How To Secure Those Hard To Find Hires

Hello and welcome thank you for joining Us uh we have a good panel today I think To start obviously the past two and a Half years have been a little different Given uh covet and everything but I think the way we're looking at work is Changing and Janine I'd like to start With you what is something you've Noticed about the road ahead for Startups when it comes to hiring Well I think the main headline is that When a Founder is deciding where to put Employees the options are numerous and Way more than ever before that can both Be a matter of too many choices or an Abundance of choices based on the talent Pool in the entire world so it does pose Challenges but it's also a huge Opportunity and in some ways it takes a Bit of the stress off of someone who Thinks the only way they can find Talent Is to compete here in the Bay Area so It's a positive but it doesn't mean that It's easy Yeah I think I'd say uh hybrids here to Stay right I think the desire for Workers to have flexibility in their Work schedules and their locations is Going to be a thing forevermore you know One of the interesting things that we Found on Gusto uh was that we saw two uh 240 increase uh remote workers since 2021. I think the other piece is in a Study we did where we talked to HR

Professionals and employees 48 of them Said that the ability to work from home Summer all the time was going to be the Key indicator whether or not they Decided to take a job so you know as We're thinking about the talent markets We're thinking about being able to Secure those difficult hires being able To meet them where they are both Figuratively and literally is going to Be a key for any company looking to Secure those hires Yeah I think what we've Um seen kind of what Emil says like Workers have power and they have Sway And individuals do want to work more Flexibly Um while I think at the same time Acknowledging the last two years of not Being particularly representative of What remote work usually looks like or What workers want so I think that mass Experiment is still kind of playing out And yeah we're going to see what's Really going to emerge over the next Probably 18 to 24 months Emilio you Actually touched on my next question and I'd love to start with you on this there Was a time when everyone wanted the ping Pong tables the kombucha on tap the nap Rooms and now most people want Flexibility and the ability to work from Home as you mentioned as all three of You mentioned what else is the demand

Out there now Beyond those factors Beyond being able to work from my my House or my bed like what else are they Looking for that have those similar Perks to the kombucha on tap yeah yeah I Think more so than anything um You know the pandemic changed things Right I think when you think about the Ping pong tables the kombucha on tap Like these were things that were built To keep you in the office for an Elongated amount of time I think what We've seen from home is that we can Maintain that level of productivity and Be better holistic humans right um you Know speaking for myself you know I have A wife and I get an opportunity to spend A lot more time with it right there are A lot of folks with kids who weren't Able to see them grow up in the way that They are now so as I think about you Know what is different I think people Want to be whole right people want to Feel that connection to their work but They also want to feel that connection To all the things that they enjoy and That they love outside of work and I Think that's what this flexibility has Provided that companies really can't Replicate I would add just a few more along those Lines which is that People do want to belong and when they Get that feeling from an employer and

They're aligned behind the vision and The values of the company that makes Them feel really productive and really Committed to the organization so the Question is not just is it is it nice Not to have to commute it's what will Replace the feeling of camaraderie and The feeling that I belong in this Company and I think employers have Realized they do need to budget for Things like travel so that people can Get together and can spend time and bond And so it's not just an indefinite Forever never seeing colleagues there's A new Cadence and I don't think we've Settled into what that looks like but I Think it has to be part of work in the Future for everyone to feel the the Commitment and be really uh really ready To support the organization so I think It's going to take time to see how that Plays out Yeah I I think what workers want and I've I've been fortunate to speak to a Bunch over the last couple of years is They want to stop sacrificing their Quality of life for for work and really Have a higher quality of life so I think When you think about what remote and Flexible work are and aren't it's not Just a future of work Evolution it's Like how do we provide a quality a life Revolution where people got to design The life that they live and a Mill's

