Hire Great People Fast

Some companies turn orientation into a self-managed project. MEMC Electronic Materials in St. Peters, Missouri, the world's second-largest producer of silicon wafers, has been hiring as fast as it can over the last few years. It's been hard for MEMC to find great people. But it's been even harder to get them working effectively in one of the world's most technically demanding industries.

Operations Manager Mike Benton remembers how newly hired factory-floor managers used to learn what they needed to know: "We crammed it down their throats in two weeks." But as the company kept growing, it was not unusual to find coaches with a month of experience managing operators with less than a year of experience. "We had the blind leading the blind," says Benton.

So he began assigning The Paper. Today when new coaches arrive at MEMC, the last thing they do is start working. Instead they spend four weeks researching and writing a report that documents how the company handles all of the performance parameters for one step of the manufacturing process. Once they finish the paper, they tag along with a company veteran for several weeks. Only then do new hires assume management responsibility.

New engineers also spend two days immersed in the company's history and operations. They then receive a workbook filled with questions about every part of the company -- from manufacturing to computer systems to purchasing to employee benefits. The engineers have three months to answer literally hundreds of questions.

Of course, the only way to complete the workbook is to talk to people all over the company. "It's designed to get people outside their department," says Don Otto, director of employee relations. New employees network like crazy to learn as much as they can.

Which may be the best way to get up to speed fast. Back at Netscape, after he's led the company cheer, CEO Barksdale explains his theory of the "virtuous circle" behind successful companies. Great people build great products, he tells the recruits. Great products generate big profits, which provide resources to attract more great people. "Once you get it going, it's a self-sustaining cycle," he says. "You no longer have to run the business. The business runs itself."

Bill Birchard (bbirchard@aol.com) writes on business and technology from Amherst, New Hampshire.