I am a Recruiting Program Manager at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF).

SDF is a blockchain payments company focused on creating equitable access to the global financial system. Our work helps to support the growth of the open-source Stellar network, which is designed so all the world’s financial systems can work together on a single network — making sending money as easy as sending an email!

How big is it?‍

The Recruiting team is currently made up of five stellar individuals ranging from a coordinator, recruiter, sourcer, and our team lead. We are a small and mighty team, giving each of us the opportunity to step up and do a wide range of work.‍

Where are your teammates located?‍

The majority of SDF employees are based in the USA and Canada and we have offices in San Francisco and New York. We also have employees working remotely from many US states in addition to a sprinkling of colleagues in Europe and South America. ‍

What does your team do? What are you responsible for?‍

We are responsible for building an organization that wants to change the world and a team that is representative of the communities we serve.

I wear many hats within our team. Whatever the team and business needs, I fill that gap. From sourcing talent across all roles to managing projects, owning processes and systems, and everything else in between.

At the end of the day, whether it is remote, in-person, or hybrid, the need for nurturing and valuing relationships doesn’t change. We’re human, after all.

You don’t need to get all fancy and make it complicated. Just keep it simple with strong and consistent communication, have trust knowing your teammates will be accountable, be flexible when appropriate and/or needed, and nurture a sense of camaraderie. You build a team around these values, you will have a team that has your back 100% of the time that can accomplish anything.

Time zone differences, most notably when coordinating or collaborating with internal stakeholders across the country or across the globe. Recruiting moves very fast and we need to think steps ahead and make sure we coordinate interviews and meetings that work for everyone.

Using a spreadsheet with all your stakeholders timezone, their scheduling flexibility and preferences makes it easier to coordinate. You should also know which meetings are mandatory or optional for certain individuals (sometimes an async or detailed email/slack message will be enough). It’s also always good to bookmark your favorite website to double check time zone differences. Establishing this early on and building a repertoire with them cuts the need for many back and forths.

Monthly department wide check-ins. We call it “team huddles”. Solely for checking in on how the last month for us was – the wins and areas for improvement, and to get to know each other.

Quarterly in-person retreats; team building and goal setting for the upcoming quarter.

Our company hosts various games and events such as virtual icebreaker games, magic shows, museum tours, and much more! People also participate in our #donut Slack channel where they randomly get paired with someone in the company to schedule a virtual “coffee chat”.

I find that I grow as a leader when I know what’s happening in the industry and how it impacts my company so my best note to leave here is to be caught up with all the new trends, products, and what’s going on in the market in your role and industry. I’ve signed up to as many newsletters, podcasts, and trainings within recruiting and the blockchain sector to be kept up to date.