The 5 HR blunders of start-up founders

A start-up founder shares his experience of hiring staff and managing employees. Tech in Asia tells you more

“I hire the best – they surely know what to do.”

Most start-up founders neglect to create accurate and clear job descriptions for their staff. This is unfortunate, as clear and written job descriptions are a tool for communicating expectations and can also be used as a basis for performance management. Ask yourself: do you think each of your staff members knows what are their roles and tasks? 

“Everybody’s working hard already, we don’t need goals.”

Your team is working hard. The question is “Are they working hard to help you achieve your goals?” You’ll be surprised how unaligned your team can be as you grow, especially when you’re growing quickly. Here’s a fact: less than 40% are familiar with their employer’s goals. 

“If they did not perform well, they will know it.”

Many founders do not provide feedback to their staff for some reasons. Some are not used to giving negative feedback, worrying their staff will leave. Some don’t even have the information necessary to provide feedback. Feedback keeps your employees going and points them in the right direction. 

“I am so good, I need more people like me.”

This belief is common among founders. Sometimes, founders are confident that they are the best and hiring someone like them is ideal. Understanding and celebrating differences are great ways to improve entrepreneurial drive. How diverse is your team in terms of personality traits, age or culture? How will you manage the diversity?
 

“We are family. We don’t need written policies.”

When you hired your first or second staff, you and your team were like family. But as you grew and added new staff, it became a big family with different backgrounds, needs and approaches. Everybody has their opinion on what is right or wrong. Policy understanding needs to be uniform among your staff.

This is sourced from Tech in Asia. You can access the article here.