Hiring 250 Remote Employees in 2 Weeks with Brock Blake of Lendio

Imagine having to staff 250 roles... just as many companies were laying off and scrambling to get their PPP loans approved. 

Our guest today had 2 weeks to hire 250 people to handle the demand for PPP loans and is here to share his story. 

Our guest today: Brock Blake, Co-Founder & CEO of Lendio

Brock spent the last nine years developing technology to get loans to more people, more quickly, and more efficiently than traditional lenders. Under his leadership, Lendio grew to be the largest online marketplace for small business loans in America. So when the coronavirus pandemic struck, he knew he was in a unique position to make a difference. 

Today we discuss:

• Creative ways to bulk hire in a short period of time
• The hiring system to be able to crush a lot of hires in a very short time

Challenge today?

• We had committed to [a company] that we would hire 25+ of their people on a temporary basis to help with PPP and then they would return to their employment.  It was a win/win.  The painful part was realizing the people we hired through them were not skilled in computer software and systems.  We ended up keeping only 8-9 people from [Company] which put us behind in getting resources to meet the demands we had. 
• Being told “we are good, no more hires” next day “Let’s get 150 hired by next Monday” and we crushed those goals

Why is this important to the company?

• Getting to the bottom of the barrel in terms of Temp to hire resources for the last group that we hired.  The incentive to stay home instead of work because of the unemployment benefits had kept a lot of people from applying for work.  So those that were applying by the end of our hiring process were not the most employable people.  The number of wage garnishments, failed background checks, etc. was much higher for this last group than our overall hiring experience. 
• Having the opportunity to extend offers to people during the pandemic. Some people were experiencing the worst few weeks of their lives and were overcome with joy when they received offers. Truly an awesome experience!
  • Candidates crying on the phone with us when we offered them the position because they were so grateful to be able to provide for their families or be helping w/PPP

How do we build a quick hiring structure into your company?

• Bulk interview process
• One interview, Decision
• Creating SOPs and generic equipment setup/login instructions - Getting 200+ new hires setup and logged into equipment was a massive undertaking. Staying up until 2 am helping new hires set up their computers for the next morning 
• Trying to run new hire orientation with 50+ people in a Zoom meeting who have never used Zoom or their equipment before. No understanding of the mute button.
  • Guy falling asleep for 2 hours during training.  Snoring.
• Being responsible for retrieving equipment; traveling to unknown places (I’m from out of state), former TMs not cooperating, equipment not being left where they say it would be, thoughts of getting Covid from equipment boxes, equipment not being packed up properly and left outside in garbage bags.
  1. Cops involved (one emergency contact saying that the temp was MISSING and that us reporting her equipment as stolen might help the authorities find her!) - 4 total police reports
  2. One person saying “If you want your stuff back, come and get it. And BTW I have COVID”
  3. Driving all over the state
  4. Condition that equipment was returned in (garbage bags, shoe boxes, etc.)
  • Russ and Kimberly stories of tracking down equipment after terminations

Rick’s Nuggets

• Do not get rid of your hiring process to rapid hire
• Scale the number of interviews 
• Train 2-3 interview teams to allow scale
• Assigned interview questions
• Back to back video interviews 
• Be aware if interviewer fatigue

Key Takeaways:

• Have a process in place
• Don't cut corners on culture fit, screening
• Get creative

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: Brock Blake

Twitter: BrockBlake

Instagram: Lendio

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp