Hiring the Right Individual

“As far as customers are concerned you are the company. This is not a burden, but the core of your job. You hold in your hands the power to keep customers coming back – perhaps even to make or break the company.” Anonymous

My extensive interaction with the telcos’ customer service department brought to the fore, the job vs responsibility concept which I have talked about briefly in previous posts. The concept is simple . When you are in hiring or partnering, you should look for individuals who are problem solvers and have it in them to go further than just completing the task at hand in a hierarchial manner. Those who willingly take the initiative to do more than is asked of them for the organization.

Customer service revolves around making all the touch points within your organization as simple, reliable and efficient as possible. Most of the time these touch points will result in a direct connection between customers and the employees of the organization. This is a critical connection, one upon which your business relies on heavily. It is therefore essential, when hiring individuals for this function, that you place relevant emphasis on the personality and temperament of these individuals. Bypassing this process because it has a high upfront cost and no apparent tangible return on investment is shortsighted. In the case of this particular telco, it has over 20m subscribers and a massive network of contact centers. At this point, to re-structure their hiring policies and procedures will be prohibitively costly. This is why a culture for superior customer service must be put in place from the start.

In essence if you are looking to develop world class customer service capabilities, you should hire individuals who:

1. Know the difference between a Job vs Responsibility.

2. Are truly passionate about helping others and problem solving .

3. Believe in the service/product that your organization provides.

These qualities may appear to be simple, yet many companies do not even factor them into the hiring process. Hiring the right kind of people for the job will give your organization the competitive advantage to help the customer choose you!

Frameworks

“Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it. Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine.” David Oglivy

Your startup is growing fast and you need more helping hands to take you to the next level. Congratulations on reaching this far on your journey as an entrepreneur, it is going to get a lot more exciting from here on . Hiring is perhaps one of the most critical as well as the most difficult functions that any company has to undertake. There is a reason why Jack Welch has stated that Head of HR should be at the same level as the CFO at a company. What a lot of startups end up doing when things are in a tizzy with growth is to hire the next guy who looks good on paper. We did the same in a couple of ventures earlier on  and suffered as a result. This is not a process you want to rush, each hiring decision you make is going to have a impact on your business and the smaller your organization the larger the impact. 

The entire objective of hiring is to find a resource who possesses the skill sets, abilities and personality traits which match the opening position. To identify skills sets and abilities is relatively straight forward. If you are looking for a web developer you will require proficiency in certain programming languages and cognitive abilities which can be gauged through the applicants resume, portfolio and ability tests. The tricky part comes when you are looking for specific personality traits. Not every web developer will be suited for your team. If you are a highly structured and analytical team and you find a brilliant developer who however has a strong preference for unstructured working environments you are most definitely going to have a problem very soon.

When I am consulting clients on hiring these are three factors that I ask them to identify prior to the development of a job description ;

1. Work place preferences: Some workplaces thrive in unstructured environments while others require a routine to function in. Other places value team work more than solo operations. You need to correctly identify what preferences have been put into place by your current team. This will allow you to define and clearly communicate to the applicants the environment they are going to be working in.

2. Intellectual capabilities: This is where you identify what sort of intellectual capabilities you are looking for in the designated role. Will the resource have to be involved in creative development work or heavy research position or in a position where he/she needs to be making many decisions. Each will require you to keep a look out for particular characteristics.

3. Personal Attributes: If your position requires the resource to motivate and energize teams then you will require someone who has high levels of energy and the capability to energize. They will require them to have immense passion and the ability to infuse it into the organization. If your position is research heavy and it doesn’t require the individual to be in such a position this attribute will not be necessary. Other attributes such as personal drivers are very important. Some individuals are purely driven by monetary compensation while others require less and more personal satisfaction. 

Formalize your list into a framework and you will be clearer as to what sort of individual you need to succeed at your organization.

Related Posts:

- 8 characteristics of ideal business partners

Hiring your first employee

“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.” Larry Bossidy

The day your company is ready to hire its very first employee is an exciting one for any startup company. It is a sign of growth and a sign that things are moving in the right direction. Talking about hiring may be fun but when startup companies actually get down to doing it, thats when they realize that it is much harder than it appears to be. Over the years I have been through this cycle many times and am constantly refining the process, to get it right. 

What starts out seemingly as a simple cycle of sourcing, identification, interviewing and hiring requires a lot more groundwork to get the process right. In my earlier ventures our recruitment methodology was very sporadic and unstructured. This resulted in the hiring process taking much longer , it was more expensive, we didn’t get the right people and through it all lost business opportunities while searching. Recently, in one of my companies we have initialised the hiring process which has been a much more efficient and cost effective approach. I will share it with you this week.

Startups need to realize that hiring and building their team is going to be the most critical exercise to ensure the future success of the company. If you hire and work with people who do not have the passion, spirit and ‘need to win’ approach, your chances of succeeding are greatly diminished. By hiring the wrong people you slow down the company, decrease morale, incur heavy tangible and intangible costs. You must be cautious that you limit the entry of such people to your core team. During the course of the week I will touch on the 5 basic steps we take to identify and recruit employees. I hope it will be of some benefit to all the readers who are thinking about hiring in the near future.