Point about people missing their kids For me it was I miss my kids walking Laughing talking for the first time and I think that's really important to People right they don't have to be in an Office nine to five five days a week There is still value to come together Physically and spend time and build that Skills for communication and Collaboration but like Who cares about ping pong table who Cares about an Xbox like I think people Care about doing great work I think People care about having a really high Quality of life and then I think the Extension of that which I'm obviously Going to be biased towards is Do people have the right tools and Equipment and if you have the right Tools and equipment it's much easier to Be productive it's really hard to be in A 700 square foot apartment in San Francisco or New York And do your best work so really being as Safe comfortable and productive at home Is really important or wherever you work Remotely and then it's the other part Which is like how do we maintain those Skills of communication and Collaboration so the work we do with our Teams remains a super high level Yeah and what I doubt to that is you Know 100 agree with Chris you know tools And systems and you're really committing

And investing in this hybrid way of work If that's the path you decide to take I Think the other you know Innovative Thing that I've seen that like Gusto's Done is we hired ahead of remote Experience Um and that person's sole responsibility Is to bring that remote empathy to the Table right I think it's really easy to Forget that Um you know things are different when You're in the office right and folks Don't have the same levels of visibility They don't have the same access to the Water cooler conversations so it's you Know how do you think about this Holistically in a way that it's not only Going to be tools and systems but it's Going to be resources that are dedicated To it in the same way that we think About our workplace teams right when we Were going into the office there were a Bunch of people on the workplace team That you run into that you talk to every Day we have to think about that in a Virtual setting as well in order to Create that Equitable experience I think for me personally I would only Do hybrid or remote I would never go Back into the office that's a deal Breaker for me Um Tech wrench is probably listening and They know that but I think my question And Chris you kind of touched on this so

I'm curious if you could dive further Into it how can companies meet Talent Where they are when they have so many Options and requirements or these deal Breakers especially today Yeah I think I think you hit the nail in The head right it's about organizations And how come we meet people where they Are how can we deliver the things that They require from us as a company but Equally like the other side is their Their personal side and I think there's Ways to design that you you decide like Luke there's no way I would ever go back To an office full time and I think That's a reaction generally if like People right like the stats are 90 plus Of people never want to go back to an Office again full-time less than 10 Percent do want to go back to an office Full time so there's a huge proportion Of people who do want that flexibility And I think then when you double click Into that there's just a lot of variance Across the board right Engineers maybe Want to go into an office people in Media Marketing sales want to come into The the office more so I don't think There's any like casual answer to that Which is like specific to a company I Think it's having that flexibility Inside the organization to design your Work systems to what the what the Individual requires and I think

Companies that do that we we work with a Company a bunch of companies who do who Basically say like look you choose if Your quality Works high you're you're Producing the outcomes are good We're gonna have less of a problem with That and I think like that's just a Personal management thing I think There's there's a tweak happening which Is like Rather than this command and control What type leadership which I guess is Historically being the way things are There's more empathy involved right like Maybe you have to pick your kids up Maybe you maybe somebody has a health Condition or impairment that finds it Really difficult to work in an office Maybe they're caring for a family member So I think just where you started Meeting people where they are giving Them what they want I think that's the Key here really We recently surveyed a subset of our Portfolio companies and of those that Replied which was arranged from seed to Growth stage about 43 percent have some Sort of hybrid work hybrid scenario Where employees are working one two Three four or five days in the office so There are still companies that Maybe because of their setup before the Pandemic really want to bring people Together at least one day per week so

It's not it's not gone I agree that Things have shifted In a way that's probably irreversible But it doesn't mean that there are going To be companies that feel more Successful if everyone's together Yeah and and personally I enjoy going to The office when I can I usually go about Once or twice a week it just feels good To get out of the house I think I was in I was in my apartment for so long during The pandemic that I'll take any Opportunity to to leave it I think when It comes to meeting Talent where they Are I think the first thing that we all Can do is just listen to them right as We're thinking about Our brand or so we're thinking about our Value proposition is we're thinking About the talent that we want to engage And attract we got to listen to what They're looking for right we got to Listen to our employees and then build Around that and I think the best way you Can do that is by building Equitable Experiences you know like we've touched On some folks want to come into the Office five days a week some days I Wanna some folks don't want to come in At all so how do you create experiences That are going to allow them to be Highly productive and highly engaged no Matter what their situation is I think There's an aversion in this because this

