(super rough draft, inspired by this Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/rahulxsingh/common-concerns-in-hiring-web-developers)
People play an important role in the Modern Enterprise, developing the digital products and services that it offers. At the foundation of the four Contexts, People execute Processes, use information, and interact with Systems.
A successful enterprise represents a collection of people brought together to achieve a vision and create value. Thus, a prospective entrepreneur ought to prioritize hiring valuable and qualified personnel for his venture. After all, how can his business succeed if its staff stands incompetent to produce quality offerings with meaningful potential to change consumers’ lives?
A modern entrepreneur ought to beware of seven red flags when hiring new personnel. Although these red flags primarily describe Web Developers and other IT professionals, one can apply their permeating theme to all Human Resource projects. This blog post will cover the first three red flags out of seven.
- Lack of Professionalism
Even in a Software as a Service company, the entrepreneur ought to demand professionalism in his workforce and workplace. The progressive environment of tech that characterizes tech startups and Silicon Valley does not excuse developers from adhering to basic standards of conduct and presentation. Although excessive formality can stifle innovation, a carefree outlook will doom any enterprise.
Expect every employee to attend meetings promptly. Meetings consume much time from many people and compensate through the organizational value they provide—tardy participants sap that value.
Entrepreneurs should also expect some level of organization. Although the modern entrepreneur values “Agility” for the speed of innovation it brings, poor or nonexistent documentation slows down a project even more.
Finally, any corporate workplace should take steps to extinguish negative attitudes and unhealthy cultures. Even if a sour and malicious developer codes well, he drains much more productivity via polluting the ambient environment and the moods of those around him.
- Unclear Expectations
All employees, even coders, ought to demonstrate the ability to communicate. Understanding and setting expectations is essential to the delivery of an SaaS aligned with your vision. Similarly, smart developers analyze the expectations given to them and help you prioritize realistic goals while distinguishing important tasks from urgent ones.
- Lack of Qualifications
A staff member should possess expertise in his field. Although it may be unreasonable to expect an entry-level coder to know everything, they should have some existing background. More importantly, they should demonstrate the capacity to gain meaningful experience and learn new concepts or techniques by working at your company. Even a developer with much previous experience may not match that well with your company if he cannot adapt to its environment and specific demands.
On a similar note, encourage your development team members to ask for help (both online and offline) and to interact and learn from each other. This provides them another valuable avenue to learn and experience.
Justin Yum is an apprentice for Anant Corporation (www.anant.us). For more tips, subscribe to the Anant Corporation newsletter by clicking here: http://eepurl.com/npJmj
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