5 Things you Need to Know BEFORE hiring Employees [watch before you interview]
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Laila Hormozy, Co-SEO of Acquisition.com, addresses the common struggles of hiring for businesses with revenue between $3M-$10M. She emphasizes the importance of avoiding hiring pitfalls such as letting likeness cloud judgment, hiring 'coaches not players,' ignoring red flags, recruiting from a limited pool, and hiring for potential rather than practical experience. Laila's insights are drawn from her extensive experience in HR and aim to help businesses scale effectively by making better hiring decisions.
Takeaways
- 😀 Laila Hormozy, co-CEO of Acquisition.com, aims to help businesses scale from $3M to $10M in revenue for free through her channel.
- 🔍 Laila emphasizes the importance of effective hiring, as it's a significant challenge for many businesses, especially those in the $3M to $10M revenue range.
- 🙅♀️ Hiring should not be based solely on personal likeness, as it can blind decision-makers to a candidate's unsuitability for the role.
- 🏈 Avoid hiring 'coaches, not players'; candidates should be ready to actively contribute rather than just supervise others.
- 🚩 Ignoring red flags during interviews can lead to hiring unsuitable candidates; trust your instincts and dig deeper if something feels off.
- 🌐 Diversify your hiring pool to avoid groupthink and to foster a range of perspectives within the company.
- 💡 Hiring from the same 'incestuous pool' of people can stifle growth and innovation due to a lack of fresh ideas and perspectives.
- 🚫 Avoid the temptation to hire based on convenience or a need for quick filling of positions, as this can compromise the quality of hires.
- 🛠️ Hiring for potential can be risky; it's generally better to hire candidates with practical experience and proven track records.
- 📈 Laila's insights are based on her extensive experience, having made many hiring mistakes in her early ventures and learning from them.
- 💼 The video is intended to educate and help business leaders avoid common hiring pitfalls, drawing from Laila's authentic experiences and lessons learned.
Q & A
What is the primary goal of Laila Hormozy's channel?
-The primary goal of Laila Hormozy's channel is to help businesses grow their revenue from wherever they are currently at to between three to 10 million dollars for free.
What is the main topic Laila Hormozy discusses in the video script?
-The main topic Laila Hormozy discusses is the challenges of hiring the right talent, especially for businesses with revenues between three to 10 million dollars.
Why does Laila Hormozy spend most of her time on HR?
-Laila Hormozy spends most of her time on HR because she considers herself an operator CEO and believes that hiring the right people, especially for customer success roles, is crucial for the company's performance.
What is the significance of hiring the right people for leadership roles in a company?
-Hiring the right people for leadership roles is significant because it directly impacts the company's culture, growth, and overall success. The right leaders can either propel the company forward or hinder its progress.
What does Laila Hormozy mean by 'coaches, not player coaches'?
-By 'coaches, not player coaches,' Laila Hormozy refers to individuals who have been in positions where they only coach others but do not actively participate in the work themselves. In smaller or entrepreneurial businesses, she emphasizes the need for people who can both coach and actively contribute to the work.
Why is it dangerous to hire someone based on likeness?
-Hiring someone based on likeness is dangerous because it can blind you to the person's shortcomings and qualifications for the job. It can lead to overlooking critical requirements and hiring someone who may not be the best fit for the role.
What are 'red flags' in the hiring process, and why are they important to consider?
-Red flags in the hiring process are warning signs or concerns that arise during an interview or assessment of a candidate. They are important to consider because they can indicate potential issues or misalignments that might affect the candidate's performance or fit within the company.
Why does Laila Hormozy advise against hiring from the same 'incestuous pool of people'?
-Hiring from the same pool of people can lead to a lack of diversity in thought and perspective within a company. This can hinder innovation and growth, as everyone may have similar ideas and approaches, limiting the company's ability to adapt and evolve.
What is the downside of hiring for potential rather than practical experience?
-Hiring for potential without practical experience can be risky because it may require significant time and resources to train the individual. In many cases, businesses need people who can hit the ground running and contribute immediately, making practical experience more valuable.
What are the key takeaways from Laila Hormozy's discussion on hiring mistakes?
-The key takeaways include not letting likeness blind you, avoiding hiring 'coaches, not player coaches,' not ignoring red flags, diversifying the hiring pool to avoid groupthink, and prioritizing practical experience over potential when hiring.
How does Laila Hormozy's experience with hiring influence her advice on the subject?
-Laila Hormozy's advice is heavily influenced by her extensive experience in hiring, having interviewed thousands of people and made numerous hiring decisions. Her insights are based on the lessons learned from both her successes and mistakes in the hiring process.
