Hiring the not-quite-right is perfect.

I suppose we are a 'medium sized' creative agency. Our model and how we engage is part of that but essentially, we are not a big 100 person shop.

This puts a bit more pressure on the people we do hire. And we deliberately take our time (apologies if you've ever applied). So last week, as we were putting the final touches on a contract for a new employee it struck me, the title on the employment contract didn't really reflect him or our aspirations for him inside our business.  It got me thinking about all the other people we'd hired and there is a really clear pattern that emerges.

We hire not-quite-right people. We hire people that are broader than the position they are employed for. They sometimes aren't the super-duper-best person for the specific role but there are two things we value more.

The first is fit. Do they fit with our culture? Will they be someone we'd be happy to represent the company? This doesn't mean they have to be the same as everyone here, in fact sometimes the opposite. We like diversity of experience and ways of doing things. But they have to have curiosity, respect and optimism at their core.

The second point is do they show signs of growing into where we see the role going? I think this is very important as it is a guiding force of how people move in our business. We have a shared vision of 'where it could go' and people feel they are on a growth path. Being a startup, things can change rapidly but this just presents other opportunities for our people to explore.

So next time, when you are chatting to someone about a particular role or need in your business, I'd encourage you to step back and take a broader look-  at both the person and the business. Because sometimes, not-quite-right is perfect.