Tom Hunt’s Post

“I can’t find any qualified candidates” A founder was complaining to me last week… I'm concerned. There could be an issue with: - Culture - Job description - Sourcing strategy Then I learn he's demanding 4 years of experience for an “entry-level” position 🤣 Companies used to train entry-level employees. Now? They tack add “entry-level” to the job description to save cash. But here’s the challenge: experience isn’t free. If you’re after experience, you need to pay. So if you’re not ready to invest… How about we make your entry-level role... entry-level? Agree?

A new team member asked me to approve their holiday. I was a little confused… I replied: “Of course, it’s approved. I don’t think it’s my place to tell you when you can or can’t take time off I don’t care when you go on holiday. We have an agreement, you deliver a result… and we pay you for it” We trust our team to get their work done. Finish early on Friday’s? OK. Work from your parent's house? OK. Work from your phone in the gym? OK. Work from Wetherspoons after dropping the kids off at school? OK. We are all adults. Keeping clients happy? We're happy. Flexible work is the future. Agree?

In the past 18 months, we: - Added $2m in ARR - Have doubled the team How? We focused on building an awesome culture. Here are 3 simple things we do: 1️⃣ Only promote from within We are yet to hire someone in a senior role. People come in: - Master their roles - Adapt to our culture And then progress. This is the #1 thing a business can do to preserve culture. 2️⃣ Hire/fire/reward based on values We have four: - Client Client Client - Operational Excellence - Growth Obsessed - Action Bias And we use them to: - Hire people - Fire people (in a nice way) - Give bonuses This keeps the values in mind. And ensures we live by them. 3️⃣ Have Monthly Chats Every manager has a Monthly Chat with the team members they manage: - What’s going well? - What’s going not so well? - What do you want to do/learn more of? - How can I be a better manager for you? This way, every team member knows: - That we care - What to work on - Where they stand TLDR Your job as a CEO is to make the “deal” as good as possible for your team members. If you do that… They will reward you with a great culture. And great cultures, build great businesses.

An open letter to all managers. Making your team feel valued is the best thing you can do each day. It’s easy to forget this. Even the slowest employees will work faster if appreciated. Don't just tell them how much you appreciate them. Show them by: - Sending a virtual coffee - Giving on-the-spot bonuses - Advocating for them at their next performance review A team member who feels appreciated will always do more than expected. Plus, it’s the right thing to do. Remember: Management is the art of catching someone doing something right. Agree?

Many businesses are demanding that employees return to the office. You might want to rethink that…. Here’s why: Remote work retains employees. If your team can work from anywhere: - Loyalty skyrockets - Productivity increases - Motivation goes through the roof And you have the +$10k per month you were spending on an office, to invest back into them: - Training - Bonuses - Quarterly offsites Because it's not just about convenience. It's about respecting their: - Autonomy - Responsibility - Life outside of work If you're considering this… Stop. Going remote isn’t a fad. It’s an employee retention strategy. And retained employees = retained customers = growth. Retention is the foundation of growth. And remote work strengthens the most important part of that foundation... Your people. Agree?

We’re adding 3 new team members this month. We found them all on LinkedIn. They are: - Working remotely - Managing their workloads - Already making clients happy LinkedIn has talent. If you need people: 1. Create a LinkedIn job description 2. Share it from your personal profile 3. Start having person-to-person conversations Our interview process: - Has 2-3 interviews - Takes 2-3 weeks to complete This isn’t rocket science. Hire fast. Give people a chance.

I interviewed a candidate. The team were very excited about her: - Aligned values - Relevant experience - A passion for podcasting But the interview was really bad. She was: - Very nervous - Could barely answer - Didn’t ask any questions Yet, I had a feeling there was potential.   We trusted our intuition and decided to give her the job… Now, she's one of our top performers. Sometimes interviews don’t do people justice. They can be scary. Don’t blankly reject candidates who don’t interview well.    Agree?

An open letter to all CEO’s: As you build your business, you'll delegate everything. Well… Nearly everything. Everything you used to do is now done better by someone else. To progress, you release. Give up: - Sales calls - Client work - Recruitment But there's one thing you should never let go. Your voice. Speak for yourself. Don’t let people: - Speak for you - Take your calls - Respond to your emails Yes, it’s more work. But it’s your work. Don’t outgrow that.

A team member came to me with a request. He needed two weeks off, during a busy period… With zero notice. Why? He was working too much and his mental health wasn’t great. "Makes sense" I said. "Take the time, paid of course. We’ll handle the work." This wasn't only about doing the right thing… This was recognising his consistent: - Passion for our clients - Relentless work ethic - Action bias His reason wasn’t an "excuse…” He had a real-life problem. Fast forward two weeks, he’s back, recharged. We gave him feedback on how to: - Reduce workload - Delegate more - Manage better And since then he’s mastered the role and his next promotion is coming soon. Leaders, listen: Your team members are human beings. They face challenges, like you. If you give them the space they need to solve these challenges… They'll come back stronger. And your business will grow. TLDR: Make yourself available. Listen. Empathy works.

Bad businesses skip this: Empathy. When a manager lacks empathy, it's impossible for their team to feel motivated. Empathy changes this. It keeps your best people around for longer. Employee churn is the silent killer of many businesses. And you need to understand people to keep them. TLRD: You may be a manager but you are also a human being. If you want to increase employee engagement, first increase empathy. Agree?