If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that the ability to adapt quickly to new and ever-changing circumstances is a trait that we all could do with having. And whilst this can be a bit of a challenge for some of us, it can simply come naturally to others. Therefore, if you're recruiting for your startup, hiring an employee who is innately adaptable will be of huge benefit.
So why do you need adaptable personalities on your team?
1 Their flexibility
No matter what challenges or issues they may face, adaptable people are generally able to handle them. They tend to be naturally flexible and so when they have to change how they do things, they can do so with ease. That could be anything from changing how they communicate when dealing with different clients to changing when and where they work.
Planning to shift to hybrid working? That won’t be an issue for them. If they’re faced with new or unexpected situations, they keep an open mind and simply get on with what’s required. They’re willing to try new things, learn new skills and collaborate and help out wherever they’re needed.
2 They embrace change
Since change tends to be an integral element in a startup culture, you'll need to ensure that you have people within your team who can handle it. Employees who are adaptable don't fear change and don't feel uncomfortable when it's thrust upon them!
So, if you're still tweaking your product or service, or planning to pivot, they’ll respond positively and support you. They’ll not start complaining about things not being as they used to be - they’ll recognise that in a startup, things are always evolving and they’ll do what they can to make those changes work.
3 They react quickly
Adaptable people don't generally need lots of time to adjust when things have to change - a huge plus in the dynamic world of a startup. So, if modifications have to be made to a project or process or a client requests that urgent updates need to be actioned, they'll simply respond to what's needed and get on with the task in hand.
No lengthy deliberations are needed - if something happens that they're not fully prepared for, they'll be able to think on their feet, quickly reassess things and action whatever changes are required.
Although you might not be able to fully determine how adaptable an employee is until they're working with you, there are certain elements during the recruitment process that will give you a pretty good indication - like the interview for instance.
Here are just a few suggestions for questions that can help you do just that...
Interview questions for adaptability
Assess their attitude to change
Finding out how a candidate handled or reacted to change previously can be a great way of determining how flexible they are. You could ask them questions such as:
Have they ever been in a situation where they had to do something they’d never done before? How did they approach this and what did they learn?
How do they adjust to changes they have no control over?
Have they ever had to change their way of working or adopt a colleague's working style to ensure a project gets completed? How did they do this and what was the outcome?
Do they like routine or do they prefer things to be mixed up a little? How do they react if a routine is interrupted?
By asking candidates to give you examples of how they have behaved when faced with these types of challenges or situations, you can get a really good insight into how flexible they are likely to be in a work environment. Their approach when circumstances dictate a change in direction can be pretty telling.
Determine their attitude to change
One of the best ways to assess a potential employee's attitude to change, is to be open and direct about it during the interview. Ask them questions like:
Does change excite them? If so, why?
Do they fear change at all? What aspects of it do they dislike and why?
Ask about a time when they had to deal with change - how did they do this?
Were they frustrated at the changes taking place?
Did they see the benefits and understand why the changes had to happen?
An adaptable person will have a positive view on changes - even if they admit that they didn't agree with them. They'll also most probably be the curious sort and they’ll have taken time to understand the rationale behind them and tailored their thinking or way of working accordingly.
Gauge their speed of response
Since changes can take place on a daily basis in a startup, determining how quickly a potential employee would react to them is vital. You should ask candidates questions such as:
Have they ever had a deadline brought forward or a target suddenly increased?
How did they respond when this happened and what was the result?
Can they describe a time or a situation where they faced an urgent problem? How did they handle it or prioritize what needed to be done?
How do they react if a project has to quickly change direction?
Have they ever had to action last-minute updates? How comfortable were they doing this?
An adaptable candidate will generally be able to show how they evaluated a new situation or change in circumstances quickly and reacted accordingly. Their answers will be a pretty good way for you to suss out how capable they are of handling changing situations.
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Offering personalised, consultative service, at TableCrowd Talent we’re a specialist recruitment agency with our finger on the pulse of the startup and scaleup scene. We are committed to matching graduates, professionals and C-level executives to exciting startup and scaleup jobs across London, the UK and Europe.
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