Hiring, Hiring, Hiring

Hiring is on the tip of the tongue for almost all entrepreneurs I’ve talked to over the past few months — there’s something going on. Perhaps the economy is getting better for certain sectors or I’ve randomly been talking to a group of entrepreneurs that happen to be doing really well (likely some of both). Regardless, hiring is always a big deal and especially now with so many startups aggressively competing for talent.

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind when hiring:

• It’s better to take your time to find the right candidate that fits your culture than it is to hire someone that’s good enough (this is always the case!)
• Use Topgrading for management positions and a slightly abbreviated chronological in depth survey for more junior positions
• Internal referrals are always the best candidates, so provide a generous referral bonus
• If it’s a position that you’re going to need a large number of people on staff over time, consider developing a farm system or a straight-out-of-college training program
• Awards like being the fastest growing company or the best place to work are great social proof and should be used as part of the recruiting process
• Institute a unanimous approval process for everyone that interviews the candidate so that all team members are empowered to veto a prospective hire

Hiring is tough. The startups that hire the best people for their corporate culture and market win. Never stop working on improving everything you do related to hiring.

What else? What are some other ideas around hiring for startups?