
Team fit
Is your next marketing head passionate about the product you are building? Do they understand industry trends? What sort of growth trajectory has a person had. Have they scaled a team or a business? These are all crucial questions. But what one more crucial factor is seeing if they share the same values as your business intends to imbibe by. If you started-up on your own because you wanted to build a unique organization while scaling into profitability then you probably want someone who is doing this for the same reason as you.
Assessment
Being able to provide your team on job training is no big deal for any start-up. Start-ups should always hire for potential and train for performance. Learning is also not linear in most cases but the hires need to be justified to the investors. How do you ensure that the person you are on-boarding will have a reasonably small learning curve? Tasks & Assignments are crucial for both tech and non-tech hiring. It winnows out anyone who is not seriously considering the position from potential hires.
Approachability
Start-ups love young professionals and young professionals love start-ups. The way to approach potential team members is by keeping a humble and approachable vibe. You want to really understand the desires of the potential hire. A lot of time just striking up a conversation can open avenues to a better collaboration than one of the plates. Plus if you are a small team, the chances are you are going to be spending a lot of time with them. Make that a pleasant one.
We at Workolution hire for many exciting start-ups in digital media and tech. We innovate to connect the right idea to the right person. The people-centric approach that has won us many young founder's trusts. If you are looking to build a team for your start-up, connect with us, we can help you with your staffing or with acquihire to enable your business to grow.
To know more, please email us on megha@workolution.in
