We scaled our staff from 2 to 150 in just over a year, and here are some lessons we learned
Employees are key to your company’s success; Establish a long-term employee acquisition and retention strategy
One of the biggest challenges for any fledgling startup is bringing talent in, and then retaining them. When AdAsia Holdings first started in April 2016, it was just my co-founder, Otohiko Kozutsumi, and I. Now, just over a year later, we have over 150 employees across nine countries, and it’s a number that increases almost every week. At the same time, the management team is committed to increasing our global headcount to 200 employees this year, and to double this figure by the end of next year.
Of course, like every early stage startup, there were growing pains in our human resource efforts. That said, if we hadn’t experienced those pains, we wouldn’t have managed to put together the framework and ideals that have allowed us to scale for the future.
Here’s what we learned:
Set the bedrock
Culture is a word that’s been thrown around a lot when it comes to talking about hiring and retaining employees, but that’s just because it’s that important. Put simply, what your company stands for matters — culture reigns above all else, and should be the first priority.
It is important for founders to determine the company’s culture from the start — and can then bring in people who not only work well with the founding team, but are also able to connect with future employees.
At the same time, the majority who apply with a startup are looking for an environment where they can cultivate their talents and have the space and opportunity to grow. We can also draw comparisons here to the “millennial mindset” — hungry to learn and to experience fast growth, both as a professional and as a person. With that in mind, what your company can offer, beyond salary, stock options and other benefits, is extremely important.
This includes sending your staff for training and upskilling, or to attend industry events — basically providing the opportunity to learn from not just within the company but from industry peers and experts, as well.
Everyone is here to put themselves to the test, to learn and to better themselves. Make it worth their while, and you’ll reap the rewards.
Develop the blueprint and lay the bricks
Once you have a vision for your culture mapped out, it’s time to start hiring. This can often be a hit-and-miss affair if you’re unsure of the qualities your ideal candidate has to possess. Remember, we’re looking to bring in people who will be an asset in the long-term.
Early in our journey, we observed a few characteristics that our best-performing staff shared, and we wanted to combine those characteristics to form the foundation of our company culture. These are: grit, teamwork, positivity, result-oriented, speed, and fairness — collectively known as the AdAsia Standard.
The AdAsia Standard is a clearly-defined set of qualities that everyone in the company aligns with. Our hiring managers and recruiters know what to look out for, and applicants can know the qualities needed to succeed here. This has added a lot of scalability, clarity, and efficiency to the hiring process, with crystal clear goals for our HR staff and unambiguous expectations for potential employees.
When it comes to interviews, remember that they are two-way conversations. As much as you would like to sell them on your company and vision, you should put emphasis on getting to know them as individuals, including their interests and motivations. I feel it’s important to have open and accessible communication throughout the company, and that’s why I ensure that the leadership team meets with likely applicants before we decide to hire them.
Of course, this has to start from the very top. For example, I attend industry events whenever I can to grow my network. From there, I’ll meet likely candidates — providing me with a more authentic way of getting to know a potential employee compared to the pre-conceived setting of an interview.
Another way is to leverage on your existing network. I’ve worked with many external parties and have built up a good network of contacts across the industry. Based off this, I have experienced first-hand their working styles and abilities, and also how they treat clients. As a result, I know who I can count on to help build my company. At the same time, when I’ve found a very good candidate, I’ll always do my best to bring the candidate into the company no matter how long it might take.
By communicating your expectations and understanding what drives your employees, you and the applicant’s line manager can gauge if they can fit into the culture of your organization, and know what can be done to maximize their potential.
Place the roof
One of the typical characteristics of startups is the speed in getting things done. Starting from the top, this nimbleness allows for quick and sound changes of direction where necessary. It is also one of the reasons why I wanted to start my own company.
But this attitude shouldn’t be restricted to external business decisions — use it to engage internally, as well. Show your people that you walk the culture talk by using nimbleness and flexibility to recognize and reward whenever appropriate, and not according to some arbitrary schedule.
Benchmark this according to the culture you want to build. Not only will this encourage employees to perform at their best constantly and consistently, but it serves to reinforce, both in an implicit and explicit manner, your culture and values.
As a bonus, this serves as an oft-overlooked manner of company branding. Your company’s best advocates are the people you see in the office, day in and day out. If they know you appreciate them, they will respond in kind.
Apply the finishes
No two startups are built exactly the same, and the process of attracting and retaining talent starts from the top. It’s essential to find out the kind of employees that you want driving your company to greater heights and couple it with the objectives you want to achieve.
There is an often-quoted phrase that is very apt here: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Employees are key to your company’s success, but failing to plan a long-term employee acquisition and retention strategy can be detrimental.
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