Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
business sherpa group trusted. capable. results-driven
Entrepreneurship 101 Recruitment and Building Your A-team
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Introduction
GOALS
WHY effective recruitment is critical
WHEN to recruit using a comprehensive plan
HOW to execute an effective recruitment campaign
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Background
Business Sherpa Virtual VP of HR supporting start-ups, early-stage
companies and social venture enterprises 25+ years of HR experience (10+ years in start-ups) HR Professional of the Year Ottawa 2006
Co-founder of Meriton Networks (optical networking start-up) from formation to sale 8 years later
Supporting start-ups in Toronto and Ottawa over past 2.5 years as Business Sherpa
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
WHY Effective Recruitment is Critical
Money: Always limited Over-filling the ranks or hiring poorly will consume your cash
quickly
Geographic Challenges: Where you form may not be where your ‘talent’ lives Customers will impact who and where you recruit for some roles
Market Window Timing: Don’t get multiple shots at hitting the market at the right time –
anticipating vs. reacting even more critical Miss-hiring and losing time can be a devastating blow vs. an
annoying inconvenience
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
KEY to Effective Recruitment
Recruitment Mantra:
Plan well
Search creatively
Choose wisely
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
PLAN WELL - around key milestones = precision hiring
Ready Aim Hire
Form
atio
n
Year
1
Year
3
Year
4
Year
2
Year
5
Technical Milestones
Proo
f of
Co
ncep
t
V.1
Prod
uct
V.1
GA
Prod
uct
V.2
Prod
uct
V.2
GA
Prod
uct
Financial Milestones
Seed
Fu
ndin
g
Seri
es A
Seri
es B
Stra
tegi
c Re
venu
e
+ M
argi
n Re
venu
e
Year
ly
Reve
nue
Gro
wth
Qua
rter
ly
Reve
nue
Gro
wth
Seri
es C
IPO
/M&
A
Customer Milestones
Com
pany
La
unch
Earl
y Cu
stom
er
BD
Cust
omer
Tr
ials
Stra
tegi
c Cu
stom
er
Sale
s
Repe
at
Sale
s
Repe
at
Sale
s
Repe
at
Sale
s
New
Ac
coun
ts
New
Ac
coun
ts
New
Ac
coun
ts
V.1
Sust
aini
ng
V.2
Sust
aini
ng
Recruitment Milestones
CEO
R&D Lead
CFO (P/T?)
PLM
Sr. R&D
Marcomms
Int./Jr. R&D
BD/Sales
QA
SE’s Sales
(Hunter) Sales
(Farmer)
CTO
Sales Support
Customer Support
HR (P/T?)
VP Sales
VP Marketing
Admin. Support CFO
(F/T) Accountant COO?
HR (F/T?)
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Key Observations About Recruitment Milestones
Ready Aim Hire
Recruitment Milestones
CEO
R&D Lead
CFO (P/T?)
PLM
Sr. R&D
Marcomms
Int./Jr. R&D
BD/Sales
QA
SE’s Sales
(Hunter) Sales
(Farmer)
CTO
Sales Support
Customer Support
HR (P/T?)
VP Sales
VP Marketing
Admin. Support CFO
(F/T) Accountant COO?
HR (F/T?)
Identify Pillar Hires Key to success, but timing may differ depending on budget, sector,
market, technology, customers, etc.
Consider Timing Recruitment can take from 1 – 3 months; plan accordingly
VP-level Not Necessarily First Hire Consider what must get done – do you need a ‘doer’ or a ‘builder’?
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
Tight Execution is Key
Recruitment Need
Need arises
Posting Created
Phone Screening
Job Posted Interviews Scheduled
Resumes Screened or Forwarded
References
Job Offered
Candidate Hired
Ongoing Business
Position Filled
Ongoing Business
Reactive Recruitment is not Effective
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
Tight Execution is Key
Ongoing Business
Recruitment Plan
Market Knowledge
Focus in on a tight plan in the context of a big picture
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Job Descrip,on
Ready Aim Hire
Excellent Recruitment Begins and Ends with an Excellent Description
Provides clarity around what you need Becomes an essential filter for automated and
manual search mechanisms A guidepost to keep selection on track
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Features of Excellent Job Description
Clearly articulates ‘table steaks’ skills Paints a real picture of the ideal candidate – know what success
looks like and describe it Sells the opportunity through role, technology, industry, etc. Has a deadline to match recruitment plan
Ready Aim Hire
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
High Credibility Sourcing
Low Credibility Sourcing
Trusted Individual Endorsement
Executive Search
Employee Word of Mouth
Employee Referral Program
Social Networking Recommendations
Head Hunters
Internal HR
Job Board
High Cost Process
Low Cost Process
Ready Aim Hire
SOURCING: Finding Talent – time & $$$
Spending more $$$ does not necessarily reduce
time nor improve results.
