Fast-growing companies often lose their focus — as new hires don't share the same drive as current employees. So knowing how to hire top-notch talent is a way to keep an expanding company locked on its goals.
It's important to use your time and money wisely to build top teams when hiring new employees, said Anish Batlaw, who leads hiring efforts at General Atlantic, a private equity firm. Taking the time while hiring will pay off later, says Batlaw who co-authored "Talent: The Market Cap Multiplier," with Ram Charan.
How To Hire By Spotting Potential
Looking to hire proven leaders with demonstrated records of high performance? So is everyone else. Even if you know how to hire such people, good luck holding onto them, Batlaw said.
So rather than just courting candidates everyone is chasing after, learn to spot the next top performers. Think of other young professionals you've hired that worked out. Consider traits they all share.
"If you can't identify and spot potential, you're cutting your talent pool in half," Batlaw said. "This means being skilled at evaluating talent and recognizing promise that may not have fully blossomed."
Charan takes a lesson on scouting and developing talent from sports. "Look for raw talent, bring people in early and mold them through crucibles of experience. A 25-year-old can be the CEO of a startup," he said.
Streamline Interviews When Hiring
Top people are sought after and don't have patience for a drawn-out hiring process. Find out how to hire them fast.
For rank-and-file positions, efficient hiring is a prerequisite to land top people, said William Ingham, chief people officer at Poshmark, a social marketplace for resale and secondhand items.
Poshmark hired around 370 people in 2021. That's one new person a day on average.
The company merged multiple interviews into just one, with a panel of people from Poshmark. That sped up the interviews and streamlined scheduling. "This simplified the process for Poshmark and the candidate," Ingham said.
How To Hire Top Executives Well
Stakes are higher when hiring top executives. Hiring badly can harm a company. And the wrong person is hired for top jobs about half the time, Batlaw says.
To boost your accuracy hiring for management positions, know how to hire well even if it takes longer. "The C-Suite candidates are interviewed by at least five people, often multiple times, and interviewers may spend up to three hours with a candidate," Batlaw said.
Gather data on a candidate's track record of success and potential. But more importantly, find out if this person can learn and adapt. "We consider not only what a candidate did, but how, in great detail," Batlaw said. Checking references rigorously helps with this.
Develop Talent To Keep It
It's not good enough just knowing how to hire well. You must hang on to top employees you do hire. And to do this, heed and implement their opinions, said Demir Vangelov, CEO of Soylent, the maker of plant-based shakes and snacks.
He asks team members for "specific feedback on tangible problems we're trying to solve." That means how the employees think the company might help customers meet their goals better.
Asking for specific advice to fix company issues works. And it beats asking a general question like "what do you think" every time, Vangelov said. "I routinely get frank discussions on decisions I'm about to make, and I'm happy to hear it, because it means we won't miss important points of view."
Hire Well With Relationships
A solid connection between a recruiter and a candidate helps companies that know how to hire top people in a competitive labor market, says Larry Nash, Americas Director of Talent Attraction and Acquisition for EY, a professional services firm.
"It is critical that organizations today not only understand what's important to a candidate, but also give them the right tools and experiences to help them achieve their professional — and — personal goals," he said.
