Meeting Title: Brainforge Recruiting Operations Check-in Date: 2026-03-03 Meeting participants: Kaela Gallagher, Uttam Kumaran
WEBVTT
1 00:02:24.190 ⇒ 00:02:25.240 Uttam Kumaran: Hello.
2 00:02:25.800 ⇒ 00:02:26.800 Kaela Gallagher: Hey, how’s it going?
3 00:02:26.800 ⇒ 00:02:29.820 Uttam Kumaran: Hey, good. Just gonna try to go for…
4 00:02:30.230 ⇒ 00:02:32.870 Uttam Kumaran: Go for a walk while we’re talking.
5 00:02:33.130 ⇒ 00:02:33.750 Kaela Gallagher: Cool.
6 00:02:36.180 ⇒ 00:02:37.740 Uttam Kumaran: How about you? How’s everything?
7 00:02:38.800 ⇒ 00:02:46.339 Kaela Gallagher: Good! Going good. It’s been busy, but I think that’s a good thing, especially in recruiting.
8 00:02:46.340 ⇒ 00:02:51.410 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, what do you think of, I guess it’s Day 6?
9 00:02:51.560 ⇒ 00:03:03.350 Kaela Gallagher: 6. Day 7, maybe? Yeah, it’s going well! I’m, like, really enjoying meeting the team. I’ve spent a good amount of time, doing that, and just doing one-on-ones, and…
10 00:03:03.830 ⇒ 00:03:06.949 Kaela Gallagher: You know, kind of asking intentional…
11 00:03:07.140 ⇒ 00:03:14.359 Kaela Gallagher: Questions, and for feedback and all that kind of stuff, so that’s giving me a lot of ideas, and then,
12 00:03:14.620 ⇒ 00:03:21.399 Kaela Gallagher: obviously, like, building out the pipeline has been a huge focus, and I feel pretty good about where we’re at within just a week, so…
13 00:03:21.540 ⇒ 00:03:23.080 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
14 00:03:23.890 ⇒ 00:03:26.840 Uttam Kumaran: Give me some, like, compare and contrast to, like.
15 00:03:27.000 ⇒ 00:03:29.580 Uttam Kumaran: Your last firm or previous firms, like.
16 00:03:29.580 ⇒ 00:03:31.100 Kaela Gallagher: What do you think we’re…
17 00:03:31.220 ⇒ 00:03:37.639 Uttam Kumaran: What do you think we’re doing well? I mean, I feel like it’s pretty obvious where we can improve, but if there’s any non-obvious areas.
18 00:03:38.320 ⇒ 00:03:41.720 Uttam Kumaran: You know, let me know, but yeah, just, just curious.
19 00:03:42.070 ⇒ 00:03:45.979 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, I would say previously, a lot of the…
20 00:03:46.230 ⇒ 00:03:58.670 Kaela Gallagher: like, people that I worked with that were doing the interviews, like, hiring managers, let’s just call them, were, like, a lot more experienced in doing the interview.
21 00:03:58.670 ⇒ 00:03:59.200 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
22 00:03:59.700 ⇒ 00:04:15.089 Kaela Gallagher: So that’s definitely something I’m navigating here. I also wasn’t super hands-on in the interview process, in my last role, so, that’s exciting to kind of get back into. Like, today I spent some time with
23 00:04:15.090 ⇒ 00:04:23.369 Kaela Gallagher: Pranav, like, not only sitting in on his interview, but then we did a debrief and kind of, like, provided some feedback for him, so that’s been good.
24 00:04:23.410 ⇒ 00:04:29.619 Kaela Gallagher: And I just like the speed that we move at. Okay.
25 00:04:29.750 ⇒ 00:04:38.530 Kaela Gallagher: Like, we had a candidate submit an application on Sunday, and she’s already going to the second round on Thursday.
26 00:04:38.530 ⇒ 00:04:38.990 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
27 00:04:38.990 ⇒ 00:04:45.390 Kaela Gallagher: So we should be able to have all the rounds and a potential offer done in, like, 2 weeks, which is really…
28 00:04:45.390 ⇒ 00:04:46.000 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
29 00:04:46.160 ⇒ 00:04:47.550 Kaela Gallagher: Exciting, yeah.
30 00:04:48.360 ⇒ 00:04:48.970 Uttam Kumaran: Great.
31 00:04:49.790 ⇒ 00:04:55.389 Kaela Gallagher: I would say definitely previously, too, I also worked with, like.
32 00:04:55.750 ⇒ 00:05:08.529 Kaela Gallagher: specific hiring systems, so, working within Notion is… is new, and we’ll probably eventually need, like, an ATS, system, but…
33 00:05:08.790 ⇒ 00:05:12.590 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, just kind of figuring… figuring that out.
34 00:05:14.790 ⇒ 00:05:17.710 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, makes sense. I mean, all things that I kind of expected.
35 00:05:17.910 ⇒ 00:05:24.260 Uttam Kumaran: I mean, I’m just glad that, that, like, yeah, I think we also don’t… I think a lot of our folks…
36 00:05:24.540 ⇒ 00:05:32.989 Uttam Kumaran: are not… yeah, don’t come from, like, bigger company environments where they would have been interviewing a ton. I think maybe it’s, like, mainly me, or maybe Sam.
37 00:05:33.110 ⇒ 00:05:45.850 Uttam Kumaran: But again, it’s also, like, just good to give folks guardrails. Like, I don’t… I think everybody here is, like, wishing that there were more guardrails, in many ways, and so it’ll be really helpful for them to, like, have a playbook
38 00:05:46.050 ⇒ 00:05:55.120 Uttam Kumaran: on that, and then… yeah, I think you’re also hopefully kind of seeing a little bit of, like, how much pressure we’re putting on using AI in many ways, and so…
39 00:05:55.310 ⇒ 00:06:00.069 Uttam Kumaran: I’m particularly excited for, like, in what ways we can use it to improve
40 00:06:00.280 ⇒ 00:06:11.400 Uttam Kumaran: like, you know, recruiting operations, as well as, like, I think there will be a lot of ways we can use it to improve, like, retention and just general people stuff.
41 00:06:11.660 ⇒ 00:06:16.619 Uttam Kumaran: But… Yeah, that’s… that’s something that I… again, like, I’ve…
42 00:06:16.920 ⇒ 00:06:26.100 Uttam Kumaran: I feel like recruiting teams and operations usually get, like, the last sort of love from, like, any sort of technology, so…
43 00:06:26.190 ⇒ 00:06:30.990 Kaela Gallagher: I’m excited that I think this is, like, something that everybody in the company can use, basically.
