Hooked on Hiring Adjustments - Issue 38
Streamlining your business through cost-cutting measures doesn't automatically allow a return to normal operations. Whether you're a CEO recovering after a reduction in force (RIF) or leading a startup that hasn't yet faced workforce downsizing — be cautious. Without improving your hiring strategies, you risk encountering this situation repeatedly.
What's going on?
You did the mission impossible. You rose to the occasion and did what needed to be done when the market was rewarding you for growth at all costs. But that market is gone, replaced by sustainable, efficient growth — something in direct conflict with the flurry of hiring over the last few years. The result? You and your leadership team are working through the painful cycle of cost-cutting. Everyone recognizes it's time to focus on operational rigor at your startup and get back to basics. But even after a RIF, it's easy to return to old habits, setting the hiring dial to cruise control. You run through the same headcount planning process coupled with the same hiring playbook from circa 2021 — only this time with a more conservative hiring number.
Why does it matter?
You can't reset everything in your business and not reset how you're hiring along with it. As a founder, your number one priority shouldn't be getting people in; it should be getting the right people in — at the right capacity — fully aligned with what you're setting out to accomplish next. And right now, there's a rare and exciting opportunity to level up. In the frenzy of 2021, you kept the bar high, but ultimately, you had to hire the "best person on the market." Now it's time to get the best. But to do that requires you to do some heavy lifting. It means you are always in recruiting mode — even if you aren't hiring right now. Start architecting your talent wish list and building rapport EARLY with talent who will raise the collective bar for your company. Your team will thank you and be inspired to raise their own game when they see the incredible talent you’ve attracted to the interview process. Equally important to this is the process of continuously validating that you are getting really good at measuring everything to do with hiring for the lifetime of your startup. Because it does no good to "cut the fat" if you aren't also rethinking the systems, practices, and decisions for all your hiring and headcount planning efforts.
What do others think?
"Hiring A players is always a top priority, especially right now. You are trying to do more with less, and this will only happen with top performers. Fortunately, there are a lot of job seekers on the market. This makes your job both easier and harder. Keep your bar high, be very clear on the skills and attributes you are hiring for, and reference-check heavily — both with those provided by the candidate, as well as those you identify through your network (or the network of your investors and team)." — Tim Porter, Managing Director at Madrona
What do we think?
Right now your top performers are searching for signal that you will make the necessary changes to build back strong, wiser, and more efficient. They need confidence that this reset wasn’t all for nothing. Show them it wasn’t. While changes being made will take time to be fully realized, failure to change will compromise your startup’s vitality, pulling down your best performers who will tire of complacency and leave. And regrettable churn is the most painful cycle of all.
What do YOU think?
Take Action
Make headcount planning a sacred and intentional exercise — justify every role (hired or to be hired) as though your startup's life depends on it. Realign business objectives and identify key areas that are driving growth in the business. This will help in determining which roles are absolutely critical.
Hire slow, fire fast. Not everyone will agree with this, but we've seen over and over that hiring fast and firing slow is a startup Death March. When you know, you know – it does not help anyone to continue with someone who is not a fit.
You don't have to rip and replace everything in your hiring playbook. But what got you here isn't going to get you through the next phase. Spend time identifying critical skill gaps on the existing team, understanding the new problems to solve before hiring, and ensuring your team is aligned on the headcount necessary to reach the next milestone. Slow down and be measured.
Ready to hire again? Involve top performers in role-scoping exercises. This gets them reinvested, more engaged, and helps them reconnect their work’s impact to your company's mission. When people feel purpose, they are inspired to up their game.
To Tim’s point, be relentless in checking references. Check out Issue 16, Fear of Reference Checks for a refresh of some of our best strategies and great callouts by Karan Mehandru, Managing Director here at Madrona.
Effective onboarding will help accelerate time-to-productivity. Define clear, measurable goals for new hires. This ensures that each role brings tangible value to the company and aligns with the startup’s immediate objectives as quickly as possible.
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