Optimise your recruitment now! | Issue #178
10 ways to optimise your recruitment process to attract top talent
Want to grow your business this year? Then you’re going to need good people. Hiring top talent is the single most important difference you can make. Yes, strategy is essential. And your execution plan needs to be sector-beating. But without A-Players to carry this out, you may as well pack up now. Blackpool donkeys are never going to win the National. Loveable, they might be. Race winners, they’re not.
So why do so few companies give recruitment the focus it needs? Job ads are sloppy and unfocused; interviewers are untrained, recruitment procedures are excruciatingly long and drawn out. You might blame the ‘war on talent’ for your inability to recruit talented staff, but I don’t buy this. Does this even exist? The labour market’s always been tight for A-Players (the top 10% of available talent for a given job, salary and location). If you’ve committed to recruiting only the best and decided to screen out B and C-Players, there’s always going to be stiff competition. You’ve made your life hard, but you know the rewards are worth it.
So how do you make sure your recruitment process attracts top talent?

How to Plan for and Execute Blitzscaling with Chris Yeh
Why do some organisations grow really quickly? How do they reach the scale that they do? If you’re looking for the secret sauce to make your company grow exponentially, then don’t miss Chris Yeh on this week’s episode of The Melting Pot.
Chris is a venture capitalist with Blitzscaling Ventures, educator at the Blitzscaling Academy, and co-author with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, of bestselling books Alliance and Blitzscaling (among others).
In this latest episode, Chris explains why companies and employees lie to each other, why we all need to be having more grown up conversations, and why he wrote Blitzscaling.
He also discusses the algorithm his VC firm has built to score companies as they come to market looking for money, and shares his thoughts on the most interesting businesses to come to market in recent years (and the ones to avoid).
Download and listen today.
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Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders
Each week, experienced entrepreneurs and innovators come to Stanford University to candidly share lessons they’ve learned while developing, launching and scaling disruptive ideas. The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series is produced by Stanford eCorner during fall, winter and spring quarters.
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Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh share four ways to ‘blitzscale’ your business
Six of the world’s ten largest companies fall into the ‘serial business builder’ category. What does that mean, and what do these companies have in common? In a recent webinar hosted by McKinsey, Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at venture capital firm Greylock, and Chris Yeh, co-founder of the Global Scaling Academy, offered insights. They explained that ‘serial business builders’ are organizations that relentlessly come with new ideas and spin them into scalable businesses—businesses that can disrupt entire markets by creating value in radically new ways.

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News from the farm

The Melting Pot LIVE episode with Ian Mann and Dominic Monkhouse
Is your business protected and prepared to deal with potential cyber-attacks?
Attacks such as ransomware are increasing at a 400% rate year on year. We see reports of significant incidents in the media regularly. Staying on top of your security is now more critical than ever.
That’s why cyber security expert and CEO of ECSC Group, Ian Mann is joining us for a LIVE session to share his expertise and insights.
Ian and Dominic will discuss the reasons behind the increase of cyber-attacks and the actions you can take today to protect you, your data and your business.
Join LIVE, 7th March at 12:30 GMT
MEANINGFUL ACTION FOR MONDAY
Speed up recruitment of A-Players
A-Players aren’t out of work. If you get a sniff of an A-Player on the back of a job ad, they need to talk to the person that they’re going to work for, immediately. Once they’ve gone through a screening interview with HR – and if this candidate looks like an A-player – they need to talk to the hiring manager in the next 24 hours. You need to get them through your interview process in a week. That speed will help you land amazing people. You need your conversion rate of potential hires to hired to be 100%.
Upcoming events
Like Minds Nudge Ideas Festival, Exeter (UK) – 25th March
The Like Minds Nudge Ideas Festival is back in person. Join 200+ entrepreneurs and business leaders at the South West business event of the year. It takes place at the impressive Winslade Manor, just outside Exeter on March 25th. They’ve curated an amazing group of speakers and workshop leaders for you this year.
Early Bird tickets are on sale now and include all your tea/coffee during the breaks and lunch in the Georgian Manor House itself.
Very limited on numbers so don’t miss out.
Monkhouse & Company Scaling Up Workshop – New Forest – 23rd June
The workshop is your first step in the process of identifying and addressing the real challenges confronting your business. You will receive practical guidance in the essential skills that underpin manageable and sustained growth. Join five other business leaders on a half-day session with Dominic Monkhouse, away from the uproar of the everyday commercial world and look at your business afresh – to recognise your strengths, your weaknesses and your opportunities.
CEO Bootcamp with Verne Harnish and Dominic Monkhouse – 12-15th September
Author of Scaling Up, Verne Harnish is coming to the UK for the first Scaling Up CEO Bootcamp in Europe. A reinvigorating 4-day Bootcamp where you and nine other CEOs and their #2’s will spend small group and one-on-one time with Verne addressing your specific opportunities and challenges – in a setting that promotes deep thinking and relaxation.
Join Verne and Dominic from Monday 12th, September – Thursday 15th, September at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, near Bath (UK).
Quote of the week
“If 90 percent of life is just showing up, the other 10 must be just standing up.”
Tim Keown
Dominic Monkhouse
Dominic offers business coaching and management development, strategy planning and organisational change, using tried and tested methods to launch your organisation onto an unparalleled growth trajectory. His programme is a function of his broad experience, his deep expertise and a proven process used by over 2,700 firms worldwide.