As a Design Executive, Hiring is a Team Sport
Note: Welcome to another post in my series on building a design org from the ground up. In previous posts, I explored getting buy-in for design after joining a company, as well as what you can expect your role to look like as a brand-new design executive. I encourage you to give them a read if you haven’t already!
At long last, we’ve arrived at the elephant in the room (and arguably the reason you started reading this series in the first place): hiring for design. Some design leaders are fortunate enough to be brought onto a fully staffed team, or at least a skeleton crew, but you can’t count on that always being the case. And while one of your early responsibilities is to build a team that will execute on a company’s vision, this isn’t something you can—or should—do alone. This is where Talent Acquisition comes in, and your collaboration with them can make or break your hiring process.
Building a relationship with Talent Acquisition: Why it’s important
I’m always surprised by how little emphasis leaders tend to place on their relationships with Talent Acquisition. TA will help you attract and secure the people you need to build a best-in-class design organization, but to make the most of this resource, you need to build a relationship that’s more than just transactional.
Think about any partnership you have at work—the people you’re in the trenches with on any given day. Think about how much energy you invest in your relationships with engineering partners, product management, data… You and these other teams are working on solving the same problems. As a result, you work to build relationships. You develop a shared language and an incredible level of collaboration.
Why wouldn’t you want that same level of partnership with the people responsible for helping you build your team?
When you have a close collaboration with Talent Acquisition, the process of hiring becomes more efficient, successful, and (dare I say) fun. Investing in this relationship might not be as intuitive as other cross-functional partnerships, but when you do, it really pays off. You get to build off each others’ energy when reviewing applications, setting up panels, calibrating feedback, and extending offers. You’ll get to a point where you can look at a resume together and know within a minute whether or not a candidate will be a good fit.
As an organizational leader, I’ve consistently gotten great feedback about this approach—and TA is always pleasantly surprised by this level of partnership, which they rarely ever get. No one thrives in a “throw it over the wall” kind of culture, but when you co-create during the hiring process, it works like magic. People like solving problems together. Take advantage of that, and in the process, you’ll build a great team—and a lasting relationship with your TA partners.
“Help us help you”: Educating TA on what you need
All that said, there’s more to working with TA than just investing in the relationship. To make the most of that relationship, you also need to make sure they fully understand the type of designers you’re looking to hire.
When I was at Achieve, Talent Acquisition had zero experience hiring for design—especially at the level I was looking for. I had the opportunity to educate them on what the different design functions were and why they were important to the organization. It was a significant time investment, but it paid off by helping us narrow the talent pool and ended up saving me time I otherwise would have spent talking to irrelevant candidates.
Sitting down with TA early on lets you share how you look for the right talent, how you assess and communicate with that talent, what questions to ask, and how to ask them. Some tips for doing this:
Consistently collaborate on reviewing portfolios. Discuss your views on which candidates are ideal and which aren’t, and explain your reasoning.
If possible, get the TA team actively involved in portfolio presentations. This will give them another way to participate in the process, hear feedback directly, and learn the types of things the team is looking for in candidates directly (and what “good” looks like). This went a long way for me.
Invite TA to be part of design team meetings, brown bag sessions, and any other relevant meetings as the team grows. This will give them a 360-degree view of the team, the value you deliver, and what you’re looking for.
Get feedback from your TA partners on the interviewers who are participating in the process. They have a front-row seat to the candidate experience and can give you great insights that will help you grow your team and improve the process.
No matter how much experience TA has in hiring for design, making them feel like a key part of the hiring process will really help you. The more they understand your needs and what makes a great designer, the more efficient they’ll be at matching you with the best talent.
Co-creating your way to success
Working with Talent Acquisition isn’t just about handing off a wishlist and waiting for them to deliver you the ideal team. You’ll have much more success when you co-create—not just for your budding design team, but for the company as a whole. Prioritize that relationship, especially early on, and give them the best view possible into exactly what makes a good fit. This will jumpstart your hiring and pave the way for smoother collaboration in the future.
In my next post, we’ll dig deeper into hiring, including screening for culture fit and the importance of sharing career progression ladders during the interview process. Nailing these points is key to attracting the people you need for an aligned, motivated, and high-performing design team. See you next time!