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Hiring people with an entrepreneurial mindset helps foster the same culture of innovation that takes companies from idea to reality. As an HR leader who seeks to hire true self-starters, people who are eager to take initiative and see the impact of what they’re building, I believe these traits are key to a company’s success. We have seen it contribute to the expansion of the
Candidates identify with this work culture. Honestly, you don’t want to feel like a small fish in a big pond, where nothing you say or do matters. One of the attractions of working for a company that is still in its growth stages is that you can have a real impact on shaping its trajectory. This environment encourages opportunities beyond the job description for both employees and the company, allowing an entrepreneurial spirit to spread throughout the organization.
New and growing organizations need to understand that scaling requires: different skill sets than in the early stages of building a company from scratch. There are his four keys to success in taking your company to the next level.
Related: 3 Strategies to Optimize Your Recruiting Process and Find the Best Employees
1. Let go of control
Filling positions at the next vertical level often requires external hiring. How do you combine in-house historical knowledge with the experience you bring in from outside? The answer is: entrepreneurship People bring to their work a commitment to challenging, testing and experimenting with conventional wisdom. Then give them room to succeed. It’s normal to not understand new methodologies at first.
My advice to new leaders is to hire. We’re looking for people who are smarter than us to teach us how to improve functions like finance and sales. Leverage expertise developed elsewhere. By instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in your workforce, every role can add more value than expected.
2. Be smart about your strategy
Successful entrepreneurs need a strategic plan, but I’ve seen many companies that don’t really know what they want. Success can come quickly, but so can failure. Your job as an entrepreneur growing your company and hiring new positions is to set a “North Star.” That means clear expectations about where you want to go and how to hire the right people to get there. That includes planning goals for the next five years and giving the employees you hire the freedom to set goals for each department with the North Star in mind.
One way to develop a strategic hiring plan is to SMART technique: Is it specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-oriented? A company hired 100 people last year and wants to hire 200 people this year with expansion in mind. , this goal will check many of these boxes. Recruiting leaders must work backwards from business goals to ensure they hire the right people who can help the company achieve and execute its strategic plans.
Related: SMART goals may be holding you back — try this effective goal-setting technique instead
3. Hear more
HR teams, as well as managers and other leaders, must agree to honestly listen to employees’ thoughts and concerns. Turning vision into reality is difficult and requires having honest conversations with stakeholders and learning to see through different lenses. Those of us in leadership positions need to ask ourselves: “Do I always dismiss people’s ideas?” Can I accept constructive criticism?
If not, there are many training programs available to help you develop active listening skills. Additionally, entrepreneurs need to collaborate with other entrepreneurs. So, Find your resource group It’s a place where entrepreneurs can share what worked for them and when they needed to pivot. Finally, make your environment as accessible as possible. Personally, I really enjoy it when people come into my office and leave laughing. Because they know they can feel safe expressing their opinions.
4. Combining creativity and data
In the age of AI, creativity alone is not enough. Leveraging data to demonstrate why hiring and employee initiatives are strategically and financially responsible is critical to the success of your scale-up efforts. At the same time, it’s easy to become obsessed with data and avoid risk. So instead of suppressing your creative ideas, use data to enhance and validate them.
Data can help you understand why creative endeavors fail, as well as identify where you need to pivot. Analyze data such as employee turnover, length of service, and productivity. It’s important to ensure that your hiring practices are optimal to foster the right company culture you need to scale and grow. If you can improve your numbers, use this as a lesson or future guide. If your employee turnover rate isn’t meeting your expectations, find out why, take the necessary steps to correct it, and move forward. Don’t use words like “failure.” After all, the art of analysis is about blending creativity and decision-making in collaboration with the people at the heart of success.
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To grow, hire people with free thinking.
I’ve seen the difference between companies that scale while meeting the challenges of growth and companies that waste opportunities in their willingness to truly listen to their employees and embrace change. Leaders need to get used to their teams being part of their growth. Steve Jobs came up with the idea for the iPhone, but he was only as great as the people behind him.
Perhaps now more than ever, workers are looking for an environment where they can truly feel valued as individuals. Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Stay open to the craziest ideas. This mindset shift is essential to foster innovation, drive growth, and stay ahead of the curve. With this in mind, hiring the right people can help keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive throughout your growing organization.