startup hiring & firing - ken davis, ceo of taskeasy
TRANSCRIPT
Startup Hiring & FiringKen Davis, CEO
Lots of Advice Out There...
"Only hire Stanford graduates."
"Hiring from Ivy League Schools is too expensive."
"Hire employees with a policy that nobody ever gets fired."
"Always fire the bottom 5% of your staff each year."
Most hiring advice is too rigid to allow CEO's to be human in their hiring practices...
"Only hire local, or people willing to relocate."
"Hire top heavy, startups can't afford to not have experienced leaders"
"Don't hire top heavy, startups need worker bees, not expensive leaders"
"Only hire people that someone knows"
Effort, not Rules
Good hiring is more about being scrappy and clever . . . and putting in the hard work, than any single rule of thumb
Bad Idea #1Never Fire Anyone
Bad Idea #2Mandatory Reduction in Force
Some Good Ideas
Good Idea #1Focus on the Little Things
Good Idea #2Turn Negatives into Positives
Good Idea #3Trust Your Instincts
Some Good Ideas
Good Idea #5Be Wary of Mediocre Employees
Good Idea #4Don't Fear Change, Keep Roles Flexible, and Don't Over-Promote
Conclusion
● No hard-and-fast rules● Hire humans not “carbon units”● Create your own culture
Ken DavisCEO, [email protected]