Is much different right it's much easier To build for a monolith but as things Have shifted I think we've seen is that You know companies that can provide that Flexibility that don't have a One-size-fits-all approach are not only Going to be the companies that Successfully hire new folks but those Are going to be the companies that Retain Talent which I'd argue is equally As important given how high stakes Hiring is today Talent because Already hard enough to get certain High And once you do Your advice to all three of you on how To keep that Talent from leaving within Six to 12 months because they're unhappy Well um I think the uh I'll talk about the portfolio companies That we recently surveyed on that very Point they are very intentional about Finding opportunities for employees to Come together to collaborate to feel Like they're part of something and I Think it's very isolating yes we've been In our houses apartments for the last Couple years and when you work in Isolation you do begin to feel really Disconnected you begin to withdraw and Not have the commitment maybe to the Organization because we're really Attached to people And that's why if your organization is

Hybrid you do need to create Opportunities for people to come Together even if it's in a relatively Local Hub type scenario I I know that There's a range of people that work in Startups not everybody has a family that They're missing out on a lot of them are Early in their lives and are wanting to Connect and make friends and and be with Other people so I I strongly Advocate for finding opportunities and Budgeting for opportunities for time Together Yeah I I think for me Um in being in the role that I'm in Um I mean it starts at that first phone Call right it's you know how are we Talking about the opportunity how are we Creating a process that's going to allow Folks to understand what it's actually Like to work at a company Um you know one of the the biggest pet Peeves that I have as I look across the Industry is seeing companies just copy And paste a process or copy and paste The mindset from the company to the left The company to the right of them right That's not going to get you the success That you're hopeful for right so I think The better that you can do in curating What your experience looks like how Accurate of a depiction that you're Giving folks into what it's like to work At a company you can set yourself and

That candidate up for Success 3 6 12 Months down the line and kind of Thinking about hybrid you know I think One of the things that comes to mind to Me is you know we kind of talked about Commuting a little bit earlier as we Talk about the different circumstances Of folks we're seeing more Americans With Disabilities gainfully employed Than ever right because they're able to To overcome what's been a huge barrier For them and for a lot of folks which is Commute right I think as we understand The shifts of metropolitan areas and how Much more difficult it's becoming to Commute via car via train via you know Whatever your Your Vessel of Transportation is these are providing Real opportunities to folks who have Been historically excluded which I think Is something that I can go overlooked And it's something that I'm really Really Bullish on in terms of how we think About representation and how we Better serve underserved communities Um Purpose Myers I think that's like the Place I would start where People don't want to work for a business That is just ruthlessly Exploiting things so I think like people Who care about the mission like that Seems like cliche but actually I think

It's true so that's number one number Two like I'll maybe rock the boat a Little bit here Um I think there's a lot of like media talk Right now about well remote workers are More Loosely tied to the organization I think companies are finding out right Now how Loosely people are tied when They demand people go back to the office So I think that's been something that's That's playing out in real time I think Big companies are realizing that like When you're in a knowledge economy the Talent that you have matters and the Talent that you have relative to your Competitors Mars and if you don't have The most talented people in the market It's incredibly difficult to create the Products and services and solutions that You need to as a startup Um I think the final thing is like Startups are hard And I think like you need people who Understand how hard they are it's not Like a typical nine-to-five job and some Large Tech bureaucratic business where You can just clock in and clock out like There is a lot to working in a startup Which I think people should be prepared For it's not as straightforward or Linear Yeah and I think to Chris's point like I Think what he's getting at is like

