Set it up so they don’t have to get it or get out.

One big happy family - it doesn't just happen by itself

If you have the drive to start a business and the tenacity and ability to learn in order to grow it you are an unusual person. Normal people don’t do these things. Normal people work for others.

When you are hiring at the beginning of a startup you look for people who can deal with the uncertainty and work out what needs to be done for the business to grow. Basically, you are hiring people who are self-guiding and ambitious. With these people you can get the more done with less supervision in a pretty chaotic environment.

Once you get through the chaos of early stage growth you need to start hiring normal people. Normal people need more guidance. They need a system to work with. They need clear job descriptions. They need clear reporting lines and boundaries for responsibility and accountability.

If you don’t set up the work and the systems so that people can get on with the job as best they know how then you are risking a high turnover, presenteeism (people who come to work but don’t do work), bad morale and even counterproductive behaviours.

Ultimately, a company needs some kind of stability in order to grow. Having a core group of people who with the tools/processes they need just get on with the job is one of the best outcomes you can have.