From Idea To A Company - Human Resources Basics Of Start Ups Ilan Stern Director, Human Resources
November 2000 Agenda Structure/hierarchy terminology Basic Structure and Roles Growth Stages and their challenges
November 2000 Structure Terminology Board Of Directors C ’ s Level – CEO, CFO, CTO, COO … VP Level – MRKT, BD, Sales … Director Level Manager Level Team Leader Worker
November 2000 Basic (Human) Structure
November 2000 Growth Stages – HR perspective Idea Stage – initial founders team 2-4 people, in most cases “ techies ”. Dreamers, Visionaries Strong drive to success No managerial skills (not always true) No business background No roles definitions, no organization – everyone doing everything. Ego issues – who ’ s idea/way is the best? Who will lead?
November 2000 Growth Stages – HR perspective (cont.) Starting the company (first quarter) Fast growth in the R&D side (~12 people in 3 months). Management skills needed. Tendency to recruit “ only the best ” – team needs to be balanced. Opening US headquarters. Recruiting the initial management team in the US. Motivation is very high – “ the sky is the limit ”. Team spirit is very strong – most people know each other from the past. Design stage. Not everyone can take part in the design. First contacts with the market.
November 2000 Growth Stages – HR perspective (cont.) Developing V 1.0 (6-12 months) R&D core team in place. Recruiting first admin staff. More processes and order. Not everyone comes with the same dedication. Continuing hiring the management team in the US. Professional executives are “ taking control ”. Founders roles are changing. First inputs from the market – changes in the product are needed. Communication issues US-IL (MRKT-R&D). More competitors, dreams needs to turn into reality. First cracks in motivation.
November 2000 Growth Stages – HR perspective (cont.) Expansion stage (2 nd year and beyond) Opening more branches worldwide. Developing new markets, new products. Inter-company communication channels needs to be created. “ hallway talks ” is not enough. Hiring 2 nd tier staff. Company is no longer a “ Sayeret ”. Turnover is increasing. More difficult to recruit (smaller risk=smaller reward).
November 2000 Growth Stages – HR perspective (cont.) Post IPO The dream has come true – “ why should I stay in the company? ” (both founders and employees) Recruiting is very difficult – competition with start ups that offer a dream … The big war only starts, but motivation is dropping. NEED NEW WAYS TO RECRUIT, MOTIVATE AND RETAIN THE BEST EMPLOYEES.
THANK YOU. Questions?