44 00:06:31.630 ⇒ 00:06:36.510 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah. This week, I’ve, like, definitely shifted more towards
45 00:06:36.590 ⇒ 00:06:56.549 Kaela Gallagher: the people side, after kind of, like, handling the pipeline and recruitment week one. So this has been really exciting, too. Like, I was going back and forth with Rico today on our, like, buddy program, and, trying to, you know, look into different options for…
46 00:06:56.750 ⇒ 00:07:01.160 Kaela Gallagher: Surveys, onboarding surveys, but also just more general, like.
47 00:07:01.290 ⇒ 00:07:06.520 Kaela Gallagher: Pulse checks on the team, so, that’s been exciting, yeah.
48 00:07:06.520 ⇒ 00:07:07.950 Uttam Kumaran: Nice. Great.
49 00:07:08.230 ⇒ 00:07:08.910 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
50 00:07:09.550 ⇒ 00:07:12.880 Kaela Gallagher: I do have a few…
51 00:07:13.180 ⇒ 00:07:15.549 Kaela Gallagher: questions prepared for you, if I can.
52 00:07:15.890 ⇒ 00:07:21.590 Kaela Gallagher: through these. On the hiring side, oh, it looks like such a nice day.
53 00:07:21.590 ⇒ 00:07:24.169 Uttam Kumaran: It is really, really nice. Sorry, I just pressed the video off, but…
54 00:07:24.170 ⇒ 00:07:24.799 Kaela Gallagher: No, it’s okay.
55 00:07:24.800 ⇒ 00:07:27.529 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, this is… this is my street.
56 00:07:27.530 ⇒ 00:07:28.300 Kaela Gallagher: Cool.
57 00:07:28.300 ⇒ 00:07:30.450 Uttam Kumaran: It’s really hot, again, in Austin.
58 00:07:30.740 ⇒ 00:07:32.830 Kaela Gallagher: Oh my gosh, already? I feel like you got.
59 00:07:32.830 ⇒ 00:07:33.450 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
60 00:07:33.450 ⇒ 00:07:34.360 Kaela Gallagher: cold front.
61 00:07:34.360 ⇒ 00:07:36.299 Uttam Kumaran: It’s, like, 90 degrees right now.
62 00:07:36.450 ⇒ 00:07:37.440 Kaela Gallagher: Oh, gosh.
63 00:07:41.160 ⇒ 00:07:50.670 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, so on the hiring side of things, I think we had briefly touched on this before, but that candidate that reached out to you, Awash, who just did the final.
64 00:07:50.930 ⇒ 00:07:54.210 Kaela Gallagher: Robert was saying…
65 00:07:54.760 ⇒ 00:08:01.310 Kaela Gallagher: If Jasmine came on full-time, he didn’t think that we would need a wage, and so he didn’t want to give him a decision yet.
66 00:08:01.380 ⇒ 00:08:04.429 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah. Do you know what the status is with Jasmine?
67 00:08:05.100 ⇒ 00:08:23.819 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, so that’s, like, I think it’s… it’s something that me, you, and him should talk about, right? So, basically, we brought her on, as, like, sort of senior analyst, and she’s, like, kind of in trial right now. He told me this morning that he’s working on, like, compiling all her feedback. I think he just needs a nudge until…
68 00:08:23.920 ⇒ 00:08:29.570 Uttam Kumaran: like, he can put that all together. I feel like we definitely need another person.
69 00:08:29.820 ⇒ 00:08:37.930 Uttam Kumaran: Because that just leaves us with her and Amber, and there is analysis work on a few other clients.
70 00:08:38.110 ⇒ 00:08:41.289 Uttam Kumaran: So, maybe it’s up for debate, like…
71 00:08:41.659 ⇒ 00:08:45.180 Uttam Kumaran: And I feel like we’re probably just, like, one conversation away from, like.
72 00:08:45.480 ⇒ 00:08:48.019 Uttam Kumaran: Basically, finding the answer there, so…
73 00:08:48.300 ⇒ 00:08:49.410 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
74 00:08:49.640 ⇒ 00:09:06.160 Uttam Kumaran: like, easily, I think Amber has, like, if Jasmine comes on, and we’re gonna most likely get a renewal for Element, like, she’s gonna take that on, but there is continuously analysis work on ABC, on default, and a few other clients.
75 00:09:06.380 ⇒ 00:09:09.800 Uttam Kumaran: So, like, I think there’s definitely room for more.
76 00:09:09.920 ⇒ 00:09:22.369 Uttam Kumaran: to whether he wants to get, like… so, I think I would… I would kind of, like, bifurcate the decision into two things. Like, I wouldn’t… I would say, like, is it a yes or no on Jasmine? And then, given that, like.
77 00:09:22.830 ⇒ 00:09:27.199 Uttam Kumaran: Is it a… now that we have Jasmine, is it a yes or no on this person?
78 00:09:27.200 ⇒ 00:09:27.800 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
79 00:09:27.800 ⇒ 00:09:28.919 Uttam Kumaran: That’s how I would think about it.
80 00:09:29.740 ⇒ 00:09:34.060 Kaela Gallagher: Robert told me yesterday that he was going to extend her an offer.
81 00:09:34.600 ⇒ 00:09:37.720 Kaela Gallagher: So, I don’t know if he…
82 00:09:38.420 ⇒ 00:09:40.239 Uttam Kumaran: I can just text him right now.
83 00:09:40.240 ⇒ 00:09:42.080 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
84 00:09:42.580 ⇒ 00:09:48.860 Kaela Gallagher: The other thing is we have another person in the pipeline right now named Miranda.
85 00:09:48.860 ⇒ 00:09:49.340 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
86 00:09:49.340 ⇒ 00:09:54.239 Kaela Gallagher: second round today, and she’s labeled as, like, an AI product person.
87 00:09:54.240 ⇒ 00:09:54.940 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
88 00:09:54.940 ⇒ 00:09:58.849 Kaela Gallagher: So, would she also come in in a Jasmine-amber setting?
89 00:09:58.850 ⇒ 00:10:01.790 Uttam Kumaran: So, so this is… so this is where, like.
90 00:10:02.210 ⇒ 00:10:20.570 Uttam Kumaran: Again, this is where I’m curious, like, how you may have handled this differently. So, this was someone that Robert was like, hey, there’s this… there’s this woman that, like, used to work at this data company, and, like, a go-to-market role, she’s interested in AI stuff, can you talk to her? I talked to her, and I was like, okay, she doesn’t seem that technical, but she has go-to-market experience.
91 00:10:20.600 ⇒ 00:10:27.019 Uttam Kumaran: And Robert was like, well, what if we offer here, potentially, like, she could help on the go-to-market side, or she could help on the AI side?
92 00:10:27.080 ⇒ 00:10:30.370 Uttam Kumaran: And I was like, okay. And so at that point, I was like, just go talk to Sam.
