Ambassador Group measures every candidate it introduces to you against what you decide in the Hiring Strategy Meeting. A vague meeting makes a vague search, so this one comes first, before any outreach.
I hold to one idea about hiring: leaders who can't see themselves clearly can't see candidates clearly. This meeting is where that work starts. Before anyone judges a candidate, you say plainly what the role is, what success looks like, and what you will and won't trade. Hiring is where a leader's judgment becomes visible, and this is the first place it shows.
What the meeting decides
The meeting settles four things:
- What success looks like in the role's first year.
- The must-haves and the deal-breakers.
- The pay range.
- The interview plan.
Under those sit three working pieces. The attraction strategy is how Ambassador Group describes the role to the market. The screening strategy is what qualifies someone to reach you. The interview strategy is how your interviewers will judge the people who do.
You answer, and Ambassador Group keeps asking until the answer is specific enough to screen on. "Good communicator" is not. "Walks an owner through a schedule slip without softening it" is.
Who should be at the Hiring Strategy Meeting
The hiring decision leader is required. That is the one person who makes the final call on this hire, and a plan built without them is someone else's guess. If you are unsure who that is, [read what a hiring decision leader does](/articles/the-hiring-decision-leader-the-key-to-profitable-and-durable-hires).
Include the person the role reports to, if that is someone else. Add one or two interviewers, or HR if they own offers or benefits, when they have something to settle. Keep it small. Every extra voice before the plan exists adds an opinion before there is a standard to measure it against.
How long it runs
About two hours the first time, because Ambassador Group learns your company before the two of you define the role. About 30 minutes or less if you have hired with Ambassador Group before. It runs longer when you build the job description during the meeting.
If your search starts later, meet now or closer to the start date. Both work.
What to bring
Bring what you have:
- A job description, or one for a similar role. It gives the meeting a starting point.
- Your offer letter template.
- Your benefits outline.
- Your mission, vision and values.
- An org chart.
Anything you don't have, the two of you build during the meeting. It only adds time.
Then think through three answers before you arrive. Why is this role open now? What are the few must-haves and deal-breakers? What pay range will you offer? A list with twelve must-haves has none, so cut it to the few that decide the hire. A job description alone won't answer these, and [most job descriptions are useless](/articles/why-most-job-descriptions-are-useless-and-how-to-fix-them) until someone has.
What you leave with
A written plan the search runs on: the role definition, the attraction strategy, and the interview plan. Outreach, screening and your own interviews all run from that one document, so everyone who touches the search works from the same page. For the interview side, [How to Design an Interview Process](/articles/how-to-design-an-interview-process) goes deeper.
You already know most of what goes in the plan. Say it once, out loud, and the search starts from what you know.
The short version.
- How long is the Hiring Strategy Meeting?
- About two hours the first time, because Ambassador Group learns your company before the two of you define the role. About 30 minutes or less if you have hired with Ambassador Group before. It runs longer when you build the job description during the meeting.
- Who needs to attend the Hiring Strategy Meeting?
- The hiring decision leader, the one person who makes the final call on the hire. Add the person the role reports to if that is someone else, and one or two interviewers or HR when they have something to settle. Keep the group small.
- What should I bring to the Hiring Strategy Meeting?
- Bring what you have: a job description or one for a similar role, your offer letter template, your benefits outline, your mission, vision and values, and an org chart. Anything missing gets built during the meeting, which only adds time.
- What do I leave the Hiring Strategy Meeting with?
- A written plan the search runs on: the role definition, the attraction strategy, and the interview plan. Outreach, screening and your own interviews all run from that one document.
- Can I hold the meeting before my search starts?
- Yes. Meet now or closer to the start date. Both work, and a plan made early keeps the decisions about the role in your hands before outreach begins.
