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There has always been a difference between being self-employed and being an entrepreneur. The latter requires developing a self-sustaining growth system and doing a lot of hiring. While most entrepreneurs do most of the early work on their own, a growth system will soon need more hands on deck.
Starting with the first, employees can greatly influence the direction of your company’s future. Although there’s always a wide room for error and improvement, it’s imperative to get it right the first time.
As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve placed great emphasis on hiring the right person rather than the right skills. This principle is vital, especially for your first set of recruits, and this article offers a fresh perspective on how to go about hiring right the very first time.
Related: Hiring Your First Employee? 5 Things You Need to Know.
First, consider your options
There are obvious signals to know when it’s time to add an extra hand to your team. However, the extra hand might not necessarily be your first employee.
Bringing an employee on board comes with some legal and moral responsibilities. For one, employment benefits and a promise of job security are part of the equation. So, before you jump knee-deep into hiring your first employee, assess the situation within your startup and explore options.
One option to consider is freelance work. If you’re experiencing an increased workload within your company, you should figure out whether that specific type of work is an integral part of your business operation. If the job is only available in the interim and is sporadic, it might be safer to work with a freelancer. Choosing to hire in this situation might force you to start manufacturing inconsequential tasks in the future.
In the case that hiring a freelancer won’t be ideal, another option to consider is the prospect of remote work. Ninety-eight percent of Americans want to work remotely at some point. However, this doesn’t mean you must offer a remote work option to your first employee. Depending on your operational process, you might prefer having your first employee work on-site, but this is not necessarily a rule.
Should remote working suit your processes well, it’s strongly advised that you hire someone in the same time zone as yourself. It’s really important for you to be in perfect sync with your first employee. Poorly aligned priorities and bad timing can do your business more harm than good. Be sure to keep an eye out.
Define the role and responsibilities
Before entrepreneurs make the decision to hire their first employee, it is usually for responsibilities that they’re familiar with. Some may have been handling it themselves for some time. So, it would be pretty straightforward to draw up the responsibilities associated with the role.
The tricky thing, however, is to accurately describe what you expect the employee’s daily job to be. As an entrepreneur, you have various responsibilities that are so muddled up that it’s hard to clearly group them into stand-alone roles. For instance, some companies’ first recruit is in finance, and entrepreneurs seldom know if who they need is a bookkeeper or an accountant.
Getting past this tricky stage requires some reflection. Also, you could solicit advice from mentors and other entrepreneurs who have successfully hired several employees.
Related: 6 Signs It’s Time to Hire Employees for Your Startup
Look out for the right personality
A common mistake that young entrepreneurs make is focusing on skills when hiring. No doubt, skill and experience levels are important attributes to consider, especially as they pertain to the role. However, you should place a higher priority on their personality.
Startups exist in very competitive landscapes and volatile markets. As a result, the roles and responsibilities within them are more dynamic than people expect. The majority of employees tend to rely heavily on the responsibilities spelled out in the job description and tend to lose motivation as changes occur.
Remember that you and your first employees need to be in sync at all times because the culture and future of your company depend greatly on it. So, it’s safer for you to look into candidates with a shared entrepreneurial spirit and a will to take on more responsibilities than were stipulated in the job description.
Finding people with the right personality is a tough job. Ironically, job boards (like LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor) don’t make the job any easier. Listing a job on boards can offer you a variety of candidates that may turn out to be overwhelming. Not to mention, resumes are hardly a reliable measure of a candidate’s drive.
As a solution, you can reach out to your network for talent referrals. Eighty-five percent of job openings are filled via networking, according to a survey. While you may have immense respect and trust for those preferring the talents, you should personally interview the candidates and conduct due diligence before making your decision.
Related: 4 Strategies for Hiring the Right People at Your Startup
Again, being an entrepreneur entails lots of hiring. While some roles may seem pressing at first, they might not exist for so long. You need to figure out which roles will exist over the span of your company’s existence. Only these roles should be filled by employees. Freelance workers and independent contractors could work just fine for other roles.
Once you’re sure of the role’s long existence, you have to define the employee’s everyday job and expectations before moving on to start looking for who to hire. Although well-defined responsibilities are essential, you should look out for candidates that have can-do attitudes and are willing to take on more responsibilities. Finding these talents on your own is hard, but utilizing your network for referrals can significantly increase your chances of getting it right on the first strike.
