Today
I would like to share a few things I have learnt acquired in various roles and
positions I held in small companies before I started my own business.
To put
it clear, I am not a HR expert neither did I major in human resource management
in campus but I have certainly acquired some experience when it comes to
handling people as a marketer, manager, colleague to others and as well as
working under someone.
To
start off, we as people are all different, posses strengths and weaknesses as
well as skills and various level of expertise and experience. Secondly we also
have different levels of education, social standing and economic backgrounds.
To
make things more interesting, some of draw satisfaction from jobs depending on
the pay, responsibilities, level of challenge & involvement, recognition
and some just want good titles. To some and most of us, what makes us go to
work is hardly the money we are paid.
Having
knowledge and skills on how to manage human capital/ talent is crucial for any
start-up; any organization is as good as the people it keeps or attracts.
For
start-ups though the team really does matter, besides the great idea, newly
launched business your people do matter! Most angels and VC’s tend to also pay
close attention to the people (team) and thus if you’re going to hack it you
need to focus on the people you hire or attract to your firm.
With
that brief I have five bullet points to share with you;
1.
Don’t hire Relatives or Tribesmen
This
helps a lot in getting the work done, it’s okay to hire friends (people you
know or past colleagues) however this too may impair your judgment. If most of
the employees in your company are from one tribe or family then mostly the
company is seen more like a tribal/family entity and this may hinder your
chances of attracting new talent or retaining great personnel. The point we are
driving here is you need to have a balanced workforce for the greater good of
the company.
2.
Be firm but not horrible
People
will forget what you did, but will not forget how you make them feel so just in
case someone is on the receiving end don’t be too tough on them. However be
firm with your judgment, let your juniors know what is acceptable and what
isn’t. Be a cool boss but ensure work is done, timelines met and quality of
work is never compromised because employees feel they can get away with
anything!
3.
Have Job Descriptions
In a
startup maybe you have a team of 3 to 10 employees in your team; at times the
founder will empty the bin or prepare coffee for other staff. This means that
at times people do not necessarily stick to their role which is good. A
marketing guy will do sales and PR and a bit of business development to help
fill in gaps to make things work. In as much as this happens it’s advisable to
have job descriptions to ensure people understand their scope of work and what
is expected of them however as you do this ensure you encourage collaboration
and teamwork where people not only stick to what is in their JD’s but also help
in other areas where they have skills or knowledge in.
4. Hire specialists and seek advisers
It’s
advisable if you want to fill out a key position go for a specialist; go for
the best that you can afford if you expect tangible output. I know most
start-ups survive with cheap interns; if you hire a design intern to fill a
vacancy yet design input/position is crucial to the company then that may not
work well especially in the long term. Interns are good for supportive roles as
you train them to perfect their skills in their educational backgrounds. Also
helps with understanding people & screening talent, abilities and skill
sets before you place them in key positions whilst committing more resources towards their
remuneration. Investors too look for a great team with the desired mix of
skills and synergy to make things work. At times a start-up may not afford to
hire talented guys or attract them but you can also give up equity to get a
good co-founder. For the advisers you need to have a mix of people, say a
lawyer, an entrepreneur etc all these people can really help you save much on
costs especially when it comes to hiring consultants. Do ensure you get them
interested in helping by clearly defining a value proposition. Remember it’s
not just about you so stop being selfish, tell them what they stand to gain or
make out of helping you. Shouldn’t be money always! Remember your advisers
aren’t investors however keep it open, if either of them wants to invest in you
can join on certain terms.
5.
Establish a corporate Culture
Culture
is somehow your competitive advantage; simply put as ‘how things work at place
X’. It’s about you, your people, culture, leadership, core values and vision
and basically what people external to the organization think of you. The
culture of an entity really matters a lot to the success of the entity. Set up
values, morals, mission and vision of the company and ensure you instill that
to the employees.
Remember
employees borrow a lot from the founder/s of a company as he/she sets a culture
which grows into ‘a way things are done
here’ so do ensure your team picks the right things from you; have virtues,
certain beliefs. See what Steve jobs did with Apple? His passion for great
design? That lives on even after his death, employees still abide by the
culture of the company because it’s deeply instilled in them and shall remain
in decades to come.
If
you have any contribution to this post please follow me @KenyanMarketer & share your response with me.
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