1. Stay in their comfort bubble

Working at a startup is one hell of a ride. It is like venturing into a new territory, into the unknown, into uncertainties. Changes can happen faster than your plans. It can feel overwhelming and utterly uncomfortable.

For example, in startups, not only the CEO or business developer will visit clients’ offices. It is also possible that a UX designer or developer will meet clients to get real user feedback. These seemingly “behind-the-laptop” roles may actually “go out of the building”.

If a candidate considers your startup role the same as a traditional job, it is clearly a red flag. If it happens that they are hired in your startup, you may be wasting lots of your valuable time to managing differences in expectations.

2. Stick to fixed job description list

Startup teams all began small. It means everyone has a lot on his/her plate. Everyone is wearing multiple hats at the same time. And everyone will have to work extra to fill in any cracks. Things can change so rapidly that the “job description” is no longer something one should stick to.

When I was hired at Cocoon, there was no job description at all. The vacancy was not even published. I had a phone conversation with the CEO of Cocoon,Martijn Frusch, and we met in person in the office. We knew we had a click. We shared the same value. We were excited to get started.

Being flexible and adaptive is a key trait Startups desire in their new team members. Things have to move fast. There is just no time for “but it is not part of my job!”.

3. Evade responsibility

In large corporates, it may still be possible for people to smoothly pass the blame to others when something goes wrong. You think that is the same in startups? No no no.

In startups, you are the owner of your tasks. No one except you should bear any responsibility. Yes, you may need help and input from your colleagues sometimes. Yet, it is still your responsibility to get the task done. If you are not pushing others to help you to ensure your task is done, it is your fault.

4. Sit and wait till they are told what to do

People who are passive can be a slow poison to your startup. What startups desire the most is that employees are autonomous. They are trusted with their expertise and have all the freedom to shine.

While some guidance and communications are essential to ensure you and your employees are on the same page, there is just no time for you to micro-manage everything, or worse, tell employees what they should do exactly every day. Passive employees drain the time and energy out of you when you should be focusing on things that are far more important.

When you hear “I don’t know what to do” from your employee more than often, and you are sure expectations were well communicated, it could be the sign that you should just let him/her go.

Time is money. Every second counts. Especially for startups. Waste no more time on toxic employees.

Get to know your next hires better before you get them on board. They can make or break your startup.

Over 6400 talented developers, designers, business developers, marketers and more in the Netherlands are ready join startups they believe in. Join Cocoonand reach out to these talents.