Huddle.net - Hiring a Team of Peers

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  • + guestfab6f0 guestfab6f0 7 months ago
    Having (contributed to) build a 500+ company starting from a team of five, I simply have... nothing to add! Great ideas and lovely material.
  • + JMHarkin JMHarkin 7 months ago
    Saw Andy present this at GeeknRolla and he was fab. Great slides and delivery. Inspired us!
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Huddle.net - Hiring a Team of Peers - Presentation Transcript

  1. Building a Team of Peers Andy McLoughlin
  2. I am co-founder and product director at Huddle Huddle combines unified collaboration with social networking Huddle was launched in April 2007 Based in London, sales office in Chicago Doubling in size (users / revenue) every 4 months A little bit about us...
  3. Was it really all plain sailing? December 07: 5 staff December 08: 30 staff
  4. Dear God, no!
    • Picture of stormy sea
    Hell no!
  5. The early days
    • Use nice graphics from the website (or ask Keh)
    Building a great team is really, really hard work You rarely get the chance to pick a team from scratch so make it count
  6. Things we've learnt
    • Your initial team may not make the grade
    • Don’t be afraid to say no
    • Meeting the perfect candidate is like falling in love
    • Working in a start-up isn’t for everyone
    • Don’t hire people if you wouldn’t want to spend all day, every day with them
    • Bet on smart, entrepreneurial people
    • And…
  7. Build “a team of peers”
  8. “ A team of peers”
    • Coined by Bob, our first post-VC hire
    • Everyone hires everyone else
    • Foster the sense of family and buy-in
    • We run a three stage process
      • Telephone screen (20 minutes)
      • Paired technical test (1 hour)
      • General interview (30 minutes)
      • Huddle’s patented “4 point scale”
    • Unless everyone is agreed, it’s a no-go
  9. “ Bet on openness, build trust”
    • Huddle’s product and company mantra
    • Keep the team in one building
    • Publish company targets and roadmap
    • Weekly company stand-up with open floor
    • Get engineers and product on sales calls
    • Get sales and marketing people testing
    • Company-wide product planning sessions
    • 10% hack time to build cool stuff
  10. Finding talent Direct applicants FTW! We’ve used friends’ recommendations, blogging, speaking, twitter and networking events to successfully recruit great staff. LinkedIn, TechCrunch jobs, Monster and other job boards
  11. Dealing with recruiters Dealing with recruitment agents
  12. Recruiters: a cheat-sheet
    • Generally, they’re bastards and full of shit
    • Luckily, it is a hirer’s market
    • Create a PSL of maximum five agencies
    • Set a fixed rate (max 15%)
    • Be explicit with your needs and demand their three best CVs
  13. Interns – something for nothing? Interns: something for nothing?
  14. Interns: a cheat sheet
    • You can offer unpaid internships but conditions apply
    • Avoid unpaid interns falling within the definition of 'worker" under the minimum wage legislation
    • The intern should be learning skills / gaining experience
    • The intern cannot be subject to any work obligations
    • No regular payments smaller than minimum wage should be promised or made (travel / food expenses are fine)
    • Set a finite timeline then graduate to minimum wage
    • For tech interns and design interns this can be flexible
    • They’re part of your team so quality standards hold true
    • Have a look at enternships.com
  15. Losing a friend Breaking up is hard to do
  16. “ I’m giving you my notice”
    • The first time it happens is heartbreaking
    • But it’s inevitable
    • If you love them, let them go!
    • Look for early signs of unhappiness
    • Paying below market rate is a false economy
    • If you’ve instigated the break-up (sacking / redundancy / probation) then ensure you follow proper procedure
    • Send your CEO / COO / office manager on an HR course
  17. “ A place I'd want to work” Creating “a place I'd want to work”
  18. Creating that place
    • Great people + nice surroundings = WIN
    • Make everyone a shareholder
    • Invest in a good coffee machine
    • Table football league / Wii / beanbag area encourage creative thinking and bonding
    • Eat together regularly
    • Regular outings with partners invited
    • Continually ask yourself if this truly is a place you’d want to work
  19. Thank you! Email: andy@huddle.net Twitter: @bandrew
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