Horses for Courses

Will the person I hire now, be futureproof?

If you are a start-up or young business, and thinking about hiring into your management team, this is a question clients often ask? The answer of course, is probably not! To use the Venturefest analogy of start-up development being like the human journey; birth, childhood, adolescence, adult – people tend to gravitate towards the stage that they are most attracted to and/or suited to. I often describe start-ups to candidates as being rather like marmite! The entrepreneurial and fluid environment excites some, and frightens others. There may be people who find themselves involved with a start-up right from the beginning, and manage to grow, change and develop with that business. However there equally might be some who after the initial excitement of raising finance, building a team, forging new markets etc, are less motivated in the next stages. Crucially there will also be a change in emphasis in the skills that you need as your business grows and develops. For example you might need a Sales Director with only UK market experience in the short term, and then a few years down the line, need someone who has experience developing the US market. The most important thing is always to recruit for the now, and not try to guess (too much!) what future skills and experience you might need.  Make sure the person you hire, has the critical skills and experience you need, and crucially blends well with the personalities you already have on board.