Really finding that Talent Market fit Right and being able to understand your Secret sauce and being able to build Processes and experiences around that Um you know I think as you're thinking About Um you know startups and as we think About the the difficulty uh that comes With hiring nowadays right startups are In a prime position to be able to Leverage impact to be able to leverage Growth and developmental opportunities To be able to leverage trajectory right And opportunities to see things that you Won't see at a traditionally large Company so I think you know this might Be against the grain a little bit right But now I think it's the opportunity for For startups and smaller companies to Really you know find find their Lane and And start to to go all in on it because I think again there is a lot of folks Who are looking for the opportunities That the people in this room have to Offer we just got to make sure that We're creating the narratives and Packaging up in a way that's going to be Easily digestible and attractive Okay and before we move on to my last Question I just want to remind the Audience that we're doing Q a as well so There should be a QR code and you could Submit questions there and then I'll Scroll through and pick out some of the

Best but my last question for you three Is Uh I have a Founder friend who told me When he was trying to hire Uh there was a candidate they really Wanted but in the end they went up and Went with the company from like Fang or Mang or whatever you guys want to call It uh how do you advise startups to Make a meaningful offer in a way that They are competitive against these Massive corporations when it's not just Money because obviously some of these Bigger companies can toss more at Candidates than perhaps a startup can What would you advise them in that Situation Um so it can be very self-selecting if Someone really is seeking the safety of A Fang or man company then you got to Ask yourself why did we go so far down The path if that was the the safety that They're looking for you need somebody Who's willing to lock arms with you and Be your partner and so that's definitely Um Something to suss out early and I think Though what's what I've seen in the last Year and a half are Founders that go That extra mile to personalize reach out And two Founders that I can think of Even those during the pandemic and People were really not doing a lot of In-person meetings they flew to the

Person's location where they were going To start working in Ohio and met with Them and did a walk and just showed and Demonstrated how important it was to Connect in person to have that kind of In-person experience and it resulted in Someone who had multiple offers deciding To go with this founder because they're Accepting the opportunity to work with a Founder not a company per se so there's A big distinction and I think the Personalization is really critical Um to to really get through Um to what really matters Yeah I I actually think it's it's Probably a good thing if you get the Last two and they're like yeah I'm gonna Go uh Fang or mang business like it's a Bit of a non-e-power and like you should Probably have qualified them out earlier If they're they're deciding on that Um and I think for startups like you Need people that want to own things Right you need people that are willing Capable and able to drive things forward And If you want to go and optimize where a Button's positioned and the color of a Button is like by all means and you're Going to get paid you're going to get Compensated incredibly well but are you Going to be successful in a startup Where a lot is expected of you Probably not and I'm sure you probably

Give similar advice to the portfolio Yeah I think one of the things that Gusto does in order to to Really you Know get to the core of what makes Someone take is we do a values and Motivation alignment interview which is A little bit of a departure from like The core technical interview that you Might have an engineer go through and And what it's aimed at is is attempting To create resonant messaging to to Create connection and to better Understand what makes someone tick right It really gives us an opportunity to Talk about the realities the ins and Outs of being a Gusty or a part of a Fast-growing startup and I think in Those conversations you really get an Opportunity to to get to the heart of What someone is looking for and I think In those conversations you might come to The conclusion that someone's looking For safety right someone wants to go Change the color of a button which is Not a bad thing whatsoever right but I Think you know to what Chris was saying If you want to be a part of a fast Growing startup right you have to be Willing to go all in and lock arms and Really do whatever it takes to see the Next day because nothing is guaranteed So I think you know as you're as you're Thinking about Founders and what they Can do to be a part of the process I

Would say it's two things the first of Which is you know really be a part of Defining those North Stars early and Often like I said earlier for us it's It's skill set are you bringing Something additive motivations are you Motivated by the pain points that we're Trying to solve as a customer as a as a Company excuse me Um and then values right um do you see The world in the way that we see it do You see the plight of small businesses Being a great opportunity for us to help Empower a world that you know where work Empowers a better life and I would say The second thing is and this is kind of A self-serving statement Really building and recruiting ethos Into your company right if we were to Make the assumption that product and People are the the two biggest uh Variables and whether or not a company Is going to succeed or not it's one Thing to put all your time in product But you have to be thinking about the Ethos of the companies recruiters are we Referring folks are we putting together A really thoughtful and curated Interview experiences are we showing up On time are we doing the small things That over time really scale and create a Employer value proposition that's going To scale and that's going to attract People much more easily than in the past