93 00:10:30.490 ⇒ 00:10:48.640 Uttam Kumaran: And Sam has got to vet whether this person is technical at all. I told Robert, if Sam comes back to me and says, she’s really nice, but she has no technical background, then I’m not gonna… I told her there’s no place on the AI team. So then, ultimately, it’s gonna be up to Robert on, like, whether she can help on…
94 00:10:48.870 ⇒ 00:10:54.349 Uttam Kumaran: the go-to-market side. So, that’s sort of the decision I’m waiting for, based on Sam’s call.
95 00:10:54.950 ⇒ 00:11:13.950 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, so Sam talked to her already, and his fit was that she… er, his response was she could be a good fit for product manager, but I think we need to align the second interview because it won’t be technical. His overall feedback was positive, he gave her a pass.
96 00:11:14.140 ⇒ 00:11:17.529 Kaela Gallagher: And then… Pranar? Did he put…
97 00:11:17.530 ⇒ 00:11:22.129 Uttam Kumaran: I mean, did he put any notes down on, like, what they talked about, or… Yeah. Okay.
98 00:11:22.310 ⇒ 00:11:24.570 Kaela Gallagher: Yes, there’s a whole list of, like, pros.
99 00:11:24.570 ⇒ 00:11:24.960 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, okay.
100 00:11:24.960 ⇒ 00:11:40.610 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, and then also, like, the… the chart. And then Pranav met with her today, which is the interview that I sat in on, and he… he went through the second round AI engineer technical questions with her. Okay.
101 00:11:40.750 ⇒ 00:11:50.499 Kaela Gallagher: they were, like, really in-depth, and I feel like, considering that they were meant for an AI engineer, she handled them pretty well.
102 00:11:50.760 ⇒ 00:11:51.390 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
103 00:11:51.830 ⇒ 00:12:00.309 Kaela Gallagher: Pranav said he would, like, go back and watch the interview now that he knows she’s supposed to be for a product role, and, like, look at it through a different lens, but…
104 00:12:00.310 ⇒ 00:12:18.499 Uttam Kumaran: But this is also what I was saying, and this is where maybe we have to align, is like, I told this to Robert because we previously had someone who was helping. You may see this guy named Gabe, his name is a little bit everywhere. He was helping part-time with some AI product manager stuff internally. What I found, though, is, like, there’s just not…
105 00:12:18.590 ⇒ 00:12:28.250 Uttam Kumaran: gonna be that much room for non-technical people on the AI team. So even if they are a product manager, I would prefer that they have some technical background.
106 00:12:28.470 ⇒ 00:12:31.739 Uttam Kumaran: Because otherwise, it’s just gonna, like…
107 00:12:31.860 ⇒ 00:12:34.780 Uttam Kumaran: Things are moving really, really fast, and so…
108 00:12:34.980 ⇒ 00:12:51.050 Uttam Kumaran: that’s sort of what I wanted to test with Miranda, is like, does she have any technical background? Because some of the things in AI that I’m finding is, like, someone will call me and be like, oh, AI, AI, whatever, and then I’m like, great, like, but if you… there’s one thing… there’s one thing between, like.
109 00:12:51.060 ⇒ 00:13:06.670 Uttam Kumaran: wanting to do it, and there’s nothing between before being able to build some of these systems, and so I’m much more biased, at least now, towards, like, more actual people that are going to be building the systems, but a product person can also be really unique, because
110 00:13:06.840 ⇒ 00:13:24.170 Uttam Kumaran: we have a lot of clients who are having a hard time articulating what it is that they want us to build for them, and they need a lot of management, meaning, like, someone has to go sit with them, understand the requirements, maybe build a prototype, and then hand it to engineering. So there is a… there is an opportunity here for…
111 00:13:24.290 ⇒ 00:13:28.699 Uttam Kumaran: like an AI product person, I just don’t know whether it’s… it’s true.
112 00:13:29.510 ⇒ 00:13:38.819 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, okay, okay. Yeah, I felt like just listening in to that one interview, like, she can speak the technical language, and it seems like she does have some.
113 00:13:38.820 ⇒ 00:13:39.160 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
114 00:13:39.160 ⇒ 00:13:48.760 Kaela Gallagher: technical skills, but then also you could put her in front of a client. And when Pranav and I debriefed, like, that’s kind of what we had said, but.
115 00:13:48.900 ⇒ 00:13:49.570 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
116 00:13:49.570 ⇒ 00:14:04.480 Kaela Gallagher: if you want, like, once Prinoff is, like, once he finishes his notes and everything, I can send her profile in the recruiting channel, and we can, like, discuss it a little bit further, and, like, what kind of final round she should do if we move her forward and that kind of stuff.
117 00:14:05.030 ⇒ 00:14:05.680 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
118 00:14:05.850 ⇒ 00:14:11.370 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, cool. We also had…
119 00:14:11.660 ⇒ 00:14:27.920 Kaela Gallagher: feedback on a data engineer that was like, oh, very strong, but, like, a fail for a senior role, but would be a great junior data engineer on the team. That’s the feedback that he got on the second round. Is that.
120 00:14:27.920 ⇒ 00:14:28.340 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
121 00:14:28.340 ⇒ 00:14:32.070 Kaela Gallagher: We’d even want to consider, or we’re just looking for senior talent?
122 00:14:33.180 ⇒ 00:14:51.530 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I guess, like, do you know in what, like, I think the senior and junior distinction can sometimes be tough, because, like, I just don’t want it to be, like, an age thing. So do you know, like, in particular, what the part was that indicated, like, this person may be more junior?
123 00:14:51.680 ⇒ 00:14:55.999 Uttam Kumaran: And, like, maybe, like, that is something that I can kind of sit and wrangle with.
124 00:14:56.940 ⇒ 00:15:05.629 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, I think the reason he was labeled Junior, just looking at, like, the notes, is that he’s only had one
125 00:15:05.740 ⇒ 00:15:22.089 Kaela Gallagher: role, so he’s had some internship experience, and then it looks like one full-time role, so I’m guessing only a couple years of experience. The pros is that he knows a lot about, like, systems, because he has a software engineering background.
126 00:15:23.130 ⇒ 00:15:29.920 Kaela Gallagher: But he thinks he’s a bit too raw, and his knowledge is more software engineering focused, and he would need, like.
127 00:15:29.920 ⇒ 00:15:30.290 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
128 00:15:30.290 ⇒ 00:15:32.779 Kaela Gallagher: Up time to learn our tools.
129 00:15:34.250 ⇒ 00:15:40.140 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, yeah, I mean, I… I tend to agree with the wish, then. Well, not unsurprisingly, but…
130 00:15:40.280 ⇒ 00:15:51.250 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, like, the problem… the problem sometimes is, like, like, for example, you could label Casey, Bustafa, and some of our folks as junior, but what they showed was, like.
