The 5 HR blunders of startup founders

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

Most startup founders neglect to create accurate and clear job descriptions for their staffs. 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. For the staff, having a clear job description facilitates an understanding of the responsibilities and duties that are required and expected. Ask yourself: do you think each of your staff members knows what are their roles and tasks? How confident are you that you and your staffs have the same understanding on what are their responsibilities?

2. “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?”. I’ve seen many cases where the answer is no. You’ll be surprised how unaligned your team can be as you grow. It will be worse when you’re growing quickly. Here’s a fact: less than 40% are familiar with their employer’s goals. Shocking? Look at your own team. Do you think your team knows and understands your goals? What do you do to make sure their performance is linked to your goal?

Your team is working hard. The question is “Are they working hard to help you achieve your goals?”

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

Many founders did not provide feedback to their staff for couple of reasons. Some are not used to giving negative feedbacks, worrying their staffs unhappy and left. Some don’t know how to give feedback effectively. Some founders don’t even have the information necessary to provide feedback. Feedback is what keeps your employees going and helps keep them pointed in the right direction. Ask yourself, do you have the information necessary to track staff performance? When was the last time you brought that information to your staff?

Some founders don’t even have the information necessary to provide feedback.

4. “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 that hiring someone like them is ideal. Understanding and celebrating differences (in age, culture, gender, and educational backgrounds) are great ways to improve entrepreneurial drive. Diversity add perspective for problem-solving, which is what the foundation of every business is all about. How diverse is your team in terms of personality traits, age, or culture? How do you plan to manage the diversity?

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