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In 2008, Sheryl Sandberg joined Facebook as chief operating officer, having first met CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a party.
Sandberg was very different to the team that had been behind Facebook since its foundation in university halls in 2004. She had previously worked in the US Treasury under Bill Clinton’s administration, before later heading up the marketing team at Google.
Sandberg’s immediate focus was making the company profitable. She told the New Yorker that at the time everyone in the company was focused on “building a really cool site” – while she wondered if the company would ever be able to make money.
Within months, she had managed to convince Mark Zuckerberg to focus on advertising as a revenue-generator, with the understanding that it would not impinge on user experience.
By 2010, Facebook was profitable – and in 2012 was valued at its IPO at $104 billion.
As a founder or CEO of a scale-up, it’s very easy to stick to what you know: surround yourself with people like you and hire a team who speak the same language as the first few employees. But Mark Zuckerberg was able to force himself away from this, recognising that Sheryl Sandberg was exactly what was needed to develop the business.
Sandberg pushed the company to evolve, moving beyond its very technical focus to more operational matters, including sales and marketing, business development and communications.
Otherwise, Facebook could have been a flash in the pan, like many other social platforms at the time – remember Friends Reunited and Bebo.
By contrast, you can look to the now infamous UK start-up, Powa Technologies, for a cautionary tale of how the wrong people policy can set your company down the road to collapse.
Powa raised more than $2 million in funding for its shopping technology. However, a significant of that money was spent on the sales team – and a very short-sighted bonus scheme.
Salespeople were rewarded with £2,000 every time they persuaded a target customer to sign a “letter of intent” – rather than receiving bonuses when they actually finalised deals.
Instead, those letters were completely non-binding, the sales pipeline ran dry and, eventually, Powa Technologies went into administration.
The contrasting fortunes of Facebook and Powa Technologies underline why getting your people strategy right is key to securing your long-term success. But how do you work out who to hire?
It sounds simple, but your people strategy must reflect your business strategy – after all, it’s the team that will make it happen. So first of all, tech business leaders must ensure they’re clear about where the organisation is going.
What differentiates your offering? Is it an evolutionary new approach – or a refinement of an existing idea? Is the goal to disrupt a whole industry or own a particular niche?
The objectives of the founder and any investors are also critical here. Are they aiming to grow the company fast and make money through an IPO, or are they happy to pursue slow and steady growth? How will that impact the business strategy? Make sure that your strategy is realistic and authentic to who you are as a company and the potential of your technology.
Once you understand your plan, you can work out the people you need to deliver it and when. Is developing your offering quickly the most important; in which case, do you need more technical talent? Do you need to raise awareness through a strong communications strategy? Or is setting up a strong local sales pipeline critical? Should these positions be company directors or more junior staff?
Importantly, when should you time each hire – and how much money will you need to assign for each post? Will you use a bonus scheme and, if so, how will you ensure that it encourages the behaviour that you need? If you’re lacking key competencies in the team, can you pursue upskilling with the staff that you have?
Remember the importance of the HR function too, to retain and develop the talent that you have. Sketch out a strategy for the next three years, and a detailed plan for the 12 months ahead, then refine it as you go.
Diversity is critical to business success, as numerous studies show. And that’s not only attributes like race, gender and sexuality, although they are incredibly important.
Different backgrounds and experiences are vital, to maintaining the innovative and creative thinking that will enable a growing business to thrive, especially in the fast-moving technology sector.
It’s human nature to hire like for like – which can mean that you end up with a team of similar people. But think of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg: the skills that you need the most might not be immediately obvious.
Creating a strong, diverse team, capable of new ways of thinking, will be critical on the road to success.
On the whole, you can teach skills – but you can’t teach enthusiasm. Select people based on their outlook, and not just on their current capabilities.
While admittedly this approach isn’t always feasible when you need, say, an expert developer or CTO, generally this approach will help to build a culture of loyalty, a team that will go the extra mile for the business and staff that buy into the culture of the company.
All of these attributes are important as the business grows.
Great leadership means more than being the best at everything in your company.
Instead, you should put the success of the business before your ego, recognise and acknowledge the gaps in your skillset – and hire the people that will complement you.
Creating a well-rounded team, and getting the best out of them, is the mark of a truly exceptional leader and will set your business up for long term growth.
Our service can be custom-designed to guide you at every stage from start-up to exit. To help you keep up, use our know-how on everything from outsourced accounting to future-boosting R&D tax credits and raising finance.
We work with high-growth agencies, IT companies, e-commerce platforms, website content providers and creative businesses across the UK and beyond. And once you’re on board, you can mingle with the full range of your peers at the sector events we run with our Buzzacott Tech Network partners. Just keep your eyes open for upcoming events.
Managing cashflow effectively is critical if you want to position yourself for strong growth. Monitor and forecast your cash needs closely and you won’t be caught out. Ask our advice on everything cashflow-related, from borrowing to investment stages to R&D tax credits.
Outsourcing lets you use our expert team to back up your front-of-house, freeing you to focus on business. We can help you:
Meet the Buzzacott Tech Network
As our client you‘ll meet our hugely experienced network of contacts who can offer support with everything from raising finance to M&A advice. Alongside our partners we run regular events in London and other UK tech hubs where you can meet, learn and network.
Our technology and media partners include:
Download these useful resources:
Launching a successful FinTech business
Exit Planning
Online annual reporting for employee share and share option plans
Valuations
Corporate Finance
Incentives to Innovate: research & development tax credits
Small companies - choices for your financial statements
Innovative financial advice to help you grow
Our Learning & Development Philosophy
High-Growth Tech
What is coaching?
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Personal HR support
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Pensions, rewards and benefits
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How to avoid people-problem landmines
Curators of the new business landscape - HR's role in preparing leaders
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