Great employees join great startups
A successful Founder needs a healthy dose of delusion. The can-do attitude that protects and motivates them through all the trials that early-stage startups bring. But a problem that can fester, making delusion no longer serve a founder, is when it’s applied to hiring.
Hiring at early-stage companies has become increasing difficult. It’s now a much harder sell to attract great team members, so many early-stage teams have to be Employee Marketers. And like any good marketer understands, the first step is to recognise and understand motivations.
Remember: Founders care about the company the most.
While, of course, early-stage employees must be motivated by the mission of the company. We shouldn’t diminish or minimise their other motivations, like wanting interesting problems to solve, productive working environments, or meaningful compensation. World-class talent will have many motivators to joining a team and it’s dangerous to only invest in those who are particularly focused on mission.
The demands that an early-stage startup has of its’ employees are unique, as are the reward opportunities (quick career progression, equity, etc). If you want to hire Mission Martyrs, you can attract them through shiny About Us pages and LinkedIn vision posts. They’ll be exciting additions to the team, shining brightly through the interview process, but can struggle when they experience hardships, professional and personal, that a mission cannot remedy.
Motivations for great early-stage employees
World-class talent will have high, multi-facetted expectations of their leaders, team, and company. They want to join a team that will enable both teaching and learning. A team that respects their (and their teammates’) experience and expertise through well-structured processes, equitable compensation, and productive leadership. The mission manifesto won’t deter their queries throughout interviewing for how decisions are made or how a founder resolves conflicts. They’re attuned to the trials of building a successful team and company. At their core, they’re looking for Founders with similar values and operating principles to their own. So how do we attract them?
Three areas to focus on when trying to attract great talent:
1. Transparent job descriptions
The job description should include what you know and don’t know. Early-stage teams shouldn’t be detailing job responsibilities outside the next six months. As a job searcher, it can feel out-of-touch to the realities of startups.
Instead, tell them about the problem set you’re encountering right now. Look to answer these questions:
What problems are we’re looking to solve with this role?
What parts of our strategy, vision, and metrics will be reliant on this role?
What does the capacity of the team look like in this space right now?
What is the team interested in testing?
What do you not know or haven’t addressed yet?
Transparency in the job description will encourage those meaningful motivation conversations during the interview process. You’re inviting the candidate to be owner of the solution. Great team members are eager to be valued for their capabilities and trusted to deliver. You might not be able to compete with all the perks of big companies but you can compete on the opportunity to contribute, deliver, and impact the company’s success.
2. Authentic conversations
Interviewing can feel like a performance, especially if you’re leading the process for the first time. Those great employees will see through the song and dance. They’re seeking authentic and transparent conversations. They’ll welcome the hard questions and ask them of you in return.
Think about the values and skills that this role will need and consider behaviour questions that will kick off these conversations. Here’s some of my favourites I’ve asked and received:
Tell me about a time that you thought you were right about something but changed your mind. What did you believe? What specific information or experience caused you changed your mind?
How do you and your cofounders (or leadership team) handle conflict? Can you walk me through a recent example?
Ask this of all the parties involved and consider how their takes support the others.
What’s something you feel strongly about? Why do you think others don’t agree? How do you explain your beliefs to someone who doesn’t agree?
3. Set expectations: create an intentional Operating System
There are more unknowns than knowns at an early-stage startup. You won’t be able to have all the processes and systems in place but you can, and should, have a how-to playbook. One that sets clear performance expectations for your team. A company Operating System (cOS) intentionally defines the team’s behaviour towards decisions and challenges.
→ Read up on Operating Systems here
Operating Systems act as scaffolding for scaling, ensuring that as the company grows, it does so with clear intentions and a strong foundation. In our opinion, this is the golden ticket for how you stands out and supports great employees.
Need help?
Early on, headcount is one of the most expensive parts of a startup. The value return of intentionally hiring and retaining excellent team members can be a make or break factor for your company. That’s where we can support. At The Future Kind we design company Operating Systems that guide your team's everyday and support the growth of your company, your people, and your value. Get in touch here to find out more, we’d love to chat.