So there are a lot of things that Founders can do but those are the two Things that come to mind I just want to Add because Recruiting sounds like you know it's Critical we we can't um Emphasize enough to Founders that Proceed in series a they should be Spending 70 percent of their time Recruiting so yes product and people but At that early stage when you're building That's pretty much most of your time When the company gets a little bit later Stage and there are people then really We're looking at 50 to 60 it doesn't go Down that much and it's just such a Critical part of company building Okay one of the questions I got from the Audience was when looking to hire Internationally which countries or state Cities stand out for their quality of Skilled mid to top tier Tech Talent Good question Um Jeanine do you have any thoughts perhaps On your portfolio companies or So it so depends really Um We have invested a lot in Europe and we Have colleague Talent colleagues in Europe that have done various Landscapes To figure out you know where should you Put Engineers where should you put go to Market people and really there's a

Different answer And because there are so many languages And cultures it's not easy to build a Company That is Split apart that early in that early Stage so I hear about Spain being a good place I Hear about Poland being a good place for Engineers Tel Aviv is a great place for Engineers A lot of it just depends Yeah I think I think we've we've kind of Did the opposite which is like we Haven't focused on specific GEOS we've Just kind of said Who's the best person who has worker Company fit and like who's going to be Great in our program And just hire them hiring them where They are like we mentioned earlier about Like meeting people where they're at I don't really care where someone is if They're the person that can make the Biggest impact on the company and They're in Portugal Spain Poland Canada South America India we just need to find A way to make it happen and some of Those geographies are harder than others Just from a legal standpoint But Ultimately like the thing that's been Going to predicate our success is can we Hire hire the highest caliber of people Possible

Wherever they are Yeah my answer would be somewhere in Between these two right I think there's A meeting people where they are right And being really intentional around your Talent strategy as you think about these Different markets Um you know I think at a company like Gusto or you know any slightly larger Company you have to worry about Legalities the security risks um so There's a lot that goes into where you Hire folks but I guess all I'd say is Just be intentional right and ensure That you know as you're expanding Internationally that it's still going to Be in alignment with your company Culture your company values and then You're not seeing any separation of the Two because once the cat's out the bag It's hard to get it back in so that's Where I would implore Great and then another question was what Are organizations doing to compete for Talent in terms of comp and Total Rewards while maintaining internal Equity with existing employees Well maybe we did we recently surveyed Our portfolio companies and we did ask Are you making any compensation changes Either Equity or cash and the majority Said no change right now and there are Normal practices around Equity refresh That comes you know after a certain

Investing period so those are still in Place what I'm seeing as a as a big Spike are benefits related to Wellness And mental health increasing across Portfolio companies regardless of the Size so that's a that's a cost to the Company and it's a benefit to the Employee so that I've seen just over the Last two years Go up incredibly High Yeah I think we've we've kind of seen a Refocusing of the IC on cash Versus Executives who are more willing To lean towards Equity as the the Overall total package and I think that's Been like a a subtle shift across the Last three to six months where that Hasn't historically been true certainly Going to be true on the go forward basis Um I think like there's maybe a more Interesting question to ask which would Be what is happening to people whose Equity is priced here And they're possibly going to raise new Rounds where equa isn't going to be here And I think like answering that question Across across the portfolio might be a Much harder question we asked we did ask Okay and so Um I think the not one of the companies That we surveyed Is experiencing lower evaluation many Are early stage and they're talking

