Recently, our IT recruiting agency EvoTalents celebrated a year that Yulia Koval - the company's COO - has been working with us. We went through many challenges together during this time and implemented new changes. I want to share with you how I searched for and selected a person for this role. And also to tell what is important for me, as the Founder of the company, in cooperation with the Operations Director.
How to close a C-level vacancy in a month?
Yes-yes, this vacancy was closed at our agency in about that time, and believe me, I selected the person very carefully. I'll be honest, when I found out that our first COO was planning to end cooperation with EvoTalents, it was like thunder in the sky. We have been together for 7 years, so accepting the fact that you need to find a person outside was very difficult for me. I think Founders of companies reading this article will feel all the pain.
But I'm used to treating any changes as new opportunities, that's why I wrote a portrait of the ideal COO in terms of both professional and soft skills and started searching.
What worked?
It was my idea to suggest to Yulia to think about this vacancy, after we had met thanks to my Instagram and had talked about another topic. So, I would like to emphasize here that the Founder's personal brand is always a big plus in finding key people for the team.
However, I also talked to many other candidates, and they then referred me to their acquaintances. To be honest, there were a lot of strong experts whom I met thanks to recommendations.
Therefore, if you are looking for a key figure in your team, be sure to involve your networking and social networks. This is exactly what will help you find someone with similar values.
A new person in the team or how not to destroy everything that works
In my experience, I saw how the team disbanded with the arrival of a new manager, because not everyone was ready to continue working with another person. The arrival of a new face in the company is always stressful for the team, especially when it comes to a lead position.
In my opinion, a lot depends on the person themselves and how to introduce them to the company. I remember the first call to welcome Yulia to the team. When we finoshe I had a thought: "How lucky the team is to work with such a person!".
Yulia joined the team very well, got acquainted with our processes, and felt the culture of the company. We had 100% match.
I also consider it very important to have regular 1:1 calls with each team member (including the COO) in order to be on the same page. In my experience with various employees, I see that as soon as we cancel several calls, desynchronization appears.
Therefore, pay attention to regular meetings to keep your colleagues informed about your plans and thoughts regarding the business. In addition, it will allow you to solve small issues in that very moment to prevent burnout or other undesirable things.
What has changed?
We have already completed a lot of processes, so we focused on the development of the company itself.
During this year of collaboration with COO we have implement a lot into our internal processes, but in my opinion the main ones:
- We have created guides for each person’s role (I recommend starting with this before hiring a key person);
- We implemented the main metrics and KPIs for every position, as well as motivational programs for activities related to them;
- We implemented a Demo Study, where the team takes a topic for study every month and then presents the results to the team and shares new knowledge;
- We prescribed a plan to review the position and changes of payment;
- Automated the process of onboarding sources and recruiters to the company;
- Improved the lead generation process;
- We hired new people;
- We adjusted the CRM system for clear work with our clients;
- The process of work and adaptation of the future Sales manager has been fully described.
Instead of a conclusion
"So far so good" - that's what I want to say. But seriously, I made several conclusions for myself:
- Don't be afraid to hire an Operations Director. The right person can not only relieve you, but also add a booster to your company.
- Building open partnerships is the basis. There will be misunderstandings, and somewhere, perhaps, your views will differ. But being open about everything from both sides will help you strengthen your relationship and move forward.
- Choose a development-oriented person with similar values. When solving problems in business, this support always helps to make a better decision and go through difficult periods.