131 00:15:51.380 ⇒ 00:15:54.270 Uttam Kumaran: Such a raw aptitude to pick things up.
132 00:15:54.690 ⇒ 00:16:04.329 Uttam Kumaran: That, like, it was able… I was able to actually be like, okay, quickly, like, they’ll be able to ramp up. In data, it’s a little bit hard.
133 00:16:04.570 ⇒ 00:16:20.570 Uttam Kumaran: Meaning all of our data roles right now are quite customer-facing, and they’re all, like, throw-someone-into-the-deep-end type of stuff, so if… if… to a way this candidate didn’t exude that, then I… I tend to agree with him.
134 00:16:20.820 ⇒ 00:16:21.250 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
135 00:16:21.250 ⇒ 00:16:25.019 Uttam Kumaran: Do you know who the person was? Like, what their name was? I don’t know if I screened them or…
136 00:16:25.020 ⇒ 00:16:36.959 Kaela Gallagher: So the person is named Anish Gupta. It looks like they never did a, a Brainforge chat. A wage passed them, passed the first round, but it was Dami that said.
137 00:16:37.610 ⇒ 00:16:38.430 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
138 00:16:38.790 ⇒ 00:16:39.410 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
139 00:16:39.970 ⇒ 00:16:41.759 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I would tend to agree, then.
140 00:16:41.760 ⇒ 00:16:42.420 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
141 00:16:43.030 ⇒ 00:16:43.680 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
142 00:16:43.880 ⇒ 00:16:51.639 Kaela Gallagher: That’s fine. I mean, we want to be, like, really excited about the people we’re moving forward. I just wanted to make sure I understood why we’re saying no, so…
143 00:16:51.640 ⇒ 00:16:52.340 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, yeah.
144 00:16:53.090 ⇒ 00:17:12.980 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, cool. I guess more to, like, the people side of things. So, Rico and I have been going back and forth on this, buddy program, which we’re excited to roll out. The part that we’re discussing is the rewards for the buddy.
145 00:17:13.589 ⇒ 00:17:17.099 Kaela Gallagher: I… I am…
146 00:17:17.619 ⇒ 00:17:26.480 Kaela Gallagher: kind of an advocate for just making it super streamlined, and just having, like, one reward. Like, the reward is a dollar amount.
147 00:17:26.660 ⇒ 00:17:27.849 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
148 00:17:28.990 ⇒ 00:17:36.870 Kaela Gallagher: And then, I was… I was doing some research, it looks like some programs, they’ll do, like, oh, the, you know, for your first…
149 00:17:37.070 ⇒ 00:17:52.409 Kaela Gallagher: two, team members that you mentor, you can get a dollar amount, and then once you mentor, like, four team members, you get the dollar amount, and you get a day of PTO. Like, bonus reward for being a 10-year buddy.
150 00:17:52.790 ⇒ 00:18:01.650 Kaela Gallagher: So we could structure it like that, but the PTO portion, I’m a little bit… hesitant on, because…
151 00:18:01.820 ⇒ 00:18:06.279 Kaela Gallagher: We don’t have… I guess, like, a PTO…
152 00:18:06.280 ⇒ 00:18:07.100 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
153 00:18:07.100 ⇒ 00:18:13.079 Kaela Gallagher: policy right now, and I don’t know that we have a good way to, like, track that and reward that.
154 00:18:14.270 ⇒ 00:18:17.569 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I feel like I’m kind of with you, is that maybe it’s just…
155 00:18:18.230 ⇒ 00:18:20.879 Uttam Kumaran: A cash amount if you hit, like.
156 00:18:21.390 ⇒ 00:18:25.499 Uttam Kumaran: If this stuff, like, people are like, yeah, this was actually really, really helpful.
157 00:18:25.980 ⇒ 00:18:30.159 Uttam Kumaran: And I don’t know, maybe you don’t allow people to do 4, like, you can just cap it.
158 00:18:30.400 ⇒ 00:18:32.390 Uttam Kumaran: And just make it simple for now.
159 00:18:33.550 ⇒ 00:18:37.899 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah. Okay, so the way that it’s structured right now is, like.
160 00:18:38.160 ⇒ 00:18:51.070 Kaela Gallagher: The new team member is going to do a survey, and if the buddy passes all 5 of the categories we ask for, then the buddy gets a point. Once the buddy gets 2 points, they get a reward.
161 00:18:51.980 ⇒ 00:18:52.410 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
162 00:18:52.410 ⇒ 00:18:59.969 Kaela Gallagher: We could just do that. Every two points, which means two successful, buddy programs, then they get a reward.
163 00:19:00.410 ⇒ 00:19:01.870 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, just, let’s just do that.
164 00:19:02.150 ⇒ 00:19:04.480 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. What do you think of…
165 00:19:04.900 ⇒ 00:19:07.969 Kaela Gallagher: I was thinking, like, 150 to 200.
166 00:19:09.020 ⇒ 00:19:10.030 Kaela Gallagher: For every two points.
167 00:19:10.030 ⇒ 00:19:15.039 Uttam Kumaran: That’s fine. I think the other thing that Greg was sort of… I was talking to Greg about this, I was like.
168 00:19:15.460 ⇒ 00:19:18.210 Uttam Kumaran: I was like, a bunch of places used to do, like, GIFs.
169 00:19:18.930 ⇒ 00:19:25.149 Uttam Kumaran: I was talking to him at some channel, and like, for example, we’re trying to motivate people to get certifications right now.
170 00:19:25.520 ⇒ 00:19:29.799 Uttam Kumaran: And I’m like, okay, should we just give people, like, a hundred bucks? Like, I’m like, maybe we should get, like…
171 00:19:30.240 ⇒ 00:19:35.430 Uttam Kumaran: a backpack or something, like, I don’t know if you’ve thought of any of that, or whether you think, like.
172 00:19:35.900 ⇒ 00:19:44.889 Uttam Kumaran: I’m… I guess I care less about if it’s cheaper, but sometimes, like, giving something someone… giving something to someone is more meaningful.
173 00:19:45.130 ⇒ 00:19:47.180 Uttam Kumaran: Or if you think it’s, oh, it’s just, like.
174 00:19:47.980 ⇒ 00:19:51.630 Uttam Kumaran: That’d be overkill to, like, figure out right now, then…
175 00:19:51.910 ⇒ 00:19:54.650 Uttam Kumaran: I’m sort of fine with whatever the benchmark is.
176 00:19:56.100 ⇒ 00:20:04.240 Kaela Gallagher: I think for… I think for the buddy program, considering it’s something that would be… like…
177 00:20:04.350 ⇒ 00:20:13.799 Kaela Gallagher: repeated, like, we want to encourage people to do this multiple times. Like, we don’t just want them to get, like, 5 backpacks. I would say for this, it makes more sense.
