Flaunt Your Agility
OK, not that kind of agility.
You’ve heard of the great resignation, something we looked at from the standpoint of hiring your Pathfinder salesperson in a recent post. Let’s look in more detail at how you can view this unprecedented moment in time more opportunistically, more offensively.
Perhaps in this crazy world any hire and associated hiring process must seem daunting for a small business and this is particularly the case for your first sales hire. However, you shouldn’t be daunted as you have a major advantage – agility.
The past eighteen months has given people the chance to look at work differently. Those commuting realised the time sink and negative impact on their wellbeing that commuting was and are reluctant to return. Others want a better work/life balance, yet more are now looking for something more fulfilling. In response, some large firms are allowing a more flexible approach to work, while other companies are mandating employees return to the office – after all, there’s a lot of money committed to office rent that needs to generate a return.
Talent is scarce across the board and, of course, larger tech companies are richer and can offer better salaries and benefits. But, agility is your friend. Make a selling point of your approach to remote-friendly work. Go on the offensive and advertise your approach in your job ad together with some of the other ‘benefits’ you can offer to those contemplating the great resignation.
Not every founder will be comfortable with the notion of growing headcount remotely or facilitating a better work/life balance but, for those who do have concerns, what if you could identify those candidates who will thrive in such a flexible work environment?
At The Right Five our recruitment technology is targeted at the first Sales hire for a B2B tech founder – the Pathfinder. One of the key attributes that a successful Pathfinder requires is an ability not only to deal with, but also to thrive on ambiguity. Our assessment technology will sort those candidates who, among many other attributes, will thrive on ambiguity from those who will struggle.
This then is likely to be a good proxy for those who are able to thrive in a remote working environment versus those who will not. Knowing this, not only can you flaunt your agility but you can identify those most likely to fit in and thrive. In turn, this then means you can widen your hiring net and welcome applications from a broad geography.
Of course, hiring workers remotely and potentially cross border introduces a number of challenges around how to onboard and pay them while remaining compliant with appropriate State and Country laws and regulations. Fortunately, solutions to support you with remote workers are already on the market, not least in the form of Deel who have just closed a $425M Series-D round at a $5.5Bn valuation.
The speed through the rounds for Deel (they only closed their Series-B in September 2020) and their current valuation is testament to the belief that the future will see a whole lot of remote working.
Embrace it. Be agile. Flaunt it.
