‘No jerks allowed’ is just one way Jobot’s CEO creates a good employee experience
When your company aims to find people good jobs, you’d better deliver for your own team too.
Heidi Golledge, founder and CEO of Jobot, has some cred in that department. Her online career platform, which leverages AI to connect job seekers with opportunities and match its recruiters with candidates for clients, gets about 60,000 applicants a day. Last year, it ranked No. 3 on Fortune’s 100 Best Medium Workplaces list.
So I was curious: What’s it like for Jobot’s roughly 500 employees? How does the largest permanent placement company in the U.S. create a good experience for them?
For starters, everyone is treated with kindness and respect, Golledge tells me from Jobot’s HQ in Newport Beach, Calif.: “It doesn’t [matter] if it’s a junior person who just started last week or a senior VP.”
Then comes psychological safety. Jobot is a sales organization whose recruiters have to bill and perform, Golledge notes. “So the best thing that we can use to make people feel safe is this understanding of expectations and making it as clear as possible,” she says. “The idea is that you can have, I would say, tough love by being very direct.”
That, and a “no jerks allowed” policy. “In recruiting, you have toxic leadership that belittles people,” Golledge says. “We have zero tolerance for that.”
People also want to feel valued, explains Golledge, who launched Jobot in 2018 after cofounding two other companies in recruiting and tech. Part of that is giving them a chance to add to their skill set. “Three years from now, five years from now, you’re not doing the exact same position for just slightly more pay,” says the three-time EY Entrepreneur of the Year winner. “You’re constantly improving.”
For example, Jobot moved its director of events over to digital branding, where she’s working with software engineers and designers to redo the company’s website. “It’s really understanding each person and what they bring to the table,” Golledge says. “And then having an open dialogue about how that would affect the business and what they would be most excited to do.”
Jobot also makes joy part of the employee experience, Golledge says, by doing things like playing virtual games or holding a recent event in Bora Bora. But the fun stuff doesn’t work without a solid foundation of trust, she warns: “Those things are only valuable if you have those core tenets of kindness and respect, and the psychological safety, already.”
Listening to employees is crucial too. Every quarter, Jobot does so-called 360-degree reviews where staff confidentially assess every manager, Golledge included. Managers are rated on a scale of 10, with one receiving an award. “If anyone has any score below nine on an average, then they typically would meet with me as well as other leaders to figure out what’s the issue,” Golledge says.
Ensuring that people are heard is a trust builder, she maintains: “The more that you can do that and have an open dialogue, the more there’s trust.”
That’s good for business.
“The more trust that people have, I feel like the more effort that they give,” Golledge says. She compares sales to going out on a limb to grab an apple, then splitting it with the company: “You don’t want to go out on a limb if you don't trust that there’s a strong tree to hold you.”
Golledge has some advice for other leaders who want to build trust.
“If you really want to lead well, you should have empathy for your team and understand why they’re even doing this job beyond just [money] and figure out how you can help them,” she says. In return, “they will help the company, and they’ll help you become a stronger leader.”
Definitely worth applying.
Nick Rockel
nick.rockel@consultant.fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com