The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR 202 - VC on helping founders with talent strategy, exec searches, & people challenges (Sandra Schwarzer, Index Ventures)
Sandra Schwarzer, Board & Talent Insights leader at Index Ventures, joined us on The Modern People Leader.
We talked about Index Ventures’ experience helping founders “scale through chaos”, how much time founders spend on HR-related tasks, their 14-point framework for running executive searches, and how investors evaluate founders’ view on talent.
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Timestamps:
(3:54) Sandra's career story: From East Germany to Index Ventures
(10:42) Defining 'Scaling through Chaos' and key takeaways
(13:56) Founders spending 50% of their time on HR-related tasks
(17:44) Challenges in hiring engineering talent and how Index Ventures supports founders
(20:07) Structuring time for hiring and talent-related tasks
(27:05) AI adoption in the people function: Early challenges and insights
(38:48) The 14-point executive search framework for successful hires
(44:06) How to balance speed and cultural fit when hiring
(50:26) Common mistakes in executive hiring and learning from them
(54:11) The importance of organizational design and a CEO's view of the people function
(56:53) Index Ventures' tool for optimizing team planning and scaling
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