Building a great team is critical to success of your company, so you need to focus on hiring the right people that fit the culture of your company and the current needs of the company. In this episode, we’re going to talk about ways to find employees, strategies to create your hiring process, and why you should hire for your current company needs.
This is the Stretch Goals podcast, where each week we’ll share insights and lessons learned based on our experiences as entrepreneurs. We’ll challenge you to create ambitious goals as you start and grow your business.
Listen to this episode on our website (https://stretchgoals.fm/ep4/) or search for Stretch Goals on iTunes/Sound Cloud/Google Play Music.
Follow Robert (@robdickersonjr) and Scott (@the_scott_davis) on Twitter.
1. Episode # - Title
Building and Growing Your Team
Episode 4
2. Episode # - Title
www.stretchgoals.fm/ep4
Challenge yourself to create ambitious goals
as you start and grow your business.
Episode 4 - Building and Growing Your Team
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Robert Dickerson
Robert is the Founder and CEO of Mapout a mobile learning
platform that uses video courses to educate customers and
train employees. He helps companies develop and launch
products.
Scott Davis
Scott Davis is the Founder and CEO of MobX, a mobile
development software agency. He has 20 years of experience
developing software for Government, Finance, Sports and the
Telecommunications industry.
@RobDickersonJr @The_Scott_Davis
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4. Episode # - Title
Finding
employees
Hiring
strategies
Current
company
needs
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Building a great team is critical to company success.
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Contractors vs. Employees
The hiring process is a little bit different.
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Growing the MobX Team
● Started out hiring part-time contractors (referral-based)
● Workload increased
● Researched full-time options
● Compared 1099 contractors with W-2 full-time employees
● Initially went with 1099 contracts
● Shifted to hiring key full-time employees
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“You don’t necessarily have to hire all of your team
as employees. If you have the key people . . . they
can help manage contractors.”
- Robert Dickerson
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How do you find good contractors that stand
out from the crowd?
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Questions to consider
● Can you keep them busy full-time, or is it more of a
part-time position?
● What is the contractor’s availability?
● How long can the contractor work on the project?
“The mentality when you are hiring a contractor should always
be that they are not permanent. That’s the nature of it.”
- Scott Davis
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LinkedIn
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Resources for Finding Contractors and Employees
Existing
Network
Referrals Job Boards
“There are really good people out there. You need
to find the right person that fits with you.”
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Steps to Vetting Contractors
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1. Provide sample project
2. Ask for an example
3. Review the finished product
4. Pay them for a relevant, short-term project
5. Measure efficiency and quality
“This is a professional organization. We are going to compensate you for the
work you are doing.”
- Robert Dickerson
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“It’s like a marriage. If you even have a doubt, don’t
do it. Just don’t do it. There are other candidates
out there. Find someone better.”
- Scott Davis
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How do you
make
employees
most effective?
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After you make the hire
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1. Communicate milestones
2. Trust their skillset
3. Give ownership
4. Allow flexibility
5. Ensure accountability
“It’s important to hire people who are better than you at their specific
skill. In my company, doing this has helped grow the product.”
- Robert Dickerson
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“If you let them own their vertical within your
company . . . they’ll be more invested.”
- Scott Davis
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TEXT
Treat people
with respect and
tell them,
“Thank You”.
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“...it doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and
tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they
can tell us what to do.”
- Steve Jobs
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Hire for the
current needs of
your company
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● Is your company a startup, or established?
● Are you trying to hire the first couple of employees?
● Are you trying to grow your current team?
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Questions to consider
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● What will the person bring in terms of experience?
● How can they grow as the company adapts?
● Are they willing to learn?
● Do they have a growth mindset?
● Will they move the company forward?
● Have they been successful at this stage of a company in the past?
● How can they help you?
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Choosing the right candidate
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1. Be transparent
2. Set your expectations
3. Gauge their responses to various startup situations
4. Determine if they’re a good fit
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“When you start your company, you need to make
quick decisions. You need to push things forward.”
- Robert Dickerson
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How do you identify people who fit within the
culture and within the current needs of your
company?
“That’s my goal, to build talent internally. I want people to leave my
company and go to Google, go to Apple, and work on huge, awesome
projects. I’m really about fostering that kind of environment.”
- Scott Davis
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You are
investing in
people.
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“You really need to be passionate and willing to
learn and willing to try things and fail.”
- Robert Dickerson
“I’ll hire passion over experience any day.”
- Scott Davis
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You need to be able to communicate effectively.
“I’ll get them to walk me through their process . . . you have to be able to
communicate what you did.”
- Robert Dickerson
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It’s all about hiring the right people.
Let us know your strategies and processes
for finding good people.
stretchgoals.fm
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