Startup Hiring & FiringKen Davis, CEO

Lots of Advice Out There...

"Only hire Stanford graduates."

"Hiring from Ivy League Schools is too expensive."

"Hire employees with a policy that nobody ever gets fired."

"Always fire the bottom 5% of your staff each year."

Most hiring advice is too rigid to allow CEO's to be human in their hiring practices...

"Only hire local, or people willing to relocate."

"Hire top heavy, startups can't afford to not have experienced leaders"

"Don't hire top heavy, startups need worker bees, not expensive leaders"

"Only hire people that someone knows"

Effort, not Rules

Good hiring is more about being scrappy and clever . . . and putting in the hard work, than any single rule of thumb

Bad Idea #1Never Fire Anyone

Bad Idea #2Mandatory Reduction in Force

Some Good Ideas

Good Idea #1Focus on the Little Things

Good Idea #2Turn Negatives into Positives

Good Idea #3Trust Your Instincts

Some Good Ideas

Good Idea #5Be Wary of Mediocre Employees

Good Idea #4Don't Fear Change, Keep Roles Flexible, and Don't Over-Promote

Conclusion

● No hard-and-fast rules● Hire humans not “carbon units”● Create your own culture

Ken DavisCEO, TaskEasyken.davis@taskeasy.com