NCD’s 11 step guide to hiring the very best people in the world!
Bringing on the best people is the surest way to succeed. We have hired more than 50 people in the last 18 months and are on the journey to continuously improve the process of attracting the best people and accelerating their growth. To NCD, “best people” means super-smart, kind, great problem-solvers, growth-oriented and fast-moving.
1. Almost 100% of our future employees will check out our Glassdoor reviews, Google reviews, BBB reviews and Linkedin posts. Senior candidates will spend a couple hours consuming everything they can find about our company online.
You may be able to game one platform on a short-term basis, but if you really want to attract the best, you need to earn a real reputation from your customers, employees and partners. Obsess over your reputation
2.Referrals from people you trust are worth everything. Send amazing thank-you gifts for referrals
3. Job descriptions infused with personality. All our jobs start with- Life is too short to work with jerks! It doesn’t weed out the jerks from applying, but it does serve as a tuning fork to help find good people
4. Make sure the first touchpoint with HR is smiley, happy, warm and loving and can authentically tell your story. Shout out to Andie Barrera, she is the best!
5. Screen for red flags, be willing to look past them initially. We all have wounds and cannot make progress if we are judged based on our worst days, and red flags can bite you when ignored, recognize and contend with the paradox
6. Use the Wonderlic or other assessment to test for cognitive, emotional intelligence and more. Add in assessments from Leadership Alliance for all executive positions. Use skill tests for some roles. Xobin helps to ensure high level skills and we will build our own assessments for technical roles
7. Focus interviews on evidence of continuous growth and grit outside of work
8. Screen for the right energy fit. Background, orientation, politics and other things don’t matter. Emotional energy match, pace/speed fit, warmth and quick to laughter are where its at! Candidates should meet with at least three team members
9. Follow-up and be transparent about the lengthy process. Never rush the process even if desperate, it leads to a worse outcome than the pain of a big hole in the lineup
10. Right butt, right seat, right time. I have a list of more than 30 people that I have my eye on. We don’t always have the right seat, right budget or right time for the right butt, but treating people well and letting them know you want to work with them one day increases the surface area of luck that the timing might work one day
11. Close the deal! You can't delegate this. Hiring Managers up to the CEO need to stay involved in every step. When you have someone amazing, you need to sell them on why this will be their best career move. Get creative with comp, professional development, non-obvious perks and make the hard sell!