Best Employees OR the Right Employees?

Last week I received a call from a startup founder from Bangalore. He has been running this startup for the previous three years.

The call aimed to look for a solution for his ongoing issues.

?At a mutually convenient time, we set up a virtual call to have an interactive session and discuss how my services can be of value to their organization.

He shared all the details from his end about the startup journey, his team, and the product. In 40 minutes, I could make out their exciting product and the learned team culture they have developed. As a startup, they were keen on investing in their growth and each team member.

?My few observations from the conversation-

??A valuable product with a solution

??Up-to-date app

??Satisfactory app downloads

??Dynamic office culture

They have provided the best facilities to their team as time flexibility, open feedback mechanism, easy access to founders, hybrid work culture, and in-house recreational facilities.

Despite creating a product with a high value to solve a particular problem in the industry, the results were not up to their satisfaction level. They also needed to generate targeted revenues.

He was very proud and confident when he told me that they have a very stringent hiring process and always hire the best people, as they have formed one of the best HR teams in the industry.

As a founder, he firmly believed that a good team is the foundation of a growing company. Hence, they maintained their team-building process.

They needed to get the results despite setting the right culture and values. Their employees were leaving in much less time than they had expected.

Their employee attrition rate was high, which impacted their business plans and growth.

I often come across this issue in startups.

Founders usually miss out on the most crucial aspect during their recruitment process.

After listening to his concerns and issues, I could figure out what went wrong.

Sometimes I sound blunt with my words, I like being transparent because I don’t know how to please my clients. But I know how to give them the proper perspective or approach to resolve their problem.

I am here to help them find solutions, and not to please them.

By the way, I was named ‘angry young man’ by my team members during my early years of a corporate job as I have always believed in being transparent and not being a people pleaser.

I questioned his recruitment process and told him their approach needed correction.

He got offended by my words. In his complete confidence, he tried to convince me that they had hired the best employees across verticals.

I patiently heard his side again, but I still stuck to my observation from this whole conversation.

My words to him were, “We all want to hire the best employees, and I appreciate that. I questioned him who would hire the wrong employee?”

His expression changed but with no answer.

I continued, “Why do you need the best employees?

Look for the ‘Right Employees.’

Employees that align with your vision and the company. They believe in you and your product. When the employees align with the belief and values of the company, the company grows, and employees want to stay back.

Always seek the right people who trust and support your idea while executing.

The best People may not be the right fit people. Right people will back you even if the idea fails. They will not talk about the problem but will knock on your cabin door with a solution.

Do not hire an individual just based on their qualification or experience; along with this, add a few more parameters to the recruitment process to check if the individual has-

??Growth mindset

??Adaptability to a new culture

??Attitude to unlearn to relearn

??Creating new ideas and action taker

??Solution-oriented approach

Best People are not the Right fit people rather Right People are the Best People.

Everyone cannot be the right fit for a startup.