 

The Gym

I recently started going back to a gym after a long break. Why is it that some of us get these spurts of energy to go to the gym which wears off soon enough after that initial boost of energy and enthusiasm? This is not an unusual trend for the gym, you set yourself enthusiastic new year resolutions to get into shape and 3 months down the road you quit for some reason or other. I did some research on this and found the following statistics:

• “50 percent of all new health club members quit within the first six months of signing up, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.” Source: Wayback Machine Archived Webpage

• 1 in 5 club members use their club at least twice per week. 40% of those who join health clubs stop going soon afterwards. Source: Health and Fitness Website

• In the article Time Management Facts and Figures by Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, it says that 90% of those who join health and fitness clubs will stop going within the first 90 days.

• The first quarter of the calendar remains the key period in the year for new member acquisition for the club industry. Link

There is a lot of evidence supporting those claims. I then looked back at all the times I have joined a gym or a health club and actively used their services regularly for at least an year. The one common denominator for when I had gone regularly, was with a gym partner. It is strange but true how the dynamics change when you have someone to spot you, talk to and even benchmark yourself to.

This got me thinking of the posts I have written about teams and partnering, and how essential that aspect is, not only from a business point of view but overall in life. This applies to whether you are choosing a life partner, a gym buddy or a mentor to help you along the way. Through partnering we can achieve extraordinary goals and greatly impact productivity and morale. All you have to do is choose your partners carefully.

Strategic Partnerships

“Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning.” Bill Gates

The world continues to become smaller as time goes by. As competition increases and products and services become commoditized, competing on price alone is a recipe for disaster. With the rampant use of the internet making an abundance of information available to customers and clients, competitive advantages become critical to a firms success. That is where strategic partnerships come into place, they enable you to create multiple barriers of entries which could be both, tangible and intangible. Usually they are developed outside your area of expertise to complement your current offerings.

However over the last 5 years of doing business I have discovered that creating these strategic partnerships succesfully is not an easy task. Having entered into such agreements without careful due diligence in the past has resulted in a fair share of frustration, brand and monetary loss. It has however now taught me some key lessons which I will share with you over the course of the next week. The process will show how to correctly identify, align and commence a successful strategic partnership. 

A key factor to be kept in mind before entering into any such partnership should be, to look at the larger picture for your company or startup. Partnerships help you to scale your business effectively and efficiently if done correctly. They allow you to focus on your core expertise while you develop complementary assets around your service to give it competitive advantages. By not leveraging on them in this day and age is a mistake a lot of startup companies make. Keep your eyes peeled for any potential partners  in your segment or industry  and watch your business prosper.

5 ways to get you and your team motivated

“People often say often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing - that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

Getting and staying motivated requires you to have the desire and faith to achieve remarkable things. It needs you to push yourself harder, test yourself, take risks and believe that impossible is nothing. We all have days which are far from being ideal. Such days test that intense desire to achieve what you have set out to get. The following lists methods to continuously sustain your motivational level and increase it when it begins to dip.

1. Everything starts with you: Whether you are leading a team or are a part of it, it is your responsibility to bring your A game to work everyday. Identifying what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning is essential. Once you have identified these factors you will become a source of motivation for the rest of your team. To learn more about how you can identify your motivations please click here.
2. Challenging goals: Creating smart goals for yourself and your company is critical to keep motivation at a high level. When you do not challenge yourself hard enough you tend to stand still. That is about the worst thing you could possibly do for yourself. To read more about setting challenging goals please click here.
3. Progress motivates: Momentum has the ability to inject life into any project or venture. It is this remarkable energy which infuses teams with the ability to achieve the impossible. Motivational levels hit the roof when a venture has momentum on its side making it a key metric to be monitored continuously. To read more about generating momentum please click here.
4. Motivational environment: Surrounding yourself with highly motivated individuals in an environment which caters to open communication and creativity is a sure way to keep the motivational levels in check. The environment and the people you work with have a direct impact on your productivity levels. Making sure you carefully monitor this metric will result in higher productivity teams, to learn more please click here.
5. Rewards and recognition: A well planned rewards and recognition program can do wonders for the motivational level for yourself and your team. You first need to recognize what it is that motivates your team members and tailor a rewards and recognition program likewise. To read more about how to develop a rewards and recognition program please click here.

These are a few ways which have helped me keep track of the motivational level within myself and the teams I have worked with. I hope it helps others develop a framework for their own ventures and companies. Even though the ways outlined are very straight forward we need to continuously monitor them and see where we are lagging behind. I look forward to others adding to this list of ways they keep themselves and their teams motivated.

