Ending HR shamanism
Hello founder ☀️
I have a question for you…If you had to choose among 3 service providers that will cost you at least €50k per year, would you:
(1) Interview each of the providers and then trust your gut feeling?
or
(2) Run interviews AND try to get data points & feedback directly from their clients?
Easy, Alice! #2, obviously.
Well, I’m asking because in my experience when founders are searching for new employees, they completely skip the reference checking part. By reference checking, I mean getting feedback from at least 4 ex-coworkers and really asking the questions that will give you objective data on the person you’re interested in. Usually, these checks happen at the very end of the recruitment process, just in case there was a reason to give a “no go”.
But in order to evaluate the fit or misfit of a candidate, information based on long-term experiences wins over a 45-minute interview.
So why don't founders run reference checks seriously?
Well, there’s no tool (yet) for that! It’s time-consuming to book, exchange, take notes, analyze the feedback from at least 4 ex-coworkers;
Even if you do, you often get feedback from friends who want to please the candidate;
And asking the right questions, several times, to different referees in order to make a decision requires real expertise and dedication.
So how can we skip shamanism when hiring and try to get more objectiveness?
The good news is that Corentin, a brilliant founder who recently joined The Family, created a solution for that exact problem: Refty.
Refty makes reference checking measurable and exploitable for their clients, which already include companies like Malt, Prestashop, Alltricks and PayPlug. These companies started using Refty to:
Collect twice as many references in half the time
Help them more objectively pick the right candidate for the job
Decrease turnover by up to 35%, because when it’s a match ❤️, it lasts.
Refty’s relevance comes from observing recruitment for years.
In 2014, Corentin and his cofounders launched a marketplace for tech talents and sold it to Hired. They spent a few years in the company, seeing how difficult it was to generate rewarding and long-term relationships between candidates and teams. And the root of the problem seemed obvious to them: companies are relying mainly on “interviews” rather than reference checks.
As a result, it’s no surprise if the hires in startups look the same. When people interview people, it leads to them hiring their clones. After all, no one is stronger than their biases.
The benefits of running reference checks are much bigger than the costs.
Not only will you make better decisions in hiring, but you’ll turn that burden into an opportunity to enhance your brand and attraction of talents. By running great reference checks, you’re communicating about your brand. The referees might even become potential new hires.
Try Refty and recruit better.
The CEO himself, Corentin, will onboard you.
This tool is useful as soon as you need to hire new people: early stage startups can benefit as well as more mature ones. And by the way, they have a 30-day free trial ;)
Have a great week founders!
💖
Alice
...And check out some other gifts and upcoming events:
A GIFT FOR YOUR TALENT SEARCH
🎁🎁🎁 Talent People, the French outsourcing leader, have a special offer for our founders. Their team was a great ally to have during our last online summit on remote hiring for startups and they wanted to add a little extra something just for you.
The team is offering a sourcing consultancy (half a day, for free) for the first 15 founders who book—enjoy!
➡️ https://calendly.com/a-lacassagne/30min
A WORKSHOP TO WORK ON YOUR REMOTE CULTURE
🌎 💻 🌎 For all those who work with remote teams and can’t get their head wrapped around how to create an inclusive, versatile and diverse work culture, we are hosting a workshop with Cooptalis and we would love to see you there!
➡️ Book your spot, March 11, 6PM
THE FAMILY FUNDRAISING WORKSHOP
🔥 🚀 🔥 Join our free and live workshop with The Family directors, Oussama, Balthazar & Mathias. They'll give you the mindset, process and tips to be more confident while tackling your fundraising. This workshop aims to be accessible and interactive.
Thursday, Feb 18th, 6:15PM CET
➡️ Join us here
The Family’s directors share daily insights on building ambitious startups, no matter where you live. Our next 6-week batch starts in April - find out more here 💖