Hiring is a top 5 challenge for design leaders.
How do the best leaders build their design dream teams?
A thread on the most effective hiring practices, according to 1000s of design leaders. 🧵
(from the preso @ #Remotedesignweek)
Let's start w/ the % of time design leaders spend recruiting.
"How much time do you spend recruiting?"
Same question, 2 years apart. Look at that upward trend! 👀
Why? Teams are scaling, and you have to recruit. @jaffoneh says it best:
Two buckets of recruiting:
Active (short term) v. Passive (long term)
Let's start with Active.
5 top questions leaders ask their teams:
1. Did we validate the role?
2. Can we tune up the process?
3. Is our hiring team aligned?
4. Are we launch-ready?
5. Are we iterating?
Active/Q1
"Did we validate the role?"
The best leaders wait to post the role, and fully understand the problem space. They create a vision statement and intended role outcomes, at the onset. Then ask if they really need an FTE. Q assumptions!
If they do, onto the next Q...
Active/ Q2
"Can we tune up the process?"
After each hire, make incremental process improvements. Some do big retros, others just ask their recent hire: "what were the worst parts of your hiring experience here". Insert 80/20 rule & make small changes with outsized impact
Active/Q2 (cont)
A note about scorecards...
Some design leaders revisit their scorecards after 1-2 quarters of hiring someone. Why? As one VP told me: "I need to make sure my bullshit meter is tops. Reviewing my scorecards helps keep me in check and learn from myself".
Active/Q3
"Is the hiring team aligned?"
Gather your team.
Align on a major question: "what does success look like in 4 years from this role?" Work backward. 2 yrs? 1 yr? .5yr? Draw outcomes. Use these to form questions everyone asks + document in scorecard.
Then address bias!
Active/03 (cont)
After the team has aligned on the problem, defined successful outcomes, and tuned up process, they write the JD.
@jmspool writes more on this: medium.com/uie-brain-spar…
Active/03 (cont again!)
Resources on JD creation:
Inclusive language:
blog.talaera.com/inclusive-lang…
Need help w/ the actual copy? Check this out: blog.hubspot.com/marketing/writ…
And of course, @jamalnichols reminds us what bad looks like: medium.com/truthaboutdesi…
Active/ Q4
"Are you launch-ready?"
Create a spreadsheet with diverse places to post. Assign team roles to who's posting when/where.
Approach community managers in @BlacksWhoDesign @latinxsdesign @womenwhodesign @QTBIPOCdesign + @AIGAdesign @IxDA chapters & ask for referrals.
Active/Q5
"How are we doing?"
The best leaders check-in, often. They ask the hiring team if they received feedback that something was off or felt out of place. They try to empower their people + iterate on the process, to always evolve their #recruiting practice.
^^That's a question-based roadmap as to how the best leaders approach their active recruiting opportunities. While you're thinking about it, listen to @MadsFaurholt or Stefanie here:
Onto the best practices for passive recruiting!
Passive/Step01
Establish the story at the center of your recruiting practice.
“People don’t buy the product they buy the story that’s attached to it.” -@getstoried
This is true with recruiting.
We don’t just join a team, we join a story. We attach our identity to it.
Passive/Step01 (cont)
So, where do you start with your story?
The top design execs agree: start with your value prop, and place it in the middle of your story.
What's your candidate promise? What are they guaranteed to get if they join?
And if you need ideas, here are a few...
Passive/Step 01 (cont)
1. Promise to develop them.
"Career growth opportunities" is the No. 1 reason people change jobs (-@Gallup). gallup.com/workplace/2694…
2. Promise to delegate. People love to make an impact. Give them a weak part of the org & let them improve it.
Passive/Step01 (cont)
As @reidhoffman says: businesses are most successful when they align their mission to root customer motivations.
This is true with recruiting.
When your story aligns with their candidate motivations, there's potential for a long/ fruitful relationship.
Passive/Step 02
Invest in the recruiting team
Effective design execs make sure they have a strong relationship w/ their recruiting partners. It's in this partnership where the design recruiting practice is established, and ultimately, operationalized.
Passive/Step03
Some of the best teams redesign the hiring experience every few years, or after major events (Like C-19). This helps keep the candidate journey fresh & optimized for the current team/working environment.
How many actually do this? Let's look:
Passive/Step03 (cont)
When asked about how many leaders redesigned their hiring experience...
- 10% said they redesigned their hiring experience
- 48% said they improved it
- 27% said they did nothing
- 15% said they have never designed it
Passive/Step04
Ensure every candidate touchpoint has your story at the center of it.
The story is the oil that greases the engine, but you have to pour the oil in. And that’s what you do here. Pour your story into the hiring experience, and activate it for your candidates.
Passive/Step05
Consistent Outreach.
Of the 25% of time design leaders spend recruiting, almost half of that is spent on strategic outreach.
They schedule informationals, @dribbble scout, and interact on social with those who they want to eventually work with.
As you put all of this together, you'll want to measure success. Check out this comprehensive cheat sheet from the @LinkedIn team: business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me…
All of this is a bit wasted if you're having a hard time retaining your talent.
More coming on how top design leaders retain their people, but for now, check this out.
@AmberSawaya writes retaining talent during the great resignation: ceros.com/inspire/origin…
That's the highlights! I'll be posting the full 30 min preso once it's published on @WeAreDesignX
Want to keep learning about recruiting designers? Follow Judy @wertandcompany. A must listen w/ Judy @highrespodcast w/ @erondu & @ghoshal
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