8 tips on how to attract and retain top creative talent
Qualified and experienced designers are interested in working for design-led companies that (1) understand where design adds value to an organization; and (2) empower designers with what they need to operate successfully in those areas. Why? One of the major challenges with UX Design is getting support from the top. Without executive backing, product teams are forced to cut corners and work less effectively. In addition, misunderstandings about the Design Process can result in communication breakdown, incoherent planning, and poor execution. Bottom line: A design culture doesn’t bubble up, it must come from the top down.
Many experienced designers are open to join a startup, but they won't sell themselves short for a shot at the “startup experience”. They know their value in the marketplace. For all the glamour and “sexiness” associated with the concept of startups, the truth is that startups are no more and no less than what they sound like: new, growing businesses that statistically are more likely to fail than to succeed. Despite the risk, if the offer is fair and competitive, the job looks interesting, and the company don't fail at work-life balance, you will be in a better position to hire a seasoned product designer that can add value to your business.
People don’t leave bad companies or abandon lousy products and technology. They leave bad bosses and flawed leadership. Micromanaging behavior negatively affects efficiency, creativity, trust, communication, problem-solving, and the ability for designers to reach the company's goals. What autonomy-seeking designers really want is to be empowered to try bold things (and sometimes fail!), to handle circumstances that fall out of the usual process, to make their own decisions within a framework of doing what's best for the customer. Companies that foster a trusting culture will have a competitive advantage in attracting talent and harmonizing business relationships.
A good designer is hard to find —and replace. Don’t try to check all the boxes in finding the best job candidates. Companies understand the growing importance of good design as a competitive advantage, and the talent pool to draw upon is small and in high demand, especially in tech-heavy cities. If a candidate's resume is not in the correct format, or is not up-to-date with the latest work experience, a LinkedIn profile provides as much information, if not more than traditional resumes, about a candidate's unique skills and experiences. Don't be so rigid and inflexible. Make sure you take a look at the designer's portfolio. Most designers feature their top projects and case studies on their websites. No amount of phone interview questions, group interviews, 1-on-1 interviews, on-site design tests, take-home exercises or reference checking is a substitute for actually looking at a designer's portfolio and determine if his/her design thinking and style fits what you think will be effective for your project needs. Schedule a one hour portfolio review, and once you get a feel for the designer's work and personality, you will quickly be able to determine if you can form a good working relationship.
Don’t ask designers to sign NDAs in job interviews. Why? Any agreement that they sign to not disclose or use information shared with them in a casual interview process and without any guarantees of employment, opens up a whole world of potentially contentious confusion about what is or isn’t okay for them to do in the future. If you have something significant and tangible about your products and/or services that is confidential, please don't share it with designers in the job interview. If you agree to start working together as in a condition of being hired/compensated, then it’s completely fine for job candidates to sign an NDA, or better yet if you execute a contract that has solid terms to protect your IP and ensure ownership.
Chances are a good designer will refuse to design by committee. Don't sell this idea to candidates in a job interview or once they are hired. Design by committee is a synonym for bad design. I'm not saying that good design requires that one person think of everything. Collaboration in design is essential, and there's nothing more valuable than the feedback and ideas of team members and stakeholders whose judgement you trust. But after all the talking is done, the designer should have a degree of autonomy and control over his/her design. You can stick instances of good design together, but within each individual project, you should avoid too many competing agendas during the design of a product. Sometimes this leads to having too many cooks in the kitchen, each aiming to add their own flavorful ingredient.
During the interview process, don’t ask designers to produce work intended to solve actual business problems under the guise of a "design exercise". Speculative (spec) work is unethical. Instead, ask designers to solve a generic design problem during the on-site interview, or as mentioned above, look at their portfolio as it will give you a good insight into his or her design thinking, problem-solving process, and visual design sensitivity.
Stop the meeting madness. Many organizations I have worked with have a meeting-driven culture that is (1) too frequent, (2) poorly timed, and (3) badly run, leading to losses in productivity, collaboration, and well-being for both teams and individuals. As a consequence, people tend to come to work early, stay late, or use weekends for quiet time to concentrate. To be sure, meetings are essential for enabling collaboration, creativity, and innovation. They often foster relationships and ensure proper information exchange. They provide real benefits. But why would anyone argue in defense of excessive meetings, especially when no one likes them much? The answer is because managers and executives want to be good soldiers. They assume they’re doing what’s best for the business—and they don’t see the costs to the organization. They overlook the collective toll on productivity, focus, and engagement. In the case of creatives, too many meetings keep them from completing their own work, and happiness at work takes a hit too. Every minute spent in a wasteful meeting eats into time for solo-work that’s equally essential for creativity and efficiency. To quote Bob Newhart: “Stop it!”.
Bonus Tip
Pay your prospective creative talents fair market value wages. Period. Unfortunately, being cheap with your most valuable assets is unlikely to pay off in the long run. It’s possible that a designer might accept a lowball offer when they're not flooded with other options. But you must keep in mind that a good designer (or any employee who knows his/her value) that feels “underpaid and undervalued” in the workplace, or resentful of the amount of work they're doing for the money they receive, sooner than later will jump ship to another company that offers better salary and benefits. Yes, I understand that designers are not cheap, but the ROI of hiring and retaining good designers is without doubt very valuable. Companies competing for talent are often not afraid to pay more when hiring if it means they can hire the best talent. And let’s face it, losing a great employee is a major blow to your organization. So, before putting up your next job posting, consider the benefits of paying designers what they’re worth.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. How do you find and hire the best designers in this increasingly competitive job market?