Scaling quickly is an experience most entrepreneurs can agree is both exciting and terrifying. On one hand, more people are using your product, and on the other hand — well, more people are using your product. That means customers are relying on you to provide a service that’s both valuable and consistent, and you can’t do that without a team that’s able to keep up with the growth.
Enter the recruiters.
Heads of talent and acquisition play a major role in the scaling of a startup. They need to sort through candidates and manage loads of moving parts, all while keeping every open position organized and filled in a timely manner. Here’s how five recruiters have been able to do so successfully.
As the head of recruiting at a company with over 50 open jobs, Hillary Mager knows a thing or two about scaling quickly. Here’s the best advice she can give based on her four years at Flatiron Health.
“Grab a seat at the table early and often by building relationships with key stakeholders, pushing back, and standing your ground when need be. Become an advisor, not an administrator, and you'll be able to achieve your goals and have influence in a much more meaningful way.”
Since being founded in 2015, Stash has raised a total of $116 million which it put toward growing the business and hiring accordingly. Tom Gerrity, who has served as the director of talent acquisition for a year, shares his advice for keeping up with rapid scale.
“To successfully scale a tech organization quickly, there are two non-negotiables that must be in place: One, a solid execution strategy that is malleable based on results around what works versus what doesn’t, and two, executive buy-in. You need to put a lot of thought into the structure and scalability of your interview processes, employer branding and what your goals are beyond headcount. In terms of buy-in, if your executive team is not on board with your strategy as well as the capital and time investment that it takes to scale an organization quickly, you will have a very hard time succeeding.”
Head of Talent Acquisition Sally Bolig has worked with Yotpo for three years. During that time, she’s made a number of hires to support the company’s explosive growth. Here’s what she’s learned.
“Never compromise on quality. Although hiring only the best often simultaneously means interviewing a larger number of candidates, asking far more prodding questions and blocking off more of your hiring managers' time, hiring the right people is not only the most cost-effective route, but it's best for morale.”
Structural Recruitment Manager Tara Johnson learned some valuable lessons in nearly two years at AlphaSights: Get creative when hiring in masses. Here’s what that means.
“You have to get comfortable with ambiguity. Do not be afraid to try new approaches, offer suggestions to hiring managers and get creative. Worst case, you have to keep trying — best case, you make amazing hires and strengthen your hiring manager relationships!”
Hydrogen is a newly-launched platform that’s growing at a rapid pace. Human Resources Manager Sarah Brettschneider, who’s been with the company since the beginning, shares how she’s been able to quickly recruit top talent.
“Don't try to do everything yourself! I rely on the assistance of senior managers to help me identify quality candidates to minimize time screening those who don't meet qualifications.”