178 00:20:14.010 ⇒ 00:20:23.739 Kaela Gallagher: to do something monetary. But I do really like the idea of merch, maybe even in, like, a welcome box when people join the team.
179 00:20:24.820 ⇒ 00:20:26.130 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, yeah, okay.
180 00:20:28.240 ⇒ 00:20:28.940 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
181 00:20:28.940 ⇒ 00:20:34.399 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I mean, of course, like, I’m more interested in just seeing it ramp up, and it’s something we’ve done loosely.
182 00:20:34.590 ⇒ 00:20:37.120 Uttam Kumaran: Where I’ve been like, hey, this person’s starting.
183 00:20:37.300 ⇒ 00:20:42.359 Uttam Kumaran: And I know a couple people in the company that are good at pairing, and I’m like.
184 00:20:42.570 ⇒ 00:20:47.880 Uttam Kumaran: go spend time with this person, and I was… one day, I was like, this needs to be something, like, much more official, because…
185 00:20:48.020 ⇒ 00:20:51.319 Uttam Kumaran: Some people are good at it, some people aren’t so good at it, some people, like…
186 00:20:51.480 ⇒ 00:20:55.730 Uttam Kumaran: want to do it, and, like, I would like to reward that, so…
187 00:20:55.730 ⇒ 00:20:57.640 Kaela Gallagher: I think this is a great direction.
188 00:20:58.100 ⇒ 00:21:04.460 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, cool, and we can announce it in, like, the Friday team call as well, like, we can have it ironed out by then.
189 00:21:04.800 ⇒ 00:21:07.820 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, and I think the biggest thing also is just to make sure there’s a Clockify
190 00:21:07.960 ⇒ 00:21:10.810 Uttam Kumaran: Like, categories, so people can fill their time.
191 00:21:11.810 ⇒ 00:21:18.210 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, you would want it Okay, you would want it outside of, like, the one-on-one internal category?
192 00:21:19.010 ⇒ 00:21:26.559 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, I guess you could put it in there. Yeah, that’s fine. As long as it’s somewhere, and we’re aware of where it’s going.
193 00:21:26.830 ⇒ 00:21:33.269 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay. Yeah, we can, like, add a section that that’s where the hours should be tracked.
194 00:21:33.530 ⇒ 00:21:40.550 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, cool. And then I also wanted to ask you about…
195 00:21:41.180 ⇒ 00:21:46.240 Kaela Gallagher: raises, since we have team members hitting the one-year mark, and obviously Ryan’s.
196 00:21:46.240 ⇒ 00:21:46.560 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
197 00:21:46.560 ⇒ 00:21:48.299 Kaela Gallagher: for a raise, too.
198 00:21:48.530 ⇒ 00:21:51.840 Kaela Gallagher: I did build out documentation.
199 00:21:52.220 ⇒ 00:22:06.890 Kaela Gallagher: that, like, really outlines exactly what we would need from a team member when they ask for a raise, as well as, like, when is a good time to ask for a raise versus when is not? So, let me know if that is,
200 00:22:07.020 ⇒ 00:22:10.419 Kaela Gallagher: Something… something you like, or if you want any adjustments to that?
201 00:22:10.420 ⇒ 00:22:19.170 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, yeah, if you… if you… I don’t know if you already sent me that, if you can just bump me again, I can read it. I think that’s fine. I think more of what I’m… I just wanted to understand is, like.
202 00:22:19.480 ⇒ 00:22:37.039 Uttam Kumaran: we’re doing a lot, because we just have team members in so many places, so I want to make sure that, like, we can scale accordingly, and that’s sort of what we had in total rewards. And then in that doc, I sort of was also thinking, like, okay, is year one, like, some percentage is year two, some percentage, and we just, like.
203 00:22:37.510 ⇒ 00:22:40.280 Uttam Kumaran: We just do that, and…
204 00:22:40.790 ⇒ 00:22:46.119 Uttam Kumaran: like, we just go ahead and just be like, it’s always gonna be like this, no matter what. Like, I don’t know what you think.
205 00:22:46.420 ⇒ 00:22:54.629 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, so that’s what I was going to talk to you about, because I actually noticed on that page, you had built out, like, a framework around that, like.
206 00:22:54.630 ⇒ 00:22:55.060 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
207 00:22:55.060 ⇒ 00:23:07.340 Kaela Gallagher: annually doing increases, and I think that’s a really good idea. I think it’s actually pretty standard, too, for companies to do that, so I think it would help us, like, avoid some of these
208 00:23:07.810 ⇒ 00:23:08.300 Kaela Gallagher: conversation.
209 00:23:08.300 ⇒ 00:23:08.830 Uttam Kumaran: cycle.
210 00:23:08.830 ⇒ 00:23:15.830 Kaela Gallagher: as well. Yeah, like, kind of out of the blue, if we’re… if we’re, like, you know, adjusting rates
211 00:23:15.990 ⇒ 00:23:20.800 Kaela Gallagher: annually, yeah, I think that would be good.
212 00:23:21.830 ⇒ 00:23:32.340 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, so I think if you can… if your doc can cover that, and then we could just make it clear that, like, there’s gonna be… on every year, there’s gonna be some baseline increases.
213 00:23:32.440 ⇒ 00:23:36.579 Uttam Kumaran: And then I think we… I think mainly our job is gonna be, like, what are the edge cases?
214 00:23:36.760 ⇒ 00:23:45.760 Uttam Kumaran: I’m just making sure we have some guidance around that, like… This is an interesting one because this is the first time some people have hit a year.
215 00:23:45.910 ⇒ 00:23:47.180 Uttam Kumaran: And so…
216 00:23:48.010 ⇒ 00:24:05.629 Uttam Kumaran: I’m, like, just figuring out, okay, like, what did we… what did I actually… what are we paying them? Is that in line with what we’re expecting? If not, should we adjust up, or should we just do a raise? So, like, Demi’s been asking, and then I’m sure other folks will ask, so I’d like to put out a doc that just shows that.
217 00:24:07.980 ⇒ 00:24:19.680 Uttam Kumaran: And then… yeah, I mean, something I’m also working on is… I’m starting to work on that calculator a bit more, so it should be easy for anyone at any time to, like, go look at, like, what they could get to.
218 00:24:20.100 ⇒ 00:24:23.029 Uttam Kumaran: And I want to make it, like, much more clear for people.
219 00:24:25.520 ⇒ 00:24:31.230 Uttam Kumaran: And yeah, as much as we can avoid out-of-cycle, like, increases, unless there’s some circumstance.
