Below you can find 10 tips on how to find great team members, onboard them, help create exciting career paths and motivate your team to deliver high-quality work from Matt Hexemer, Global Design Director of Huge Inc and curator of Creative Leadership Online Course.
As designers, we care a lot about value. So the main question: Does your organisation show value well? Make sure the brand vision is articulated properly - it should be clear why the company exists.
Hiring is not just writing a description.
Make a map of designers and where they currently work. Learn what industries they are in and what are their strengths. Look for people in other disciplines or industries - you never know where you can find a new hire.
Do you only look for employees close by? Time to change this. The market is global now and new talent appreciates remote positions. So there is no need to look just within your location.
Check available employees 4-5 hours away from your timezone so it is comfortable to work with them!
We tend to underestimate freelancers when hiring full-time, but they might be open to work! Instead, make your company the best gig for freelancers around the world.
Think if you can offer incentives to those who have a freelancer lifestyle. For example, if someone works remotely, they don’t want to work without human interaction for 7 months. Let them know what perks you can provide!
Have a frank conversation with the people you hire. Make sure you feel a sense of connection to the person. Weigh all angles and think about why this person should be on a team. Every designer has a unique shape. Understanding typologies is key.
Week one shouldn’t overwhelm! Have a clear onboarding process that will allow a person to easily plugin.
Onboarding gives a general way of communication and access to tools. Explain culture and give inspiration. Explain how to set the bar. Give an understanding of the work process and how our teams work together.
Come with the input on the second week.
Remember you are not a director, you are an influencer. Your task is to bring something powerful to the team to create a solution.
To do this, make sure you have a great kick-off for the project - set the tone for what you expect. The closer you are getting to creating vision or insights, the more you make sure you're injecting yourself midstream.
There are things that you like about being creative - make sure to inject them into the process with your team. Your team is looking to learn from you. Bring in Creative leadership in a way that doesn't feel like work.
Since we work that much - there should be fun along the process. It sounds obvious but people tend to forget about it. Celebrate the end of a project and make space for a team to bond over!
Care on a personal level about your team members' career paths. You can do this by talking to new members and understanding their personality traits. Get an understanding of why they became designers. Align it with the organization and create a working plan for them!
Being a leader might be lonely, as you need someone to bounce off your ideas with.
Find other leadership opportunities: run a workshop or help out some nonprofits. Plug in with the start-up & tech community, and join breakfast meet-ups and round tables.
Find mentors - from your industry, from outside the industry, and one from the college or university you studied in.
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