Lindsey Scrase | Source | Chief Operating Officer at Checkr at Checkr

"You don’t always have to look far to find the right person for the job. It’s a hard balance to know when you need to bring in external talent to uplevel a team and when you promote from within. I have gotten this wrong both ways – being too slow to uplevel and not realizing what great really could look like – and on the flip side, I have also made the mistake of being too quick to hire externally and layer talent. Challenge yourself not to put your employees in boxes, and give them the opportunity to test out assignments that may be beyond the scope of their current role. The proudest moments of my career have been when I have put someone in a stretch role and they excelled far beyond what I thought possible. And I get to see their careers soar. Once you’re able to recognize exceptional employees at every level and deploy a growth mindset, you’ll be able to more easily and effectively cultivate and grow talent within your organization."

"A company that is trying to move quickly is going to fall back into bad hiring habits, relying on networks and recommendations that reinforce existing biases. It’s worth taking the time to be thoughtful and creative in evaluating new candidates. Instead of relying on resumes and referrals, organizations should look to diversify in terms of work experience, life experience, age, and background. Furthermore, many candidates with minor criminal records are automatically filtered out of hiring pools, despite the fact that their offenses may have occurred years ago or been completely unrelated to the position at hand. These candidates could fill open positions and bring in fresh perspectives, providing you the ability to hire quickly and give you a long-term advantage."

"Many tech founders come to a point in their growth when they feel they need to hire specific people to reach the next level — someone who has done the exact job before. This mindset can lead companies to hire someone who might have the right experience, but isn’t the right person for their company. Someone who has already done the hard work once may or may not not be willing to roll up their sleeves and start again from scratch. Or they may not be able to pivot to the changing needs of the company. Hiring isn’t a matter of finding what great looks like, it’s a matter of finding what great looks like for your company.

Learn to recognize not just what great looks like but what great looks like for your company. This can mean hiring someone who might not have done the exact job before but has the right mindset and intrinsic capabilities for your team, which may be of greater value in the long run."