220 00:24:31.420 ⇒ 00:24:33.369 Uttam Kumaran: That would be ideal, so…
221 00:24:33.510 ⇒ 00:24:37.310 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. If at baseline, we just do it at a year, and then…
222 00:24:37.310 ⇒ 00:24:46.129 Uttam Kumaran: you can also… I don’t know if we want to mention, like, okay, if there’s… because right now, we just have got 3 tiers. We have, like, junior, mid-level, and senior, so…
223 00:24:46.340 ⇒ 00:24:50.220 Uttam Kumaran: Maybe these, like, hey, if you jump a tier, that could happen at…
224 00:24:50.460 ⇒ 00:24:53.200 Uttam Kumaran: So, because right now, we don’t have any, like, review cycles.
225 00:24:54.450 ⇒ 00:24:55.120 Kaela Gallagher: Hmm.
226 00:24:56.000 ⇒ 00:25:01.029 Uttam Kumaran: like, that’s something that on the delivery team, I think we need to think more about, but we don’t have any structured
227 00:25:01.140 ⇒ 00:25:08.840 Uttam Kumaran: like, 6-month reviews. We did it for a little bit, but it just became a lot to maintain, and probably something that we’ll end up having
228 00:25:09.220 ⇒ 00:25:14.229 Uttam Kumaran: Like, we do, you know, maybe it’s quarterly, at least, so people can meet with their direct
229 00:25:14.470 ⇒ 00:25:16.799 Uttam Kumaran: Person and do something, but…
230 00:25:17.020 ⇒ 00:25:23.800 Uttam Kumaran: I think at least, yeah, trying to aim for, like, a minimum, there’s these yearly increases, but no matter what, at least that’s in place, you know?
231 00:25:24.120 ⇒ 00:25:39.779 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah, I agree. I can adjust the compensation and benefits document. I have it, in that document on our, like, people and culture page, so I can do kind of, like, the annual
232 00:25:40.230 ⇒ 00:25:45.760 Kaela Gallagher: adjustment, and then I can also have a section for, like, off-cycle.
233 00:25:46.290 ⇒ 00:25:49.360 Kaela Gallagher: You know, raises two, which…
234 00:25:49.710 ⇒ 00:25:56.230 Kaela Gallagher: Hopefully we’re not running into as many of those, but sometimes there’s gonna be situations where people still ask, so…
235 00:25:56.400 ⇒ 00:25:57.000 Uttam Kumaran: Dad.
236 00:25:57.200 ⇒ 00:26:01.220 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, I will adjust.
237 00:26:01.420 ⇒ 00:26:03.250 Kaela Gallagher: That doc.
238 00:26:05.510 ⇒ 00:26:14.979 Kaela Gallagher: I also wanted to ask you, I know you added me to that channel with Vixel, so they… they are, like, an advisor to us, basically?
239 00:26:16.010 ⇒ 00:26:20.959 Uttam Kumaran: Yes, they are an advisor. So, we were in their accelerator program.
240 00:26:20.960 ⇒ 00:26:24.099 Kaela Gallagher: like, Blainforge was, like, maybe a year…
241 00:26:24.120 ⇒ 00:26:26.950 Uttam Kumaran: A little over a year ago, and…
242 00:26:27.100 ⇒ 00:26:34.929 Uttam Kumaran: like, they’re a tech service accelerator, so they have a little piece of our company, and they basically help us with kind of everything, anything we need.
243 00:26:35.050 ⇒ 00:26:39.070 Uttam Kumaran: like, they’re sort of just another person where I’m like, I want to learn about something.
244 00:26:39.200 ⇒ 00:26:42.240 Uttam Kumaran: I’ve been like, hey, how did you guys handle this?
245 00:26:42.270 ⇒ 00:27:00.789 Uttam Kumaran: So, and when it comes to recruiting, recruiting ops, Vishnu is a great person just to know. She’s so, so nice, and, like, they love our company, too, so they’re gonna be more than willing to… to help. I think Robert, I forgot the situation, what Robert was mentioning, to talk to her, but again, I think…
246 00:27:00.970 ⇒ 00:27:07.309 Uttam Kumaran: Like, it’s sort of back to my coaching thing, that, like, my job is just to give us whatever resources we need to learn
247 00:27:07.620 ⇒ 00:27:20.809 Uttam Kumaran: and improve. So, Vixel’s a great resource for a bunch of things, and, Robert and I rely on them for some stuff on the finance and executive side. I think Vishnu’s a great resource on the recruiting side as well.
248 00:27:21.180 ⇒ 00:27:25.349 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, I’ll just reach out to Vishnu directly, then?
249 00:27:25.350 ⇒ 00:27:25.780 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
250 00:27:25.780 ⇒ 00:27:26.160 Kaela Gallagher: Maybe?
251 00:27:26.160 ⇒ 00:27:27.990 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, you could… yeah, that’s totally fine, yeah.
252 00:27:27.990 ⇒ 00:27:38.009 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, yeah, perfect, because, what Robert wanted me to kind of discuss with her is, she recommended this tool, and it looks like it does, like.
253 00:27:38.010 ⇒ 00:27:52.329 Kaela Gallagher: pulse checks on team members and, like, really kind of helps check in. It looks like I might even be able to run, like, my onboarding surveys through there as well, so… Okay. Yeah, just wanted to, like, discuss that tool.
254 00:27:52.330 ⇒ 00:27:53.969 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, yeah, I think, I think…
255 00:27:54.330 ⇒ 00:27:57.610 Uttam Kumaran: I think they’re gonna be just a good, again, a good resource, and…
256 00:27:57.900 ⇒ 00:27:59.879 Uttam Kumaran: We’re, we’re gonna, we’re just gonna have, like.
257 00:28:00.110 ⇒ 00:28:04.959 Uttam Kumaran: Basically, people that are like, hey, we don’t know exactly the answer, let’s just ask the…
258 00:28:05.430 ⇒ 00:28:08.359 Uttam Kumaran: Let’s just ask their row of friends what to do.
259 00:28:08.640 ⇒ 00:28:14.069 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, okay, cool. I think those are, like…
260 00:28:14.350 ⇒ 00:28:19.810 Kaela Gallagher: kind of the main things that I wanted to discuss with you, I guess, do you have any, like.
261 00:28:20.080 ⇒ 00:28:23.030 Kaela Gallagher: Feedback for me at all, or, anything.
262 00:28:23.030 ⇒ 00:28:23.860 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, so I think…
263 00:28:23.860 ⇒ 00:28:24.630 Kaela Gallagher: focus on?
