How To Hire While Avoiding Future Layoffs

Tech layoffs are once again. Yet at the same time, some companies like 1听(which laid off 10% of its team earlier this year) are announcing massive .

As an for more than 20 years, I鈥檝e had to advise business leaders at startups like , and about laying off staff, hiring (sustainably) and navigating downturns.

Because startups move so fast, they often lack structure and process. But to hire well 鈥� and avoid rapidly reversing course 鈥� you have to hire with restraint and foresight.

Don鈥檛 hire

It may sound strange, but when you feel ready to ramp up your hiring, don鈥檛 do it straight away. Instead, assign someone to assess whether there鈥檚 any duplication of effort within teams. They should review whether an employee can be moved from an existing role into a new area, or whether any of your processes can be automated.

Enacting this kind of hiring discipline is easy when you have no choice but to run lean. But make sure you carry this habit into the 鈥渇at鈥� years too. Institute processes to help make employees鈥� tasks easily repeatable.

Create frameworks to identify when it鈥檚 truly necessary to increase a team鈥檚 headcount. These new rules should always come from the top down and be communicated respectfully to staff.

Identify the most important skills

Once you鈥檝e determined that you definitely need to hire someone, get specific about the most important skills you need in that new role.

A generic job description suggests you haven鈥檛 determined what success looks like for that new employee 鈥� and that usually means you鈥檙e overhiring. It also makes it harder to pinpoint the right candidate to fill that position for the long term.

Map out the key wins your new hire will deliver in 90 days and in one year to move the company forward, and identify the specific capabilities they need in order to deliver. Include those accomplishments in the job description itself.

Gather evidence

I鈥檝e seen startup clients fall in love with people鈥檚 resumes because they worked at prestigious companies, but because they didn鈥檛 test their practical experience it quickly led to them parting ways.

Make sure all your interviewers really understand the practical qualities that candidates need to have. Assign each employee two qualities they need to look for and train them to elicit clear evidence.

For example, rather than asking: 鈥淭ell me about your most successful marketing campaign,鈥� instead ask: 鈥淗ow do you design a marketing campaign? What happens when you launch it and things don鈥檛 go according to plan?鈥�

Don鈥檛 forget onboarding

It鈥檚 astonishing to me how many companies leave their new hires to sink or swim for themselves. Startups 鈥� with their characteristic lack of hierarchy 鈥� have to work extra hard to provide clarity for newcomers.

Regular contact is key: Make sure managers are talking to new hires one-on-one two or three times a week. Quick check-ins help ensure employees are focusing on the right things, getting the necessary resources to advance, and are clear on expectations. Think about giving them an 鈥渙nboarding buddy鈥� to help them understand and interpret the culture, especially if they work remotely.

You may need to hire key new employees now, and you certainly will once the current macro situation is replaced by a new cycle of growth. When you start the process of hiring, follow these principles to build an efficient, productive workforce that will endure in time.

听, a prominent executive coach, has spent 20 years coaching global business executives at leading startups and Fortune 500 companies including , and . She is the author of and the creator of a for business leaders.