Part 1: Why Building a Great Company for Great People is Important
HirexHire Team Outing | Boat Day on Lake Michigan
At HirexHire, we believe that all executives - especially in start-ups aspiring to scale - have a fiduciary responsibility to build a great company for great people. On a human level, we don’t want to ask people to work in a place that isn’t great for them personally. And from the corporate perspective, we believe that building a great place to work for great people is a long-term business risk mitigation strategy.
Scaling start-ups know that tomorrow’s business needs will require more employees. Let’s say for this discussion, we are projecting 50% more front-line employees in a year or two. To succeed, those new employees will need experienced mentors to train them and help them ramp up quickly while they navigate their new jobs. And as the workforce grows, management and leadership roles (both formal and informal) will naturally be needed.
Experienced employees, mentors, and future leaders.
Who are those experienced employees, mentors, and future leaders? They are today’s employees. But today’s employees will not be there for tomorrow’s employees if they don’t love their jobs and feel like they can grow there personally and professionally. And if they aren’t there, a much larger percentage will be new, inexperienced, and needing mentors and leadership. When a majority of the front-line employees are slower to ramp because of the lack of mentors and leadership, the quality of work will be impacted, and customers will likely take it out on the untrained team. This all leads to a ‘death spiral’ of unhappy customers making work unpleasant for newer employees who become frustrated, disappointed, and disillusioned with their new employer, causing them to start looking elsewhere for a more fulfilling job. As they leave, the cycle starts over with more new hires (who will read the negative Glassdoor reviews) to replace them. Rinse and repeat.
This death spiral may not lead to the actual end of the fragile start-up, but it will most certainly slow its growth and give competitors an opportunity they might not otherwise have had if things were better.
On the other hand, employees who love where they work tend to learn and grow more quickly, deliver better work, stay on board to take leadership positions, and provide the training and mentorship that new employees need to ramp quickly and deliver great results for their customers. Rinse and repeat.
This is the positive spiral that leads to great business results and the accelerated growth that start-up executives aspire to achieve. And when that happens, it becomes easier to attract great people to fill new roles which increases the likelihood of continued growth and business success.
It all starts with building a great place for great people. And that’s why we’re doing it - hire by hire.
Thanks for reading Part 1! In Part 2 of this blog series, Chuck writes about laying the groundwork for a trusting relationship with HirexHire employees.
How HirexHire is building a great place for great people - Hire by Hire:
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About HirexHire
HirexHire (pronounced: hire by hire) is a Chicago-based recruiting and talent consultancy that integrates with companies short-term to provide long-term talent solutions.
We take a seat in our client’s everyday operations to understand their people, goals, gaps, and challenges. We then develop and implement the processes and technologies to execute a sustainable and scalable talent plan.
We partner with companies expecting or experiencing high growth, leading them to hire at scale or fill a critical role rapidly. We develop and execute creative strategies to carry out all aspects of the recruiting process: crafting job descriptions, building candidate pipelines, vetting candidates, conducting interviews, negotiating offers, and leading new hires to their first day on our client’s team.
HirexHire was founded in 2018 with an initial investment by founder and CEO Mike Durec. The firm found its first customers through Mike’s network in the Chicagoland startup community. Consistent success has led to a sterling reputation and steady growth. The company has more than doubled its number of customers, revenue, and employee base each year and is showing no signs of slowing down.
About Mike Durec
Founder and CEO
As Founder and CEO of HirexHire, Mike partners with operating executives and investors to develop and implement processes and technologies to successfully attract and retain talent.
In his past work as a corporate recruiting leader in technology, Mike crafted and managed strategies to hire thousands of professionals across many functional areas worldwide. He has led hiring initiatives in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Australia, and India. Mike brings practical leadership experience and a legacy of success to every engagement.
HirexHire now operates with Mike’s proven approach, deploying empathy with candidates and hiring managers and advocating for the best interest of both parties. Mike emphasizes the two-way relationship between the employee and employer, resulting in long-term people placement and greater work-life satisfaction.
About Chuck Baren
Chief Operating Officer
Chuck has more than 20 years of experience working in professional services for SAAS providers, most of which was with Fieldglass, where he helped it grow from 20 employees and no revenue in 2000 through its $1 billion acquisition by SAP in 2014. He regularly received high marks for the level of employee engagement of his teams for which he prioritized people management and the need to attract and retain top talent by building a great place for them to work. By the time he left SAP Fieldglass, the professional services team he led had grown to approximately 200 employees.
Chuck wrote about his experience leading his growing team at Fieldglass through challenging periods of rapid growth in Money Matters, Top Tips for Success, the Business Leaders Edition, volume 3. His chapter entitled “People Management is Key to Survival in a High Growth Environment” helped propel the book to Amazon Best Seller status in its first days of release.