As a founder and CEO, your goal is simple: build a successful company. And building success, no matter how you define it, all begins with the people who work with you. Each achievement is made possible — or impossible — by your team. So naturally, you want the best of the best working for you.
Startup and growth company CEOs/founders are brilliant at collecting great people. Why? They wholeheartedly believe in the company’s mission and vision. They know where they are going and how to get there, and can explain this story with consistency and conviction. Most importantly, they can tell potential employees why joining the company will help them achieve their own career goals. Great people are always looking to improve their skills and grow their careers, so they are attracted to organizations that embody those same motivations. The best people will only work for companies with the most potential. So how do you tell your story?
While most of the startups and growth companies I’ve worked with understand the need for a clear recruitment story, many struggle to execute it. Disorganization dominates hiring processes. Hiring teams cease to look at the entire marketplace and only at the narrow list of candidates who have come to them. Companies struggle to remain unified in their messaging from interview to interview. While a CEO or founder might be able to accurately communicate the direction of the company, the rest of the team can’t express the same clear vision. I’ve also seen a mentality of “everyone should want to work for me” stop growth in its tracks. And as a result, companies settle for employees that are an average fit for the role instead of the best candidates in the field that will elevate their mission and goals. Top employees leave for bigger opportunities because mutual growth isn’t being achieved or they’re not surrounded by other great people.
If the best people will go to the company with the most potential, how are you going to pitch your potential? Here are three key questions every recruiting story should answer to bring in unstoppable candidates.
1. Where is the company going and why?
What is the mission of the company? Why do you exist? What’s the purpose of coming to work at your company five days a week? Be ambitious — share the exciting, lofty, 10-year goal to change the world — but also be realistic and roadmap how you’re going to get there. Hiring teams should share their one- to three-year plans with clear objectives broken out by functional area. Top candidates care about their own professional growth and want to work at a company that cares about its trajectory, too.
2. What are the company’s teams doing now to achieve those objectives?
Explain why the current team is capable of reaching the company’s one-year goals and beyond. Share their backgrounds and success stories within the context of your quarterly or 90-day OKRs. Potential hires need to see how the day-to-day work and culture translate to the big picture, and that it’s sustainable. In addition to internal outlooks, explain your current market traction and financial picture by sharing client wins and partnerships, how investors are receiving your work, and where funding stands now. The answers to this question should reflect a company that is stable and rooted in its clear goals.
3. How do You fit in?
Now that you know where you are going and what you need to do to get there. How does the candidate fit into the equation? What does success look like for them in the next 90 days objectives, within the one year plan, and into three year vision? Does this opportunity fulfill the logical next step in their career path? Matching the opportunity to their motivations is the result of successful recruiting.
Clearly ongoing communication your company’s purpose, vision, plan and objectives is paramount to any good business but imperative to startup and growth companies. Take the time to document this and share it with everyone on the team. Create and share a hiring pitch doc or deck that everyone understands. Get your team in alignment, focused and speaking the same language when it comes to hiring.
As a founder and CEO, your goal is simple: build a successful company. And building success, no matter how you define it, all begins with the people who work with you. So, get organized and hire the absolute best.
For more information and guidance on how to build unstoppable startup and growth teams for venture backed companies, contact us at peak@collective-genius.com or visit Collective Genius at www.collective-genius.com.
Collective Genius builds high performing teams for venture backed growth companies and venture capital firms.
Peak Planning provides facilitated leadership team sessions and tools that create focus, alignment and accountability. Uplift your team with a three-year vision, one-year plan, quarterly OKRs, and tools to stay on track.
Collective Genius Recruiting delivers recruiting of leadership, management and highly sought after individual contributor roles. Build your team with us by leveraging our decades of experience, knowledge and network.
Tech Scenes a digital series where we meet up with high growth tech ceos, founders, investors and the cities in which they live. Watch the episodes online at www.collective-genius.com.
Thank you for reading and sharing with other CEO/Founders it can help.
By Jeff Martin, CEO & Founder of Collective Genius
