When looking to hire, one of the decisions that needs making is how experienced you want the person you’re hiring to be.
You normally start with junior people. It’s a combination of the financial commitment being lower and perhaps the founder who’s growing their leadership skills feeling they need to hire someone distinctly below them in terms of status and experience.
Perhaps a bit further along, when a junior employee didn’t work out or the extra effort of mentoring, training, and supporting in delivery turned out to be more than expected, you might say, “We need someone experienced, someone that can hit the ground running.”
Then they find out that hiring those experienced people means paying them more than the founders are getting paid, and that they come with a requirement for an environment that is as experienced as they are.
Hitting ground running, needs the ground they hit to be flat and familiar.
The place I saw repeatedly good hires coming from is the Goldilocks zone. Someone with just enough experience—on the cusp of becoming authoritative.
Let’s try and define it and why it’s great.
The Goldilocks Zone
There’s a moment in a person’s career when the ROI of hiring them is really high.
They have the confidence in their talent and are ready to learn how to apply it at a higher level.
They have just enough experience and they’re ready for the responsibility.
They are at their most passionate and engaged.
The compensation they want is partly paid through the experience and guidance you can give them and as they grow their value will stay ahead of the salary you pay them.
Why This Works for Small Agencies
The point is to say that small design agencies offer an environment and a level of opportunity that compensates for their ability to pay lower wages and hire a profile of person that is very loyal and very profitable.
Let’s look at the small agency environment first.
There is inherent mentoring.
The founders and senior team have to mentor in order to ensure delivery is of a high enough quality. They are not far removed from the team because the business is small. They are often still in delivery themselves, so they’re on the projects and they care deeply about the person’s success.
Impact is easy.
There are lots of things that the agency wants to achieve and not enough people to achieve them. Anyone who can step up and solve a problem, be that handling a client solo, organising a process, or bringing in a new lead, is going to have impact and be recognised.
Mobility is high.
The opportunity as a small purpose-led design agency is that the lack of structure means there’s a huge opportunity for moving up because there are vacuums to step into. The founder is wearing all the hats and if you show you can do it, you can try one of them on.
Why This Works for the Employee
The benefits for the employee are that you are also a bowl of porridge at just the right temperature too.
In a big agency, a junior position can get lost, not be given a chance to prove themselves, and end up stagnating. In a small agency, without the support, they can end up being leaned on too hard - delivering too much work unsupervised and not gaining the sophistication or getting to develop their skills. No one’s mentoring them, no one’s taking stock of where they are and working out how to move them to the next level.
The advantage of being just right is that they get the responsibility and the challenge, but with the safety net.
Someone on the rise can be shaped by your agency, unlike a high-salary hire who may struggle with different expectations.
Helping them realise their potential makes them value the opportunity as much as money.
What you end up with is someone connected to the business and loyal. Someone shaped perfectly to your culture, your values, and the mission you’re on. They’ll deliver your best work and be your best people. They’re the ones you’ll trust enough to take your eyes off the day-to-day and focus on growth.
The Mutual Benefit
You get amazing value out of them, your business model allows it.
Your agency can provide opportunities to those on the rise due to your founders’ experience and a safety net. Your business can afford to hire talented but less experienced individuals due to your experience and ability to handle situations.
You get great people when they’re on the way up at salaries that grow with them and aren’t immediately anchored beyond them. That is incredibly mutually beneficial. They get the chance to have an impact and get mentored on their journey. You get amazing talent at a great value salary.
The Long-term Payoff
It’s also incredibly rewarding for you to mentor and grow your own team, and for the team to work with each other; other people that are figuring it out and maturing into more complete professionals.
As they develop, they are changed by your agency, and they change your agency. You get the amazing feeling that comes with being part of that transformation and you get the business benefit of an amazing person at a salary you can afford.
When you look back in 10 years I guarantee you that several of the most important people in the history of your agency, people that went on to lead, will come into your agency in the Goldilocks zone.