Outlines
😀 Introduction to Channel and Hiring Challenges
Laila Hormozy, co-SEO of Acquisition.com, introduces her channel and its goal to help businesses scale from $0 to $10 million in revenue. She discusses the prevalent issue of hiring difficulties faced by her portfolio companies, which has become a significant focus for her. As an operator CEO, she spends considerable time on HR and customer success, emphasizing the importance of hiring the right people for critical roles. Laila shares her experience and insights on common mistakes made during the hiring process, especially for businesses with revenues between $3 to $10 million, where leadership is often lacking or misaligned with company culture.
🤔 The Pitfalls of Hiring Based on Likeness
The speaker identifies the first major mistake in hiring as letting personal likeness for a candidate cloud judgment. She recounts her own experience of hiring someone she liked but wasn't qualified, which led to problems. Laila warns against prioritizing being friends with a candidate over their qualifications for the job. She observes that this mistake is common in her portfolio companies and can lead to hiring people who do not meet the necessary requirements or cultural fit, ultimately hindering the company's success.
👷♂️ Avoiding the 'Coach, Not Player Coach' Hiring Trap
Laila discusses the second common hiring mistake: recruiting individuals who are 'coaches, not player coaches.' She explains that in smaller or entrepreneurial businesses, it's crucial to hire people who are willing to get hands-on and not just oversee others. She contrasts this with individuals from larger companies who may be accustomed to a more supervisory role. Laila emphasizes the importance of hiring people who can lead projects and contribute actively to the business, rather than just manage teams.
🚫 Ignoring Red Flags During the Interview Process
The third point Laila addresses is the tendency to ignore red flags during interviews. She advises against overlooking concerning signals or gut feelings that a candidate might not be a good fit. Laila stresses the importance of heeding these instincts and either investigating them further or deciding not to hire the candidate. She shares that this is a skill that improves over time and is crucial for making better hiring decisions.
🔄 The Dangers of Hiring from a Limited Pool
Laila's fourth point is about the detrimental practice of hiring from a limited or 'incestuous' pool of people. She argues that this lack of diversity in hiring can stifle business growth due to a lack of fresh ideas and perspectives. Laila criticizes the tendency to hire within the same community or friend group, which can lead to groupthink and a stagnation of innovation. She encourages businesses to seek out a broader range of talent to foster a more dynamic and successful company.
🚀 Hiring for Potential vs. Practical Experience
In her final point, Laila discusses the mistake of hiring for potential rather than practical experience. She acknowledges that while potential is important, it's often more beneficial to hire individuals with a proven track record in the role. Laila advises that unless you have the time and expertise to train someone up, it's better to hire someone who can hit the ground running and contribute immediately to the company's success.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Hiring
💡Revenue
💡Likeness
💡Player-Coach
💡Red Flags
💡Diversity of Thinking
💡Potential
💡Entrepreneurial
💡Talent Acquisition
💡Culture Fit
💡Operational Role
Highlights
Introduction of Laila Hormozy as co-CEO of Acquisition.com, a portfolio business with 85 million in revenue.
The channel's goal to help businesses scale from 3 to 10 million in revenue for free.
Discussion on the challenges of hiring and its significance in the growth of businesses.
Emphasis on the importance of hiring the right people for customer success and leadership roles.
The role of an operator CEO in being heavily involved in HR and customer success.
Mistakes made in hiring due to likeness, overlooking qualifications.
The danger of hiring 'coaches, not players' from larger companies into smaller entrepreneurial environments.
The necessity for new hires to be hands-on and capable of leading projects.
The importance of recognizing and addressing red flags during the hiring process.
The pitfalls of hiring from a limited, similar-minded pool, leading to a lack of diversity in thought.
The negative impact of 'incestuous hiring' on business growth and innovation.
Advice against hiring based on potential rather than proven practical experience.
The preference for hiring individuals with a clear understanding of their first 30-90 days on the job.
The video's aim to share personal hiring experiences and lessons learned to help others avoid common mistakes.
Encouragement for viewers to learn from Laila's mistakes and apply the insights to their own hiring practices.
Invitation for viewers to share their thoughts and experiences in the comments section.
