How important are the employees in a startup? They are the top priority and definitely above the product or service your are providing. Without people you don’t have a product or service!
How do you hire great people?
It starts with the entrepreneur. If he can’t sell his vision of the company to attract potential employees then you have a problem. If this is the case in your organization, run! You are on a moving train without a conductor. Every employee should be dedicated to this mission as its the lifeblood of your company. As the entrepreneur, meet with your team, strategize, brainstorm and be different. You’ll have some success with the traditional factors such as money, equity/ownership, challenging assignments and tough problems, but ultimately potential employees are buying into the culture you as the entrepreneur have created. Make it unique.
Hire people who are smarter than you. Note, if you don’t think anyone is smarter than you please stop reading this post as you are wasting your time. Surround yourself with people who will improve the intellectual capital of your organization. Another common mistake is that entrepreneurs hire people they get along with or are similar to themselves. Big mistake! Then you are creating an organization just like you with a very narrow view of the world. This is recipe for disaster. You’ll design the product as you see fit, but that most often than not will not be the best solution for your customers. You want to spur creativity, debate and discussion.
How do you keep them?
Great people are always in demand and will never have a problem finding a job. They’ll probably get recruited while they are working for you. So you need to keep them happy, challenged and motivated. Some people argue that A-players don’t need motivation, but in life we all have emotional up’s and down’s. Provide a forum for open, honest feedback. Give them stretch assignments and, most important of all, empower them. Show trust in them to get the job done. Let go and delegate. This last point is key and probably the toughest of all. As the entrepreneur, it will be tough letting go and not being involved in every last detail of the organization you built. The organization needs you to focus on the vision, strategy and other key facets. Essentially you are undermining employees and setting the tone that you don’t trust them. Big mistake as A-players will be sure to notice this.
One quick note on unhappy or problem employees. Address them immediately. Find out what the issues are and get them resolved ASAP. A problem employee can wreak havoc on your organization by affecting moral and causing turmoil. Deal with these issues head on or you will pay for it later.
Conclusion
As a startup you need great people to survive the long haul ahead of you. Great people will fix a bad product, but mediocre people will kill a great product. So, get going and find them
