Senreve

By Graham Weaver, Susan Pohlmeyer
2019 | Case No. E674 | Length 12 pgs.
This case explores the various challenges that Senreve faced in hiring and retaining talent as a rapidly growing organization. The case first describes how the two co-founders developed a vision for their company, created a score card to use in their hiring process, and codified the values they wished to embody as an organization to assess cultural fit. The case illustrates how the co-founders applied their hiring philosophy through three vignettes. The first vignette addresses an early opportunity the pair had to hire a co-founder, who brought a unique set of skills and experience, but lacked other important qualities. The second vignette illustrates a situation in which the co-founders had to decide what to do with an employee who had made important contributions to the firm, but whose role no longer fit with the needs of the company as the company had evolved. The final vignette lays out a dilemma the co-founders faced when they found themselves in disagreement when evaluating a candidate for a key role at the company.

Learning Objective

  • Developing criteria for hiring
  • Codifying cultural “fit” and using it in the evaluation process for a potential hire
  • Evaluating the pros and cons of hiring a candidate that exhibits important attributes but lacks in other areas
  • Determining responsibility for different hires, how to determine ultimate decision making authority when differences of opinion arise
  • Handling the evolving personnel needs of a company and evaluating alternatives for employees whose roles have evolved

This material is available for download by current Stanford GSB students, faculty, and staff, as well as Stanford GSB alumni. For inquires, contact the Case Writing Office. Download