Transcripts
what's up welcome my channel my name is
laila hormozy co-seo of acquisition.com
which is portfolio businesses that does
about 85 million period revenue and my
goal with this channel is really to help
you get from wherever you're at to
between three to 10 million in revenue
for free and so that being said what i
want to talk about today is something
that has been really top of mind for me
because it's been top of mind for our
portfolio companies which is hiring and
specifically having trouble hiring and
this is something that we
at acquisition.com we put a lot of time
into um it's probably where i spend
honestly like most of my time like i am
heavily
like i consider myself an operator ceo
and i am heavily versed in hr and
customer success and probably more hr
right now than even customer success
because i think it's actually more of a
struggle for people and the reason for
that is
you know if you hire the wrong customer
success person it's going to make
customer success suck and it's like you
basically have to be the one determining
who's above all the departments and so
it makes it a function i think is more
important by nature that being said
basically the struggle is like this week
i think i've had you know three
different ceos come to me ceos and ceos
you know just struggling with hiring for
certain positions in the companies right
now and i wanted to share this because
you know i was actually going to give
personal feedback in a video to one
person who specifically was feeling down
about not being able to hire a pretty
high level operational role that they
were looking for and they just continue
to send us candidates that you know we
weren't impressed with at all because we
a lot of times what we do with the
portfolio companies is we actually
help them you know recruit and then help
interview uh with especially like a
managerial role in their company and the
reason we do that is because like they
don't know what good looks like we do
know what good looks like and so we want
to help you know kind of mitigate and
lessen the mistakes and the pain that
they have to pay by you know inserting
ourselves in the hiring process so like
i like you know hiring helping people
hire ceos operators customer success
sales like all those roles because we
know how pivotal they are if you get the
right person to where the companies are
at you know if you're between three and
10 million in revenue
it's usually the issue is that you don't
have enough leadership and the
leadership you do have either has to go
or has to get trained up or they're not
really aligned with the culture and
where it's going and so it's a lot of
moving parts with the people stuff and
so that being said i put together this
list because i was going to share in a
video with one of the ceos and i felt
like chip i should just make a youtube
content on this because it's obviously
helpful for anybody who's at this stage
and really it's my what i would say is
like untraditional or like these are
just my authentic thoughts about like
where i see people messing up and hiring
that i know i've experienced because
like guys like the reason that i'm so
good now at hiring and like i'd say i'm
so good like just statistically the
people i hire now it's like i have way
less turn turnover false stars whatever
you want to call them now because i've
hired hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
of people and i've interviewed thousands
of people so like and i did that because
and i became so diligent about it
because you know you've seen my other
videos like i've made so many mistakes
in my first company gym launch and
prestige labs like you know i just
completely that up if you look at
my video that's uh my biggest mistake i
talk about it in there but that being
said you know i've made it a mission to
like really keep up with the stuff and
and make sure i'm doing it correctly so
i want to share just the top five things
that i've seen be the biggest reasons
that people aren't able to hire the
right kind of talent and it's usually
these aren't like tactical things as
much as they are thinking frameworks and
these are specifically businesses
between three to 10 million in revenue
um it could probably be less than that
it could probably be more than that
that's just typically what i see around
that size the first one and this is
absolutely the worst culprit possible is
that people let likeness blind them i
don't remember where i heard this it was
a very long time ago and basically i had
hired somebody who i thought was awesome
he was super cool i really liked talking
to him amazing guy i hired him because i
liked him because i wanted to be friends
with him not because he was qualified
for the job and i see this so often in
our portfolio companies and it's super
dangerous because here's the thing
likeness blinds you from all of the bad
parts the downsides of these people and
so like yes you want to be able to like
the person but that shouldn't be why you
hire them and so that's the first piece
is are you letting likeness blind you
are you letting it taint your
perspective of this person are you
letting it manipulate in your own mind
so that you think this is the right hire
and you're gonna be the more lenient on
your requirements because of how much
you like this person i think a lot of
people do that and i'm seeing it right
now like specifically with this one ceo
you know like why do you not like these
people like because you like them too
much dude they don't even
qualify for the role like they don't
even have any of the skills required
they don't even have full culture fit
they're just cool that's great you want
cool people but like they need to have
the other stuff too so that's the first
one is you don't want to let likeness
blind you
now the second one
is that a lot of the times in businesses
that are smaller or entrepreneurial etc
you know you want to hire experienced
people but what you don't want is you
don't want to hire people who are
coaches not player coaches okay so what
i mean by that most people that come
from larger companies and you're going
to bring them into your entrepreneurial
startup or you can scale up startup