About the future and so That's Um I know obviously I'm not and on my Head in the sand there's a whole Market Out there and macro conditions that are Pretty volatile And I'm sure that there are some Challenging situations I think I think It's like it's a question sophisticated People coming into business are going to Ask right like it's where is the 409a Where do you expect it to be what was The natural I'm going to look like and That is is actually a great point Because when it comes to hiring Executives now there's a lot more due Diligence on the part of Executives Joining a company people dive into Financials they have a lot more Questions they are less Enamored with a story although the story Is always important so I would not take Away The particular story most of the time The executive is looking to join the Founder but there's a lot more A lot more Sharing of information Yeah I think what I'd say is you know no Company has a 100 offer accept rate to My knowledge right so there's really no Silver bullets here but as it comes to Comp right I think you know one of the Things that we're seeing in this in this

This volatile Market is you know Whatever your comp philosophy is it has To be aligned with you know your Long-term business model right I think What we've seen is companies go Um or get a could be on their skis to a Certain degree and paying these numbers That you know as things shift with the Market they're no longer able to Maintain which I think is why we see a Lot of what we've seen so I think it's Important right to really think about The holistic offer that you're providing Wellness benefits perks things that Matter to the individual but I also Think it's it's really really important To remain smart and think about the long Game because again we see these Cycles Come and go right but at the end of the Day your responsibility as a Founder as An executive of a company is to ensure That you have a durable business model And that the numbers are going to Support it so when you're getting asked Those questions about the 409as and the Back in financial tools you can actually Tell a story that's gonna Work well with your your founding story And the mission and why you're here Great another question we got was if you Are not getting the applicants you are Looking for how do you attract the right Talent and where do you recommend Startups to look

Yeah I mean I I can kick this off at a High level right and we talked about a Little bit earlier but you know expanded Geographies and what you're looking at You know we've we've been able to see a Lot of success in in getting away from The primary markets where our home bases Are we've been able to hire great talent Across the United States and Canada both Junior and senior so I would say that's The first thing the second thing is is Contract hiring right I think what's Important is uh you know that the work Gets done and that you have this always On kind of Workforce that's readily Available to you on Gusto we've seen a 64 surge in contractor hiring over the Last couple years so we're seeing folks Use the contingent Workforce Model A Little bit more than they ever have and I think it has to do something with the Fact that it's harder to hire ftes than Ever Yeah I I think just because you love Your startup doesn't mean that other People know who you are you know like People aren't just going to turn up on Your doorstep in day one who are Incredibly talented breaking the door Down to work for you so there's a Definitely like a huge element of being Proactive Um Janine's point on like if you're not Spending 70 of your time on Talent

You're probably wasting your time I Think there is no bigger impact that a Founder founding team can have in a Business is like being laser focused on The people that you need to find so yeah You can use you can you can be proactive On Twitter you can use LinkedIn you can Use other sites I think if you're not Going to source and targeting the people That you know are going to be successful In your program I think that's where you should spend Most of your time I think it's yeah the Easiest easiest win while still being Incredibly hard So just expect it to be really hard I Um it reminds me of a story one of the Companies Sequoia invest in is Loom and Joe Thomas the founder Created Loom videos of himself Pitching a IC engineer telling them why they like Why Joe like the background why they Think they would be a fit at Loom and it Was incredibly personal sent directly to The engineer and it was impossible for That person not to reply so I mean think About how as an IC you're receiving a Founder Really customizing the reach out so yes It's really hard but if you personalize It and really point out what you really Like about that potential candidate I

Mean I I think it makes a difference and That is not super scalable is it but you Will build your company Brick by Brick If you are that careful and that Diligent about reach out and that's why It adds up to 70 of your time Going off of that Janine another Question related to that is how much Time should Founders spend Looking for talent should that be a part Of their focus and perhaps maybe that Would change from an early stage company To later A lot of times seed I mean there is no Recruiter there's the founder the Founder is the recruiter and even series A sometimes Still the main recruiter is the founder So I mean spending as much time as Possible Leveraging your network it's just really Hard work and each hire that you make Can unlock a new network I think it just Takes a lot of time I don't think there's any way around it Yeah I mean to quantify it probably 35 Hours a week Minimum yeah yeah and yeah I think it Never changes right like to to genius Point like in seed You've got to do it in series a maybe There's someone that that can take some Of the weight off your shoulders But you're always going to be the key

