How to hire for digital transformation
Nick Cochrane
Specialist recruiter for leadership roles in Digital Product Teams. Founder and MD of Zebra People. Co-Founder of Now/ Next/ Product
Emulating the success of AirBnB, Uber and other high profile companies using digital transformation to disrupt the market has become a goal for many companies.
What this requires, though, is a rethink of the skills your company requires and the types of personalities you employ. You need to create a new culture around this approach and hire accordingly.
A perfect illustration of this is a scenario we at Zebra People encountered recently.
I was at a digital art exhibition a couple of weeks ago and met a young talented artist who was keen to take his ideas into a different sphere…
We were working with a high street bank who were looking to create a culture of innovation and disruption. Not an easy task, as I’m sure you can imagine, for a large corporate organisation.
And yet that young artist popped into my head - this could be the guy for them.
I made the introduction and they hired him.
They loved his physical art installations and his attitude – it didn’t matter to them that he didn’t have the usual web, mobile or tablet projects in his portfolio.
If you’re serious about digital transformation, you also need to hire for cultural fit - here are some tips:
- Be suspicious of extreme positivity
Candidates who claim to be all singing and dancing always ring alarm bells for us. Also when folk lack humility that’s always a concern. We particularly buy-in to candidates who discuss learning on a project and from team members.
- Find out their attitude to failure
I can’t emphasise enough how important this is. Firstly - those that admit to mistakes are people who are self-aware. Early into my recruitment days a client told me that if someone at interview doesn’t admit to screwing up a project he won’t hire them: a) they have no self-awareness and b) often folk learn from mistakes.
- Don’t rely too heavily on your intuition
This might sound strange when you’re hiring for cultural fit – and your intuition does play a role – but it’s very important to measure people against the same criteria. I have had a gut feeling that a candidate isn’t right, only for them to change my mind over the course of the interview. Some people are nervous or take time to warm up (especially with my interview style as I’m pretty direct)
- Don’t assume candidates are well-rehearsed
We often need to help candidates create structure and be aware of the interviewer’s time restraints. We also frequently have to remind them to focus on their key successes and individual responsibilities. If you are interviewing without the help of an agency it’s important to bear all this in mind.
- Offer training
If you are determined to hire based on cultural fit, you will open up your possibilities if you are able to train your candidate in the specifics of the role. Over the past five years in digital we’ve seen a sharp rise in companies offer better training opportunities with more structured development plans and review processes. Those that flourish do!
- Consider using an agency
Of course I’m going to say that when that’s what I do, but I genuinely believe it’s the best way. An important part of our service is in meeting our clients and understanding the culture and the stakeholders the person will work with - so we act as the first round of interview. We can imagine the different personality types needed in a fast paced start-up or a large corporate and really streamline the process. We give the best chance of a candidate remaining in the role, which is what the end goal is for everyone.
What are your top tips?
Psychotherapist | Former Creative Director | Bringing Therapeutic Creativity to Teams, Leaders & Organisations
9yI enjoyed this article. I once picked up a big contract because during discussions they asked me something that I did not know and I took the risk of saying that I didn't know but that I would find out and get back to them. They later told me it was this honesty that got me the work. Things are happening so quickly in the digital space it is impossible to keep up to speed with everything. I have learned that my most valuable asset is being versatile, flexible and open.
Senior Director, Customer Success
9yOne key point worth pulling out: you guys interview every day and it's a core competency, whereas for those who manage, it's a less frequent part of our job.
Specialist recruiter for leadership roles in Digital Product Teams. Founder and MD of Zebra People. Co-Founder of Now/ Next/ Product
9yIt’s a good question . Did deliberate on what was best phase to capture this shift we're seeing with large companies that are embarking on transformations. Digital natives are coming from all types of backgrounds, often different to the folk companies have recruited before. An example of this in Insurance industry because regulation change means they need to innovate. Large part of innovation means failure. They have to now be prepared to fail. Previously their model was about managing and reducing the risk of failure. I also think that you're dead right in companies being more creative and understanding that some of the best folk and ideas can come from the least expected places.
Talent - Product & Design @ Deel
9yInteresting article Nick, I'm interested in why you used the specific phrase 'cultural fit'? Are you referring to things outside of the typical job competencies such as skills, experience and knowledge? Either way, the point is a good one particularly in creative areas. It's surprising sometimes how 'non-creative' we can be when hiring creative/design/UX talent considering the best ideas can come from the least expected places. One thing to bear in mind with 'soft-skills' and 'cultural fit' in assessing candidates is making sure it's a measurable aspect of the interview process. Sometimes trickier and does come back to 'hunch' which can in turn bring in bias (unconscious or otherwise). In hiring designers at SapientNitro, we try to assess all aspects of an applicants profile including ideation, cultural fit, problem solving, teamwork, craft etc. One way we are doing this is doing our best to ensure a diverse range of interviewers are involved in the process - junior and senior folks, UX, visual design, tech, male/female etc and that we can measure as best we can the responses we get to make a balanced and objective decision. Good point on training to. The digital skills gap is an important topic we could all do better on.
Marketing Leader for DTC Scale Ups I Growth Strategy I Brand Storytelling I Full Stack GTM l Cultural Brand Building @ StockX, Farfetch, M&C Saatchi
9yInteresting points, especially being wary of "extreme positivity"!