Three rules to recruit talent for your team
We have had our Vietnamese office since early 2009. I had intended to hire several experienced developers that would deliver high-quality work immediately, because our clients are demanding when it comes to quality. However, it was not that important. To my surprise, my first hire was the youngest of the candidates who was 24 at that time. This young man completely persuaded me with his honesty and dedication, although he had only 18-month experience and had 2-3 jobs before interviewing with my office. For me, people with honesty and dedication always excel in anything they do. This employee not only learned very quickly, but also was able to multitask and did so without any hesitation. We have had more experienced employees join the workforce, but the young man that we hired is still one of our best people. When you hire people, trust your feeling and value personality. It will pay off greatly.Hiring designers is more complicated. Talented designers are emotional and sensitive, so managing them properly can be a challenge. However, I will not hire any designers who are not emotional, because they will not be able to create exceptional work. Design is about emotion, and I look for designers who have a strong personality, (not too) big of an ego, and the desire to create great work. I require top quality from our designers, and from time to time I may have arguments with our designers, but we respect each other professionally. After interviewing many designers, I only work with a few of them, and today I can say that Conative Business has some of the best web designers in the industry.
Virtual office space is no longer a new concept, and due to flexibility, simplicity and economics it has become popular. At Conative Business, we hire a lot of remote employees from many different locations. But one should also know that not everyone can work effectively virtually. Working virtually, you have no supervisor, no peer motivation, and no face to face communication. We recruit people who are proactive, responsible and have good communication skills. Thus, we can have multiple projects going on with very few people in the main offices.
Communication skills are important. At Conative Business, we have a simple rule: Any incoming email must be replied to within 24 hours. It shows respect. A one-sentence reply is acceptable, e.g. "Got it. Will reply soon" but there must be a reply. There are no excuses. This seems to be simple however to develop this habit actually takes a long time. The employees we hired must be active communicators. When they don"t know something they need, we expect them to ask proactively. It saves us a lot of time.
In this economy, hiring the right people can be the key to win or fail. We believe that personality makes all the difference.