The hiring plan page I use in pitch decks and IM's to help convince investors (and teams) that we have a handle on how the team will be built

1. PHILHSC.COM
HOW TO WRITE A HIRING PLAN
THAT YOU (AND INVESTORS)
BELIEVE
Hiring Plan Slide

2. You can read the original post here
September 2018 Copyright Phil Hayes-St Clair 2010 - 2018 | PHILHSC.COM 1

3. Hiring plan ingredients
Writing a hiring plan (or summarising it into a slide) is the simple part. It’s the four ingredients that take time to create and understand. And each one is worth their
weight in gold.
Ingredient 2 – Candidate
List
When I construct a
candidate list I look into my
network and those who I
trust to make a referral. I
don’t want to waste their
time so in asking who they
might know I ask them to
provide a brief description of
the potential candidate. In
other words, I ask them to
think about how people
describe other people,
particularly in a professional
context. This description
usually consists of four
factors in one sentence and
how I/we know them. For
example, Melissa June:
Spent 15 years in biotech,
launched [product name],
went to med school at
Stamford, married with kids.
Met via John Mayo.
Ingredient 1 – Clear
Job Description
Create a crystal clear
job description that
defines their
functional and
cultural contribution.
Also, ensure it
includes the financial
incentives on offer
and how they should
expect to be known
inside and outside
the organisation if
they are successful
in the first two years
and then after five
years at your
company. This is
important because it
will help candidates
understand that you
are in search of
an ally, not just
employees.
Ingredient 3 – Candidate Incentives
There is only one way to know candidate incentives. By
talking to them. And because incentives aren’t the first thing
that comes up in conversations, you’ll need to have spoken to
each candidate multiple times. After pitching them on the
vision, meeting with them a couple more times to understand
their questions and where they’re at, you’ll reach a point
where it’s OK to ask what it will take to convince them to join.
I ask one or a combination of the following questions to get a
read on a candidate’s incentives:
1. What could working with [company name] do to help
your family?
2. What’s missing from your LinkedIn profile that this role
could help with?
3. How do you hope you’ll be remembered
professionally?
4. What interest outside of work do you want to advance
the most in the next five years?
Incentives often fall into family, professional and community-
related pursuits. While there are some exceptions, this
knowledge can help create the conditions through which a
compelling offer can be made to a candidate.
Ingredient 4 – Likelihood To
Join Framework
This essential ingredient requires
judgement. The ‘likelihood to join’
frameworks isn’t just about how
convincing you are to get a
potential candidate to say yes and
join the company. It’s also about
determining whether the
candidate is a fit, will excel in the
role on offer and is available
given your timeline and their
priorities.
In addition to their interest, I also
make a judgement on their
likelihood to join based on their:
• Performance in a paid audition
• Incentives (and if they align
with the company)
• Expectations of what the
business needs to be able to
offer them (eg must close a
financing round of $XXM)
• Appetite to leave what they are
doing
• Availability to start
September 2018 Copyright Phil Hayes-St Clair 2010 - 2018 | PHILHSC.COM 2

4. Hiring Plan Slide
Role Candidate About
Likelihood To Join
Paid Audition
Performance
Incentives
Aligned
Clear & Aligned
Expectations
Appetite To
Leave
Availability
To Start
VP,
Product
Melissa June • 15 years biotech exp
• Launched [product
name]
• Stamford Med School
grad
• Married with kids
• Intro via John Mayo
VP,
Communic
ations
John Hale • 20 years tech comms
exp
• Google, Ring, Spotify
• MSc MIT
• Married with kids
• Intro via Jane Sully
TBC
VP, Sales Clarissa
Harris
• 17 years B2B sales
leadership
• Apple, Pfizer
• MBA UNSW
• Living in Sydney, AUS
happy to relocate
• Intro via Michael Smith
TBC
September 2018 Copyright Phil Hayes-St Clair 2010 - 2018 | PHILHSC.COM 3

5. Recent Posts
September 2018 4
‘Intel Inside’ And A Growth Path For Start-ups
Making Sense Of Start-Up Advice
Business Model History: The Missing Slide In Pitch Decks
The Right Way To Shock New Hires
7 Reasons You Struggle To Hire Developers
How Founders Should Think About Money
Love Is All You Need
Isolation, Depression And Being An Entrepreneur
The Beginner Mindset
11 Things You Don’t Know About Raising Capital The First Time Around
Copyright Phil Hayes-St Clair 2010 - 2018 | PHILHSC.COM