Recruiter in exact hires usually in Senior Management hires and that never Gets easier I think like maybe you Become more focused on the people who Are great for the program and that Becomes more and more obvious but if you Sort of skimp on the amount of time that You you spend on it like you you get the Result that comes as a consequence Yeah and and what I'd say is Chris is Not lying I was talking to him backstage He was telling me about the calls he had This morning um so he's he's always Recruiting Um but I think the important thing is You know as you're thinking about Scaling as you go from being that that One recruiter to maybe now you have one Person or a team doing it it's really Really important that you know your Fingerprints as a Founder are still all Over that hiring process and that you're Building a platform and a brand as a Founder that continually allows you to Be a recruiter even if it's not you on LinkedIn even if it's not you on the Phones anymore Um but you know they kind of bring Everything that we've talked about Together you know Founders are the Biggest recruiters at a company right They are the thing that draws folks to a Company and the bigger of a platform That you can create both directly and

Indirectly the better your company is Going to have at being able to get that Talent All right my last question that I want To ask you guys from the audience was Obviously and I'm kind of paraphrasing It but uh obviously where we are today There are different requirements or Things that Talent might want and we've Discussed things from like work from Home hybrid or a lot of different Scenarios where do you see hiring going Forward and what are some of the best Strategies that you would recommend to Startups I mean I can start Um please I see hiring kind of Continuing this trend like I said Earlier hybrid student stay right Flexibility is going to be a desire Forever more so look at internally Augusto 47 of our Workforce selected to Go fully remote 30 of our most senior Leadership team elected to go fully Remote too right so this isn't just one Side of the coin that wants this Flexibility it's everyone right so as I Think about the future of recruiting the Future of hiring I think it's going to Continually be being very very Intentional around the experiences that You're creating being really really Equitable in the experience that your Your employees feel I think one of the

Things that we do that I'm really really Proud of is you know as we're thinking About job applications something that Can be seen is really really simple and Just a culmination of words we do our Best to use gender neutral language we Allow candidates to phonetically Pronounce their names into our platform So that we can address them in the way That they want to be addressed we let Them pick their pronouns right so so as You're thinking about building a talent Brand as you're thinking about doing the Small things that can make a difference At the end of the process when they're Considering your startup versus a Fang Or a main company like these are the Things that come to mind and I can say This personally given that I came to Gusto during the pandemic and you know Once you Stripped Away all the ping pong Tables and you know the the happy hours And stuff like that What mattered the Most to me was the experience that I had The connection that I had with the People and the mission that the company Was trying to make good on and you know When you put those three things together And every candidate feels How special that can be when all three Come together in a great way you put Forth a value proposition that's hard to Turn down That was a great answer I like

One Um So I think that um Really being creative About the um Way that you present your company brand Even when you think about what Qualifications are Um It's important to really look at Things that Are more inclusive and that are less Strict and structured the way maybe you Recruited in the past we've definitely Seen our companies bring in tremendous Best practices as it relates to hiring a More diverse Workforce and the pandemic Has really driven that both the need for Talent and the realization that just Doing things the old way Not only didn't make sense but didn't Result in better hires so I think that Uh When we hear from our companies around What keeps them up at night it does Include Attracting a very diverse Workforce and That's heartening because that's Probably not the answer we would have Gotten you know four years ago right Chris 15 seconds what do you have to say Stop thinking about the future of work Start thinking about the future of

Living and as a consequence of that you Will be able to hire bear people because You'll give them what they want Beautiful thank you thank you Chris Janine and Emil for joining me on stage And thank you everyone else for Listening in