Trap we must avoid…
If you are joining an early stage startup as a CTO/HoE , most likely the Engineering culture is still evolving. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that your HR will define the culture for you. It is not going to happen , at an early stage there are going to be fires all around and there would simply be not enought mental cycles for the HR department to be able to do that.
Recommendation is to take the matter in your hands, show and tell. A few quick wins that will help you establish a thriving engineering ogranisation:
Culture of Documentation :
What gets documented gets seen and does not need to be repeated. Write the first few articles yourself, re-inforce it and see the magic happen. Here is a snippet of the first few pages I wrote in the first 30 days. In the last 90 days our engineers have written about 70 pages of technical design and key decision points.
Interview guidelines
Very early on, you will have to make a choice on how you are going to hire for your teams. What are the key parameters that your engineering organisation will need to scale. Maintaining the right balance b/w skills and attitude will be the key. Hiring hack is to partner with an experienced recruiter who has been there done that many times over and over again. Find your El-Talentino….
Design your own Rewards Mechanism
As an Engineer yourself, you understand what engineers get excited with more than anyone. Take some time to design a rewards mechanism for the Tech org. It is imperative that you get alignment of your thought process with the founders very early on. What gets rewarded becomes a culture eventually.
As a Head of Engineering you are the leader of folks who came before you and the ones who come along after you, find the right mix to lead. Growth is un-comfortable and people and the emotions are at the center of it all, we must channelise this super-power. Do not fall in the trap of someone else defining the culture for you , OWN it and execute relentlessly.
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