whatever you want to call it they come
and they've been just sitting in a seat
coaching people for a very long time or
for years or whatever they've got into
the habit of not doing and coaching but
just coaching any company that's doing
less than 10 million and i will even say
that in some companies doing less than
20 million and even 30 million and even
up to 50 million you can't just sit on
your ass and tell people what to do
you've got to get in there and get your
hands dirty and a lot of times i see is
you know someone brings a candidate to
me and they're like i'm so excited this
guy's like this operator from this huge
company and this that i'm like amazing
he's got a great resume let's talk to
him i talked him like what do you do on
a daily basis and it's like i check the
kpis and i make sure people are doing
what they need to do and i'm like okay
but what projects are you leading and
they're like well
i mean i lead the change management i'm
like we don't even have a change
management protocol we're doing five
million a year like i need you to like
do all this over here do half this
person's job and somehow build this team
and so that's something you can't
compromise on it's like if you're an
entrepreneurial business and you're at
that point where you're you know not an
enterprise yet you can't compromise on
not that you cannot you cannot there's
no room for someone who's purely a coach
not a player coach
a player coach is someone who's like you
know okay a coach in in traditional
football for example he's never going to
get on the field because a player is
hurt that's not how it should work in
business it sounds crazy like in small
businesses the coach has to go in when
the players hurt and they also sometimes
need to be in the game no matter what
and so that's something that can't be
compromised a lot of times when
first-time founders are interviewing
more experienced people and i've made
this mistake guys i'm telling you this
because i've literally done this like 10
times you know i interviewed someone i'd
be like you sound amazing this is great
you have all this experience and they
come in i'm like here's what i've been
doing that it needs you to take over and
they're like oh i'm gonna need to hire
three people to do that i'm like
what
you know like i'm doing it why the
can't you if there's people like that
you know you kind of it's a lot of times
if you set the expectation on the
forefront you're like i'm gonna need you
do all this so like you're not
gonna do it like you know you're just
not gonna stay here you're gonna end up
getting fired immediately then they're
like oh okay you know and like they get
it you know but it's just that a lot of
times we don't have
the perspective to realize that we need
to even say those things people and so
that's why i'm making this video it's
like that's the second thing is that
people often hire a coach not a player
coach the third thing and again this is
probably for any size business but it's
more
it's it's like a muscle you have to
train ignoring red flags here's the
thing i used to interview people and you
know they'd say something that bothered
me or like they'd be saying in the
interview that i was like i feel like
that's gonna become an issue but i'd be
like oh but everything else was so good
like
just because i sensed one thing wrong
doesn't really mean anything the
interview is the best you're gonna get
from this person it's like the absolute
best you're gonna get that is that is
the 120 trying and so like if you've got
red flags in the interview and they're
saying things that are throwing you off
then what do you think it's going to be
like when they come in it's like you
can't ignore that instinct that you have
to like flag those things they say
you've got to either dig in and find out
what the heck is going on or you've got
to say hey this doesn't seem like it's a
fit this we're going to pass on this
candidate and so it's just it's really a
mindset of understanding the interview
is the best it's ever going to get this
is the hardest they're ever gonna try
for you so if you've got red flags in
the interview i would say that either
they're not a very good you know
interviewee or it's just not the right
person with a role and that's the third
thing is like you just you cannot ignore
these red flags it's almost like a
muscle that you have to continue to
train like i know that over time mine
becomes stronger and stronger which is
really just not letting my
need to fill a position
override my instinct that it's not the
right fit
or that there's something else there or
that doesn't feel right or that i need
to dig more into that red flag and often
times when it's like we're so eager to
fill that position i totally get it
because like i feel that way too that we
just like put ourselves in more pain by
hiring somebody who's not great for the
role so that's the third thing now the
fourth thing is something that is just
the absolute worst in my opinion and i
would say is probably like it's number
four which makes no sense that's not
number one number five but i put it as
number four when i was writing things
down so here we go is hiring from the
same little incestuous pool of people
guys this is
literally what kills businesses is that
you hire people from the same friend
group the same pool the same community
and everyone has the same ideas
and perspective there's no diversity of
thinking and i've like the reason i'm so
passionate about this guy's like i
specifically have one friend hires every
single person from the same community of
people and their business they're like i
don't understand why it's not going to
grow i'm like yeah because every single
person in your business including you
only values marketing and sales even the
people in customer success in finance
and hr they're all just sales and
marketing people it's because you're
hiring from these communities that are
sales marketing and so like your
business is just stuck because of all
this these people because you're hiring
from the same bullets like this
incestuous pool of people that you're
hiring from and this happens a lot our
portfolio companies come to me and
they're like i need to hire for this
