Sir Richard Branson on Hiring the Right People

Sir Richard Branson is an entrepreneur who was born in London to Eve and Edward James Branson in 1950. From his teen years, he planned to become a successful businessman. In the decades since, he’s founded or acquired more than 400 companies in various industries for the Virgin Group.

Richard got his start publishing a magazine called Student in the 1960s before turning his eye toward starting his own record label. He spent the 1980s and ‘90s spearheading air and rail travel initiatives, as well as exploring the telecoms industry. Richard has more recently worked to make space tourism a reality with Virgin Galactic.

Seeking out new hires can take effort, but finding the ideal candidate is always possible. Here are three essential elements you’ll find in any ideal new hire:

1. 1. Cultural fit: A good employee performs all their job responsibilities adequately, but a great employee does the same while also fitting into your company culture like a glove. When vetting job candidates, try to identify what you’re looking for in terms of cultural fit as well as the criteria job seekers should meet. Tailor job interview questions to this end and incentivize people to be themselves when they talk to you.
2. 2. Experience: When trying to fill an open position, find out whether or not a person can do everything the job description requires. Judging prior experience is one useful tool for achieving this. As you begin the recruitment and hiring process, ask yourself what experience would best qualify a person to fill this certain role.
3. 3. Work ethic: Hiring decisions must consider a person’s work ethic. Even if the candidate has a sterling résumé and a winning personality, they won’t provide value to your company unless they have a proven track record of working hard in their past roles. Seek out new employees upon whom you know you can rely.

Sir Richard Branson has spearheaded hundreds of initiatives, bringing together top talent on a consistent basis. Here’s what says about finding and hiring the best employees possible:

1. 1. Be open to different types of experience. Résumés and reference checks can provide you with valuable information, but remember there are more ways a person can prove they’re up to the task beyond these traditional means. “When we set up a new cruise line or a new train company or a new airline or whatever,” Richard says, “the bulk of the people that we'll bring in are people who’ve had no experience in that industry whatsoever.” Give potential candidates a chance to prove themselves in a variety of ways.
2. 2. Delegate when possible. Build a hiring infrastructure as ironclad as possible, and then feel free to delegate it to a human resources team or a specific hiring manager. “My approach in building companies was to immerse myself completely in the company for the first three months,” says Branson. “And then when I’ve sort of learned all the basics, to find somebody else to run it on a day-to-day basis.” You can still help with the final decision-making on hiring, but delegating the earlier phases can help free you up to run other aspects of your large or small business.
3. 3. Get to know candidates preliminarily. Set up an initial assessment for potential employees before you begin the hiring process. “If you’re interviewing someone for a job,” Richard says, “one fun idea I would suggest is to ask them to send a short video about themselves.” This gives you an idea of whether they’re right or wrong for the job before they come in for an interview.
4. 4. Lead by example. Business owners have a duty to foster an inclusive and inviting company culture. “You know, if you’re good with people,” Richard says, “you can find great people, you can keep great people, you can motivate those people.” Create a positive environment from the top down, starting with your own personal behavior. This will help increase employee retention and inspire everyone to do the best job possible day in and day out.
5. 5. Look at how they treat others. Even very qualified candidates might not have the personal integrity necessary to be a good employee. “If you've got time,” Richard suggests, “take them out to lunch, see how they treat the waitress, see how they treat other people in the restaurant.” Avoid bad hires by seeing how potential team members treat people they don’t need to impress.
6. 6. Interview in a nontraditional location. Feel free to use unorthodox recruitment strategies throughout your interview process. “If I’m interviewing somebody, I most likely will find a place outside,” Richard states. “Maybe go for a walk with them around the island or go for a sail with them. Get to know them in a setting that is not sitting [on] a sofa, asking questions.” Seeing people in a more natural setting can help you find the right candidate for a job in a more relaxed location.
7. 7. Think of qualities beyond competence. Look at your current employees and see what makes your team tick as it is. This helps you discern what makes for a good cultural fit beyond having the right skill set. “I’m looking for what kind of character they are,” Richard says about interviewing new people. “What sort of personality they’ve got. Are they fun? Do they crack a few jokes? Will they be fun to be around?”

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