While Barbara and I were in Boston recently, being shown around the HubSpot headquarters by our guide Rachel, we asked her how long she had been with the company and what she thought of working there.
What a question!
Rachel’s answer led to what I feel was a major takeout from the visit; a gem of an insight and yet so simple and straightforward – like most valuable insights.
Rachel’s story
Rachel had been with HubSpot for just under a year, having graduated from college in business administration and marketing. She was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, so this was her town.
In fact, Rachel told us, she now lived all of 15 minutes (walk) from the HubSpot office and the firm even provided her the flexibility to take some time during the day to walk home and check on her new puppy – an Australian Shepherd. (Rachel told us she had escorted her pet to work once or twice, however the experience was a bit ‘stressful’, as anyone who has owned a working dog puppy will understand!)
Rachel is loving her time at HubSpot and particularly the opportunity as receptionist, and now customer service officer, to get to know people from across the company (from those at ‘c’ level – CEO, CIO, CFO, as she put it – to the software engineers and everyone in-between). Her enthusiasm for the organisation was palpable.
HubSpot’s hiring principles
This discussion led us to ask what were HubSpot’s guiding principles when hiring – what cultural and attitudinal traits does the firm seek to attract and promote?
As Rachel described, it is all in the HEART, as HubSpot is looking for people to demonstrate the following:
- Humble – self-aware and respectful
- Effective – get stuff done
- Adaptable – innately curious and constantly challenging
- Remarkable – stands out in some way (smart, helpful and energising)
- Transparent – open and honest with others and themselves.
Wow! I realised I need to get out more and smell the roses. What an insightful conversation.
Our clients at JPAbusiness often bemoan the challenges of hiring new staff and also the challenges of onboarding and retaining them. In fact our ebook on this topic has been very widely read.
The takeout for me in meeting with Rachel and hearing about HEART was simply this: as a business owner, leader and manager you need to establish your formula for people success – it won’t just happen.
If you would like advice about any element of staff recruitment and management, contact the team at JPAbusiness on 02 6360 0360 for a confidential, initial discussion.