role i need to get this person etcetera
i'm like cool we're gonna go post here
and post here and then we'll get a
recruiter for this one and they're like
no but like i have communities i can
post in these groups so i can finally
i'm like just stop
seeking to control it's like this need
for control over like knowing that at
least you know what you're gonna get and
i think that's why people do it like i
think it's this need to know it's like
well at least i know that this person
will be like a sixty-five percent like a
six out of ten but like i'm sure they're
six out of ten they're not a one out of
ten they're not 10 attempt but they're
six out of 10 if i get them from this
community and it's like but they're not
a 10 out of 10. and so because of that
you're just setting your business up for
in the long run it's like maybe in
the short term they might work and they
might plug the hole but they're not
going to set you up for success in the
long run everyone it's just me group
think and this goes for if you hire from
within your community this is super
common nowadays there are certain roles
it makes absolute complete sense to hire
from your community i would say the two
that are probably most relevant are
sales and coaching like especially if
you're watching my channel right now and
maybe you have an e-learning or a
coaching business coaches yes hiring
from a community that makes sense they
have to fit certain criteria of course
but that probably makes sense sales as
well they're convicted in your product
they've used your product that makes a
lot of sense finance hr executive admins
uh you know controllers no
this is one i just banged my head
against the wall and that's probably why
i'm angry is because there's two people
particularly that i'm working with right
now it's like they just despite my
advice
despite my begging they continue to hire
from within the same communities in the
same little cesspools of people and
because of that they're setting the
business up for disaster in the long run
i've seen this play out so many times
i've had it play out my own we've hired
too many people from our communities
it's like you need to go out there and
even though it's harder in the short
term to hire from platforms to hire from
recruiters you have to spend more money
you have to take more time you don't
know how to do it you've never done it
before it is all learnable and the great
thing about it is once you learn the
skill of cold hiring which is almost the
same as marketing then you can literally
get any kind of talent you ever need and
so you don't have to just say like who's
the best in this community to hire it's
like who's the best in the world
to hire because you have the skill of
acquiring talent and that is probably
the hardest thing for people at this
level between 3 and 10 million
especially even at 10 to 20 million i
see people do this because they're
bringing the habits from 3 to 10 to 10
to 20. and they just continue to pull
and pull and pull from these communities
and never learn the skill of talent
acquisition until one day the founder
looks up and says nobody in this
business has an idea that is outside of
my own brain that i haven't thought of
nobody has thought of anything that i
haven't already thought of and that's
why i'm really passionate about that one
just really making sure guys like when
you're hiring it's so important to have
diversity of thinking
like i can't tell you like friction is
good having different opinions is good
it's studies all over have been done
about this like the more opinions put on
a decision in a team the better the
outcome but if they're all the same
opinion then what's the difference why
even be there why are they even feeling
the role they're just going to tell you
what you want to hear and the thing is
is that it's so hard and yet so
necessary to have people on your team
who tell you what you don't want to hear
you're not going to get that from people
who are just kissing your ass all day
because you've changed their lives or
because you're the kingpin in this
community you're hiring from it's really
hard and so i'm not saying it's 100 of
time but i'm saying much of the time
this is a huge issue for companies
especially nowadays and then the last
one number five is hiring for potential
not for practical experience and so
again it's
i think what happens is we get into the
interview cadence and we're interviewing
someone and we just like we're like i
know you haven't done this role before
but you have so much potential here's
the thing that's okay
if you have time and expertise
in the thing that they are filling the
seat of if you're hiring for somebody to
fill a role that you are currently doing
that you are currently an expert in and
you have the time to train them then
maybe it does make sense to hire
somebody who has the potential to fill
that seat but 99 of the time you do not
have the time and you don't have the
expertise so you're hiring someone for
potential without the know-how of how do
i train them and without the time for
when do i train them and so you always
want to think like it is preferable to
hire for practical experience somebody
who's done the job someone who can tell
you what their first 30 69 days looks
like not the other way around and so i
hope that these five tips were useful
for you like if you're high right now i
say this guy's like it was such a
painful thing for me
and it continues to be to watch people
fumble with this because of these it's
almost like biases in our brain right
it's like we're so used to doing things
the way that we have when the business
is small and the reality is in order to
make the business a good functioning big
business we just can't keep the same
habits we can't hire the same way we
can't recruit the same way we can't pay
the same way and so i hope this video is
useful for you i have learned this
lesson the hard way again like i said in
my video my biggest mistake i have done
this and i have messed it up and i just
i would like that somebody can learn
from my mistakes and so let me know what
you think in the comments i hope this is
useful for you and i will see you on the
next one
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