Rewards and Recognition

“No man, who continues to add something to the material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives, is left long without proper rewards.” Booker T Washington

Rewards and recognitions are key motivational factors for teams. In the past, I thought rewards were primarily financial rewards. As I explored this topic more I discovered that different individuals required different types of rewards to keep them motivated. All that some needed was recognition by their boss for their contribution, others needed some affirmation from their team mates while others felt satisfied with their year end bonus. Your job as a team or project leader should be to find out what sort of rewards and recognition your team mates are looking for.

The tricky part with a rewards and recognition (R&R) program is to formulate it in such a way that is both fair and balanced. A badly constructed program could work against the organization and foster complacency and unhealthy competition among team members. When constructing an R&R program I usually involve all the individuals who will be affected by it to contribute their ideas and suggestions. Rather than constructing a standard bonus ladder you should aim to have a more dynamic program which keep things interesting while keeping the goals clearly in focus.

At a startup company, especially at the beginning ,when finances may be tight it becomes essential to structure an R&R program which gives team members necessary rewards and recognition and keeps the motivational level high. Some of the techniques which I have used have been providing training and development budgets, recognition awards and stock options, these have been helpful when working on tight budgets. If budgets are tight you should focus on developing a lot more creative non-monetary rewards. Tailor them according to the personalitiesand motivations of your team members . Learn what motivates your team members today and tailor an R&R program accordingly.

Related article: Rewards and Recognition for teams

Motivational Environments

“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.”     Earl Nightangale

Going to work everyday should be far from a chore, it should be the reason for you to jump out of bed in the morning. (Flash back) Seven years ago I finished high school and like quite a few of my classmates at that time, investment banking was on everyones mind. So when everyone was applying to B school programs I decided that I would take some time off before university and get a glimpse into what investment banking would be like. I interned at one of the larger investment banking firms and it didn’t take me very long to figure out that we were not a very good fit. Thats when I changed my majors and decided I needed to find something else. I am in no way downplaying careers in finance, its just that each one of us are unique and are motivated by different factors and environments, finding one that suits your personality is essential.

As startups grow larger we have to make sure we maintain similar environments that sparked the creativity in the first place. Two companies come to mind which have done a great job of keeping the balance in check, they are, Google and IDEO. Both highly creative companies which focus on the environment for their most important asset…their people. Creating and focusing on an environment which fosters creativity and inspires, enables people to think out of the box without fear and builds loyalty. It becomes easier to work as a team when you can communicate and help each other reach his/her goals. There is nothing worse in my opinion than having a ton of ideas on how to improve a service or product and not being given a platform to express them.

I am an advocate of keeping communication among the teams I work with as candid as possible. Knowing each others goals and roles enables us to do whatever it takes to help our group mates to succeed in reaching their targets. Make the motivational environment of your organization a key metric to be constantly measured. What is the morale level of your team?

Progress motivates

“Don’t wait untill everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self confident and more and more successful.” Mark Victor Hansen 

Momentum is the force which everyone and every company is aiming to achieve. In my short span in the entrepreneurial space ,I have come to realise how strong a force it can be. It has the ability to inspire, excite and motivate. You discover your capabilities on a completely different level and at times surprise yourself as to what you can achieve. Without it you are like a ship set to sail with no wind to help it along the way. 

When starting any new venture, if there is one thing which should be aimed for, it is to get some momentum going. This can be any activity where visible and tangible results are being created. Initially it could be as simple as getting your business plan together. Later it could be closing that first deal or getting some marketing publicity. As you begin to see and be part of the progress it will give you, the motivation to push yourself further and harder emerges. You will have this surround energy which will attract others to help you along the way.

If you or your team is lacking motivation take a look at their spirit and morale. If it is not at its optimal see how you can generate some momentum into your current business model. If the approach you are taking isn’t working, brain storm other ways to approach it. You have to focus on building momentum as quickly as you can and most importantly making sure you maintain it once things have been set into motion. 

Few things in the entrepreneurial world compare to when you have momentum on your side and things are working out better than expected. How can you add momentum into your venture today?

Challenging goals

“If you’re bored with life — you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things — you don’t have enough goals.” Lou Holtz

Checking your goals list is a very valid reference point when you or your team is not performing at its optimal. You may have set goals and steps for it, yet, not getting anywhere. This situation often arises when your goals or your teams are not ambitious enough. Knowing you have the capability of doing a $100k in sales in a quarter and setting yourself a target of $50k is not doing justice to your abilities. You have to balance your goal setting carefully using the SMART system which is an extremely effective one. 

 A lot of entrepreneurs become complacent very quickly when their startups pick up. In the dynamic and highly connected world we live in, no one can afford to become complacent. This applies across the board whether you are an entrepreneur, in a career or stay-home mother/father. Everyone needs to feel the urge to do more to remain connected to the world. It is when we break the connection that the trouble starts. 

In summary, evaluate goals on a regular basis and be thorough in this exercise. Bring balance to them using the smart goal setting system. If you do not have enough challenges at work talk to your team mates or your boss about the situation and work on ways to improve your product or service. Whatever you do, just don’t stand still because thats just about the worse thing you could do for yourself. Take up the challenge to do more today!