Why hire people that are better than you?

And apparently, we’re not alone:

• “I would only hire someone to work for me if I would work for them” – Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and CEO of Meta
• “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple
• “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.” – David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather

Fair. But isn’t it just common sense to hire the best talent? Who would want to work with average employees? Well, not sunday.

When you set out to revolutionise restaurant payments, you need to surround yourself with the best people out there. And that’s where the “hire people who are better than you” policy comes in.

Why should you hire employees that are better than you in what they do? Because it’s the best way to move forward and to improve your business.

What it means to hire someone better than you

Hiring “people who are better than you” means recruiting people who are experts in what they do. They have to have more knowledge than you in their particular field.

It also means relying on your coworkers and trusting them. It’s knowing you can focus on your task without worrying about how they’ll do their job. You can leave it to them to do the best work possible.

If you’d like to improve, you need to be surrounded by people who are better than you. You think no one can teach you anything that you don’t already know? Well, you wouldn’t be reading this article if this were true.

Why should you do it?

So why should you always look for the best talent, even if it means turning down suitable candidates? Because hiring the best people allows you to:

• Question The Obvious

We’re sometimes blinded by our certainties, and we might miss important insights because of this. What if you could do better ?

It’s important to always be able to rely on the observational skills of your peers. Maybe you need to readjust your processes. Or you need to recalibrate your work organization.

Listening to other people’s advice allows you to take a step back and improve.

• Save Time And Release Pressure

Not worrying about what your coworkers are doing

Trusting others and allowing them to be autonomous

Focusing on your own tasks

That’s what we all should be able to do at work. But not everyone can.

Hiring the best people saves precious minutes in an already busy day. And it can make a world of difference.

• Continuously Improve Your Team

You should know exactly what every new hire brings to the table. Experience, vision, know-how, soft skills… newcomers should lift the whole company up.

• Become a talent recruiter and improve company culture.

The more you attract the best talents, the more you’re recognized as a talented recruiter. It’s the beginning of a virtuous cycle: if you already have outstanding people on your team, it shouldn’t be too hard to hire people who are as outstanding.

This phenomenon makes our lives much easier here at sunday. To top it all off, it’s good for company culture. What’s the best way to become a leading tech company? Well, you simply have to hire the best developers out there. Their work can make the difference.

So how can you do that?

It sounds easy, but hiring the best people is harder than it seems.

• If you want to recruit the best, look for the best.

Reach out to them! Don’t expect your dream applicant to just walk in the door. Ask people you know, network, be proactive… go that extra mile that will allow you to hire the best.

• Be efficient during interviews

Ask yourself the right questions: “What can this candidate teach me?”, “Could they do my job in 1, 3 or 5 years?”, “What can they bring us?”…

If your answers are positive, then you’re on the right track. If not, next! We get it: it’s hard to hire someone who could replace you one day. But sometimes you have to put your ego aside and work for the good of the company.

• Be convincing.

Is your project as exciting as ours? You think your company has great potential? You should have no trouble attracting the best candidates.

You need to show them that this is an opportunity not to be missed. You can’t attract talent without pulling out all the stops.

What do you offer that the competition does not? What benefits do you provide? This could also tip the scales in your favour.

• Take the time to do things right, never rush.

Even if a candidate has struck a chord, even if they seem perfect on paper. You should always arrange for them to meet other coworkers you trust.

If they’re as excited as you are about the potential hire, then you should probably make them an offer. There you have it: this is why it’s so important for us to hire “people who are better than us” here at sunday.

We know that it might be easier said than done. But we’re adamant: it’s the best way for us to build tomorrow’s sunday.