Every hire is critical when your employees can make or break the bottom line. That’s why Greg Schott made talent acquisition his top priority when he became president and CEO of MuleSoft in 2009.
“The value of a large, mature company typically lies in its brand,” Schott says. “But when you’re a small company in the technology space, your value is 100 percent embodied in the people who work for you.”
His vision for the fledgling provider of integration software and solutions was centered on the idea of attracting and inspiring the best and the brightest professionals by putting employees first.
“Hiring the best people creates a virtuous cycle,” he says. “They inspire greatness, lead and encourage each other, and help the organization succeed. In turn, the company’s success encourages other great people to join.”
MuleSoft was still reeling from the economic meltdown when Schott arrived. The firm had managed to land a handful of clients since its founding in 2006 and was generating a small amount of revenue. But after downsizing during the recession, its meager 20-person team was trying to hold its own against the likes of Oracle and IBM. Worst of all, its customer base was dominated by besieged banks and insurance companies, making it hard to attain and maintain long-term stability.
“There was no clear plan for taking the company to the next level,” Schott says. “I made hiring our No. 1 priority and that was a signal to everyone that we were going to leverage high-caliber people as a way to ignite growth.”
Schott proceeded to reinvent MuleSoft’s hiring process and culture resulting in the addition of 380 people who expanded the firm’s technical capabilities and client list to include 45 percent of the Global 500.
Hire amazing people
Most managers don’t know how to conduct a structured, purposeful interview and base their hiring decisions on gut instinct instead of facts. Or, they commit other faux pas like dominating their conversations with candidates or settling for average or marginal performers because they haven’t defined the traits and skills of a top-notch employee.
To raise the bar for MuleSoft’s new hires, Schott created a rigorous hiring process and tapped his vast interviewing experience to lead by example. He even coined a nickname for MuleSoft’s high octane employees: “Muleys.”
“Technical skills can be learned,” Schott says. “But an employee will top out if they don’t have the passion or intellectual horsepower to sustain professional growth. We needed to define our expectations and the attributes of a Muley to make sure we were hiring people who could succeed over the long haul.”