264 00:28:24.840 ⇒ 00:28:37.229 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I think one, I think you’re crushing it. Like, I feel like this is not an easy place to onboard at all. We are both remote and move very fast, and a lot of things are not well-defined, so…
265 00:28:37.390 ⇒ 00:28:53.429 Uttam Kumaran: like, I think you’ve done super, super, super well. I think everybody’s pumped to have you as a resource. Like, I thought it would take you a little bit longer to, you know, just want to spend time on, like, the people side of things, but you’re already sort of going after that, so… I think it’s great. You know, if I think about
266 00:28:53.490 ⇒ 00:29:10.319 Uttam Kumaran: if I think about, like, what… what makes… what would take it to the next level is just being able to actually hit the OKRs and work with us on the next set, right? So looking into the end of March, I think that’s what I’m gonna tell Luke as well, and tell Rico, is, like, these are OKRs that we don’t, like.
267 00:29:10.510 ⇒ 00:29:21.819 Uttam Kumaran: I… right… to date, Robert and I have worked on them, and Robert and I have worked to hit them. Now that we have a team, I’m excited to see, like, how it can be much more collaborative, like, the goal setting.
268 00:29:22.020 ⇒ 00:29:29.539 Uttam Kumaran: you can actually feel fired up about, like, hey, this is an awesome goal that I know the team can achieve, and I know that, like.
269 00:29:29.910 ⇒ 00:29:35.019 Uttam Kumaran: Not only if we achieve it, it’ll move the business forward, but there’s, like, we also want to tie the bonuses there.
270 00:29:35.130 ⇒ 00:29:35.710 Uttam Kumaran: So.
271 00:29:35.710 ⇒ 00:29:36.190 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah.
272 00:29:36.190 ⇒ 00:29:41.729 Uttam Kumaran: That’s what I would say… Going into the end of this month to think about.
273 00:29:41.900 ⇒ 00:29:45.820 Uttam Kumaran: Robert is… Robert is coming here to Austin, actually.
274 00:29:46.040 ⇒ 00:30:04.099 Uttam Kumaran: this week, because we’re doing a little happy hour, and so we’re gonna be kind of thinking a little bit about preliminary APIs for next quarter, but, like, that’s the next step. I think you’re on track to do all the things in our initial sort of scope, so I’m not… I’m not worried about that.
275 00:30:04.220 ⇒ 00:30:11.689 Uttam Kumaran: I think I’m like, okay, now start to spend, like, just a little bit of time thinking about what the next quarter could hold.
276 00:30:11.920 ⇒ 00:30:16.049 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah. As we kind of go into the next few weeks.
277 00:30:16.200 ⇒ 00:30:29.759 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. Yeah, the thing about the OKRs that is worrying me the most, I will say, is, I don’t have a way to measure a couple of the ones listed, so…
278 00:30:29.760 ⇒ 00:30:30.410 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, tell me.
279 00:30:30.410 ⇒ 00:30:34.740 Kaela Gallagher: I feel like I can’t hit it until I can measure it.
280 00:30:34.740 ⇒ 00:30:38.869 Uttam Kumaran: Well, tell me which… tell me which one they are, and let me work with you on that.
281 00:30:38.870 ⇒ 00:30:39.290 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
282 00:30:39.290 ⇒ 00:30:40.790 Uttam Kumaran: Cause that’s a really great ask.
283 00:30:41.210 ⇒ 00:30:57.270 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, so the two, that I have would be, like, 90% or more of our talent pipeline status updated weekly. Like, I know I’m doing that right now, going into Notion and, like, keeping track of all these candidates, but I don’t actually have, like.
284 00:30:57.940 ⇒ 00:31:12.779 Kaela Gallagher: way to measure that without going through each candidate manually. And then, greater than 90% of candidates receive first response within 72 hours. So I’m guessing that would be, like, a Loom video review, and then…
285 00:31:12.960 ⇒ 00:31:19.980 Kaela Gallagher: either, like, a pass or fail from the loom. But I also don’t have, like, really a way to measure that yet, either.
286 00:31:19.980 ⇒ 00:31:34.560 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, so for… let’s talk about… so, 90% talent pipeline status updated weekly. So, if I can say it back to you, if you had a system, and this is, like, me being, like, a product manager, if you had a system that told you
287 00:31:34.660 ⇒ 00:31:38.330 Uttam Kumaran: That, hey, you’ve touched 90% of
288 00:31:38.500 ⇒ 00:31:48.920 Uttam Kumaran: all, like, for example, let’s say you started the week with 30 people, all… 90% of those, there’s been a change to every single Notion card, at least one change.
289 00:31:49.430 ⇒ 00:31:51.410 Uttam Kumaran: Yes, exactly.
290 00:31:51.590 ⇒ 00:31:54.959 Kaela Gallagher: Or… Or even, like.
291 00:31:55.140 ⇒ 00:32:01.780 Kaela Gallagher: a comment added to the Notion card, maybe? Like, because I’m adding comments when I’m, like, emailing.
292 00:32:01.780 ⇒ 00:32:02.270 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
293 00:32:02.270 ⇒ 00:32:05.520 Kaela Gallagher: Moving people, so something like that, yes.
294 00:32:06.980 ⇒ 00:32:13.000 Uttam Kumaran: So, any activity on any of the Notion… Cards…
295 00:32:13.500 ⇒ 00:32:16.469 Kaela Gallagher: A change in… Yeah, inactivity on…
296 00:32:17.390 ⇒ 00:32:27.659 Uttam Kumaran: on… So you basically, yeah, any activity on any of the Notion cards or candidates, Based on what existed.
297 00:32:29.110 ⇒ 00:32:30.560 Uttam Kumaran: At the start of the week.
298 00:32:31.350 ⇒ 00:32:32.819 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, I can work on that.
299 00:32:32.820 ⇒ 00:32:36.539 Kaela Gallagher: So that would be either a status update or a comment.
300 00:32:36.770 ⇒ 00:32:37.470 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
301 00:32:37.470 ⇒ 00:32:44.570 Kaela Gallagher: And then… 90% of candidates received first response within 72 hours. This.
302 00:32:44.570 ⇒ 00:32:45.490 Uttam Kumaran: So…
303 00:32:45.490 ⇒ 00:32:51.869 Kaela Gallagher: The candidate moving from… the needs loom review section to
304 00:32:53.140 ⇒ 00:32:58.119 Kaela Gallagher: a different section, either fail or move forward.
305 00:32:58.680 ⇒ 00:33:00.850 Uttam Kumaran: So, needs loom review.
306 00:33:01.530 ⇒ 00:33:06.290 Uttam Kumaran: So this can is moving from… to… another status.
307 00:33:06.500 ⇒ 00:33:09.029 Uttam Kumaran: Within 72 hours.
308 00:33:09.320 ⇒ 00:33:12.750 Uttam Kumaran: And I’m gonna say not including weekends.
309 00:33:13.560 ⇒ 00:33:14.390 Kaela Gallagher: Yes.
310 00:33:14.860 ⇒ 00:33:16.549 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, alright, great.