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Job Descrip,on
POST
Website (maybe?)
Job Boards
Paper
Engage Recruiters
Ready Aim Hire
Typical Approach: Only reaches individuals actively looking
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
SEARCH CREATIVELY – can be a strategic advantage: With social networking – you can easily reach “passive”
candidates Contemporary methods fundamentally change the game plan:
FROM: Those that cost a lot and reach millions of candidates TO: Those that cost little and reach targeted audiences
User groups Business/professional networks Professional associations Alumni associations Etc.
Print ads – very costly and have limited effectiveness Web site – may or may not be an options (stealth vs. launched) Word of mouth – ALWAYS USEFUL – employees, advisors, board,
investors, colleagues Social networking tools are critical
Ready Aim Hire
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
Social Networking has completely changed the game….. Previously company phone lists were a protected asset Now – access to everyone Problem is the clutter has multiplied
One network can access millions Everyone is a ‘friend’ and can recommend a candidate – with no way of
validating the quality of the reference
SO how do you find and reach your stars?
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
Best Professional Networking Tool
Pro’s Access to millions of professionals in all industries, professions
and geographies Career focused Provides access to contacts useful beyond recruitment
Con’s Access to millions of professionals in all industries, professions
and geographies Unreliable filtering of quality candidates Adoption just picking up in Canada – network is still light
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
Tips on effectively using Linked In Post opportunities – about $150/posting Push out to relevant user groups Tweet it!! Let your contacts know Take every opportunity to build network in all geographies and
industries Use search capabilities Reach out to candidates – customized and personal Leverage common contacts, or marquee roles/industries/
technology When searching – think about other key hires you can fill Update company’s profile – update key events
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
Google Ad Words
Pro’s Can reach even further Can bring candidates right to your career page Can measure effectiveness of campaigns Very cost effective
Con’s Need to understand and learn how to develop solid campaigns
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Ready Aim Hire
CHOOSE WISELY Biggest failure in recruiting is to have one to choose
from THIS IS NOT A CHOICE!! Never stop at the front end of the process (filling the
funnel) until a candidate is hired Do not be left in a default position of ‘settling’ on a
candidate
AIM FOR A CHOICE OF 3
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Choosing is the biggest challenge of all!!
Who YOU like the best may not be best for the company Interview – a balance of asking and selling – hard to know what you
are seeing Comparing candidates over a protracted process is difficult to do Interviews easily drift off course Interviewing is mentally exhausting A tendency to like or dislike or suspect or make candidates
comfortable can take away from the evaluation process A highly faulty process!!! Be aware of this and plan accordingly.
Ready Aim Hire
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Mitigating the Risks: Prepare questions based on the job description – ask questions that tell
you something 2nd round of interviews can be very telling
Interview several candidates over a couple of days – keep it very tight Know your biases and plan around this Interview with someone else – so you can mentally rest and evaluate
during interview Big believer in ‘testing’ – or putting candidate in-situ as much as possible Finally – put your concerns on the table….in fact force yourself to find
some to put on the table
1st Interview: Company – asking Candidate -‐ selling
2nd Interview: Company – selling Candidate -‐ asking
Ready Aim Hire
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Making an offer: WAIT – check references first!! ALWAYS Do your homework
Understand where they are at/expectations What can you pay What is the ‘bundle’ you offer (salary, benefits, options, role,
opportunity, sector, technology) – this is the offer – not just $$$
Provide verbal and written offers (make sure you have a solid employment contract) with a deadline to accept – so you can go back to other candidates
Once offer is accepted – keep connected to the candidate until they are in the door and in seat
Ready Aim Hire
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
Best Recruiting Tips
PLAN WELL know what you need to hire and when
SEARCH CREATIVELY $$$ spent ≠ saved time or quality results Use all the tools available – be creative
and aim to reach passive candidates CHOOSE WISELY
Most effective recruitment has a clear job description, a tight execution plan, and results in choices at the end of the process
Margo Crawfordbusiness sherpa
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS or COMMENTS