Did you catch the Advisor articles about hiring entire teams? If not, you can catch up here for part 1 and here for part 2.
In that article, we talked about some of the benefits of hiring entire teams instead of individuals. These benefits include:
- An entire team may be able to integrate more quickly into the organization.
- Hiring an entire team is more likely to bring in complementary skill sets, all at once.
- There may be a shortened time to full productivity.
If these types of benefits sound appealing, perhaps your organization should consider hiring teams. If hiring an entire team or group is something your organization is interested in, you may be wondering about the logistics of it. How would you go about hiring an entire team of people rather than looking for each person individually?
There are quite a few ways to get started. Let’s take a look.
How to Hire Teams
Here are some of the ways to start the process of hiring a full team.
- Advertise for it. One way to try this is to simply advertise directly that you’re looking to hire an entire group of coapplicants. Ideally, this could get groups of people who are looking for new opportunities to apply together. Realistically, it may require a lot more advertising and upfront legwork to make it happen and handle the logistics. Be sure to have your process and rules in place before you get started. For example, know in advance the minimum and maximum number of team members you’ll consider and what skill sets you’re looking for—and advertise accordingly. (Be flexible though; you don’t want to miss out on a great opportunity by being too rigid with rules.)
- Look for freelancing groups or consultants. You can hire teams by using consultants or teams of independent contractors who already work together. You could contract with this group—which is, of course, a temporary solution, but a valid choice depending on what you’re hiring for. Or, you could float the idea of bringing the group onboard full-time.
- Contact passive candidates. Seek out passive candidates, and approach them by specifically inquiring if they have other current team members they’d like to bring along.
- Get outside help. Look for recruiting firms specializing in hiring teams. Use the services of one of these firms, since they already have resources in place.
- Hire a whole company. Look for small start-ups to hire collectively. Start-ups are often comprised of small teams who have already formed a great working relationship. In theory, you could even find a group who has experience in your industry. You could opt to either hire the whole team and let them decide what to do with the company they’re leaving behind, or buy the company. (If you buy the company, you’d then figure out whether to shutter or absorb their original business.) This process of acquiring a company for the talent is sometimes called “aquihires.”
Besides the above methods of looking for teams, there are also internal changes the organization can make to improve the chances of hiring a great team. Here are some examples;
- Bolster your own hiring team. If your hiring team is operating at top efficiency, they’ll be more able to act decisively on hiring, regardless of whether you’re hiring individuals or teams. If you’re looking to hire entire teams, having your own well-coordinated process will help.
- Consider allowing remote teams. Some organizations and teams are already set up to work together but from differing locations. If your organization is set up for it, you could allow this, too—which could mean you can open up your geographic reach when looking for new team-based job candidates. (This, of course, applies when hiring individuals, too.)
Have you tried to hire entire teams all at once? If not, is it something you would consider?