Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By David Aronchick
The quality of your recruiting will determine your success. One of my favorite recruiting quotes of all time was from a Bill Gates New Employee Orientation. At Microsoft, twice a year, Bill Gates would give an introduction to new employees, and, as you might expect, he was a very inspiring speaker. During one of his speeches, he related the following wisdom:
“Do everything you can to avoid the average hire. The great hire is great for obvious reasons, and you want them immediately. The bad hire is obviously not ideal, but they can be dealt with in the appropriate way. The average employee, on the other hand, will cruise along, adding just enough value not to be removed, but, at the same time, not elevating your company to the next level.”
I had no idea how many times he gave this speech, or whether this was some common bit of wisdom, but it resonated with me and has guided me throughout my professional career. You are looking people to go into battle with, who will change your company for the better. A mediocre employee will not weigh you down, but they also will not raise you up and achieve all that you otherwise could.
How do you find these dream colleagues? I strongly believe that organizations must have someone spending more than 50% of their time recruiting in some capacity. And, regardless of whether it is a full-time employee or external recruiter, there are some important things to keep in mind:
- First, the recruiter is your proxy. For the potential candidate they are the face of your company, and they need to emit as much passion and belief in business as you do. If the candidates do not buy in with the first people they talk to, they will very rarely go through to the next step.
- Second, think about everything you are offering. A well-thought through HR and pay package is just the table stakes for getting great employees. Great candidates need to be sold on the vision, their upside and how the world will change when they succeed; they do not just want to be a cog in a machine and you would not be happy with them if they did.
- Third, be realistic about the time commitment. No matter how many people you reach out to, your total response rate is going to be extremely low, and the percent of people who qualify for even the lowest bar is going to be in the single digits.
- Finally, if there is any question whatsoever about a candidate, the answer is no. Anything that is even the smallest hint of a red flag is going to get worse over time and under stress.
One thing to note – “try before you buy”, where you engage a candidate in a consulting arrangement before you hire full time, does work it is not a cure all. If someone is not a great candidate, you cannot expect for them to grow into a great candidate just because you worked with them for three months.
More than anything, I stress to all startups that recruiting top talent is the lifeblood of your business. It is taxing both of your time and energy, but this is not the place to cut corners or go quick over quality. Finding the right employees are critical, there is simply no way you can take on the world on your own.
