Shane Shown

Start with purpose. Audit your teams. Auditing your company isn't enough. Most companies will create diversity metrics that reflect stereotypes and biases for specific positions. What do I mean about that? It means focusing on adding woman to only marketing and HR because of a pre-existing bias for that particular role. Instead, identify where there's missing representation on each individual team and hold yourself accountable to increasing diversity within that team. This could be IC versus Leadership too. When you're sourcing, you're actively identifying what you need while holding all candidates accountable to the same interview process and values with no exceptions.

Attrition and losing domain knowledge within your organization can be one of the most expensive hiring lessons. Build shared resources, content community pages, and strategy documents to seamlessly integrate new hires. The shared resources can be a learning lesson for all future hires to avoid the earned battle scars of past employees. You can reduce your cost per hire by evaluating talent that will integrate and produce higher ROI early on. There are times where the upfront costs of a strong hire might be more than is in your budget. However, saving a few pennies for the wrong hire will burn your cash and burn out your team. I've learned that the hard way with multiple startups.

Keep is simple. Hold yourself and your team accountable to communicate with those in your communicate. The words, "We will not move forward with your application," actually provide a tad bit of relief. Closing the feedback loop is important. You don't need to provide feedback, but closure is helpful. If a candidate makes it past an initial screen, it can always be helpful to provide feedback and ask them to try again next year. It's like being on the voice. We all love the come back stories. I've seen boomarang interviews at Facebook and other companies with extremely positive results. You can create future hires through a positive candidate experience. You can also get referrals with feedback.

Did you watch Messi in the MLS this year? He joined a "good team." However, after a few weeks of training he helped inspire and develop a great team. He did this because he was able to create positive impact on the team around him, share best practices from world class teams, and inspire those around him to level up their game. If you're looking to build a world class team, you need a team that can integrate world class players. It could have been very easy for Messi's new teammates to rebel, get pissed, and cry about not being a star player. Everyone was in Messi's shadows. However, he brought everyone in the light with him like a true leader.

Build out a recruiting process before you start interviewing candidates. Understand what "good" means for your organization and build questions that reflect your company values. This will allow you to remove false positives during the interview process while selling the position. In addition, it'll ensure that you're evaluating candidates in a streamlined fashion that'll give your team a rubric to make effective decision. "Buyer's remorse" is real. Hire slow, fire fast. However, make sure you know how to evaluate "good" with out comparing candidates to other candidates. That's a big mistake.

Giving credit where it's due is pivotal in collaborative environments. Recognizing and showcasing individual achievements within a team ensures members feel valued and acknowledged for their unique contributions. By elevating, awarding, and promoting, it not only validates their efforts but fosters motivation and loyalty. When individuals sense their work is appreciated, they're more inclined to invest further, enhancing team cohesion and productivity. Essentially, regular recognition not only celebrates individual merits but also fortifies the collective spirit, driving teams to achieve more together.