Richard Branson: Hiring on personality rather than skill-set

“It’s better to have a hole in your team than an asshole in your team!” according to Funding Circle CEO Samir Desai and quoted by Richard Branson.

Richard Branson shares his secrets on hiring the perfect staff and making sure you get the right mix of people working for your company in order to create huge success. If his success if anything to go by, these tips may be worth taking in.

The first tip he has given is to look for someone who has a personality that fits in with your company and the culture of the workplace. Branson believes that most skills can be learned but it isn’t easy to train people’s personalities.

He agrees that you can learn most jobs quickly if you are thrown in the deep end. It usually takes about three months to know the ins and outs of a role. In an interview, if you are happy with their personality you can then look at experience and expertise. He also believes it is important to find people with transferable skills and those who are team players that are happy to have a go at different kinds of jobs within the company- ‘While specialists are sometimes necessary, versatility should not be underestimated’.

Another tip from Branson is to look at qualifications after everything else. A candidate with more degrees and A grades than any other may not be the right person for the job and may not have the right personality to fit in with the company. He suggests that high grades aren’t relevant if they aren’t combined with great experience and a winning personality.

Branson isn’t afraid of hiring mavericks or people who think differently as they can sometimes help to see problems as opportunities and enhance creative energy within the group. Some of his best staff didn’t fit in at first but proves to be indispensable over time.

Branson believes in promoting from within the company as the employee will be inspired by the new role, will already know the business like the back of their hand and will have trust and respect for their team. ‘Hiring the wrong person at the top of the company can destroy it in no time at all’.

Branson feels it is too often that companies hire in bulk during growth spurts which can jeopardise the company culture. There is no rush to get someone through the door and it will pay off to be patient and find the perfect candidate for the job and company.