311 00:33:16.820 ⇒ 00:33:17.620 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
312 00:33:19.360 ⇒ 00:33:21.840 Uttam Kumaran: 90% scheduling sequences in place.
313 00:33:22.600 ⇒ 00:33:25.560 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, I feel like you’re on track for that one.
314 00:33:25.560 ⇒ 00:33:30.920 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, I do have, like, everything templated for every single
315 00:33:31.370 ⇒ 00:33:34.730 Kaela Gallagher: stage, so I would say that one is achieved.
316 00:33:35.460 ⇒ 00:33:38.469 Uttam Kumaran: I guess my other question is, like, since you’re gonna be living a lot on email.
317 00:33:38.580 ⇒ 00:33:44.139 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t know if, like… Robert and I have started using this app called Superhuman, it’s, like.
318 00:33:45.000 ⇒ 00:33:46.639 Kaela Gallagher: I’ve been using it, actually.
319 00:33:46.640 ⇒ 00:33:47.370 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, okay, great.
320 00:33:47.370 ⇒ 00:33:48.100 Kaela Gallagher: Is it helpful?
321 00:33:48.630 ⇒ 00:33:50.339 Kaela Gallagher: It is, it is, yeah.
322 00:33:50.340 ⇒ 00:33:50.890 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, go.
323 00:33:51.370 ⇒ 00:33:53.429 Uttam Kumaran: I was literally just gonna say, you should try it. Okay, cool.
324 00:33:53.430 ⇒ 00:34:03.650 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, I was like, Rico, like, I cannot use Gmail when I’m managing multiple emails, like, this is crazy. He was like, oh, let me get you on this app.
325 00:34:03.650 ⇒ 00:34:08.420 Uttam Kumaran: Nice, okay, so that… you should actually try… the AI is really underrated in that, like…
326 00:34:08.650 ⇒ 00:34:12.270 Uttam Kumaran: it’s good at basically, like, anything email, so if you’re, like.
327 00:34:12.989 ⇒ 00:34:20.959 Uttam Kumaran: like, find me this email, or it drafts it a lot like you, or can use templates, so as long as you’re using that, it’s fine. And then, I think this is where, like.
328 00:34:21.199 ⇒ 00:34:30.030 Uttam Kumaran: what I want you to also do is think about the paper cuts, and just, like, bring it up in the meetings, because I think you’re gonna be surprised at how much
329 00:34:30.550 ⇒ 00:34:50.230 Uttam Kumaran: like, with some, like, AI time, we can try to solve in a multitude of ways, but I’m less interested in you coming with the solution. When it comes to this, I’m more like, if you’re like, hey, I’m having this issue, like, every time this case happens, something happens, and I’m not able to keep up, okay, that’s enough for me to, like, take that on and start thinking about, so…
330 00:34:50.570 ⇒ 00:34:54.760 Uttam Kumaran: That’s… that would be helpful, so… Cool, that’s great.
331 00:34:55.010 ⇒ 00:34:58.350 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, I guess on that vein…
332 00:34:58.740 ⇒ 00:35:11.370 Kaela Gallagher: For the triage and screening senior analyst, to improve filtering quality, right now, when candidates get sent to you for the Loom review, their resume doesn’t attach.
333 00:35:11.910 ⇒ 00:35:18.870 Kaela Gallagher: like, they submit their resume as part of the application, but it doesn’t make it to you, and I feel like that would be helpful.
334 00:35:18.870 ⇒ 00:35:22.060 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, what do you, like… Is that a Notion issue?
335 00:35:22.720 ⇒ 00:35:27.350 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, and I asked Rico to look into it, and he said he couldn’t… Fix it.
336 00:35:28.180 ⇒ 00:35:30.200 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, can you start,
337 00:35:30.550 ⇒ 00:35:36.390 Uttam Kumaran: Can you start a thread in recruiting leadership and just have Rico put in what he investigated? And then I’ll take a look.
338 00:35:36.720 ⇒ 00:35:37.480 Kaela Gallagher: Okay.
339 00:35:37.700 ⇒ 00:35:40.340 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, perfect.
340 00:35:42.650 ⇒ 00:35:46.630 Kaela Gallagher: And then I guess the rest of these…
341 00:35:47.150 ⇒ 00:35:54.050 Kaela Gallagher: OKRs, full comp benefits package finalized. We definitely need to still work on that.
342 00:35:55.370 ⇒ 00:35:56.760 Kaela Gallagher: And…
343 00:35:57.470 ⇒ 00:36:13.360 Kaela Gallagher: Standard, hire the 30-day journey documented. I just built that out this week, so we’re on track there. Implement pulse mechanism through Work Leap, so I’ll talk with Vishnu about that, and then escalation pathways documented, definitely still need to work on that.
344 00:36:13.970 ⇒ 00:36:14.800 Kaela Gallagher: So…
345 00:36:17.440 ⇒ 00:36:18.290 Uttam Kumaran: Perfect.
346 00:36:19.140 ⇒ 00:36:21.170 Kaela Gallagher: Awesome, I think that’s all I have for you.
347 00:36:21.650 ⇒ 00:36:27.160 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, great. Well, yeah, keep sending me any questions. I’m, like, loving… there’s just so much going on, so it’s great.
348 00:36:27.160 ⇒ 00:36:31.090 Kaela Gallagher: I know, it’s so exciting, especially to see, like, all these interviews going off, it’s awesome.
349 00:36:31.090 ⇒ 00:36:48.969 Uttam Kumaran: I know, I know, so it’s really… and I’m glad everybody’s contributing, and everybody’s, like, playing a really helpful role, so… Yeah, people seem really excited, which is great, especially Pranav, I love his enthusiasm. Everybody’s very, very busy, and have been asking me for, like.
350 00:36:49.180 ⇒ 00:37:03.759 Uttam Kumaran: how are we gonna deal with this? So I’ve been telling them that, like, okay, we’re hiring, and it’s, again, I think it’s as important as sales in terms of just keeping the momentum going there, so, yeah. Yeah. And it’s, again, it’s… this is not even the fun part, I feel like this is just, like, getting the baseline.
351 00:37:04.470 ⇒ 00:37:08.669 Uttam Kumaran: We haven’t even, like, thought about, like, creative different things, so, like, I feel like that’s…
352 00:37:09.010 ⇒ 00:37:10.959 Uttam Kumaran: I’m excited for what’s next, so…
353 00:37:10.960 ⇒ 00:37:13.109 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, me too, me too.
354 00:37:13.900 ⇒ 00:37:16.879 Kaela Gallagher: Alrighty. Cool. I think that’s all I have.
355 00:37:17.370 ⇒ 00:37:18.919 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, thank you, Kayla, appreciate it.
356 00:37:18.920 ⇒ 00:37:20.340 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, thank you.
357 00:37:20.540 ⇒ 00:37:21.810 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. Bye.