I did a funny thing this past week. I gave away my “last” employee. I figured the only thing more deliciously twisted than an accordion player doing rock standards was a coder working in the marketing department.

Despite the fact that this is a great thing for the marketing team, Tucows’ developer relations program and Joey, it also means that, I’ve got no bench – not bench strength, actual bench, i.e. no team! All despite the fact that I’m responsible for three fairly important functions – research and innovation, public policy and most recently, Tucows retail operations.

Its fairly safe to say that this is a “rebuilding year”

I think I’ve got a plan though – I’ve created a bunch of new positions to help us build and implement “The Big Plan” for Domain Direct, Tucows small retail domain name operation. Even though Tucows is a wholesale services provider, our first entry into the domain business was as a retail player. The wholesale business has since totally eclipsed this aspect of the operation. Somehow, the idea that I could be involved in taking something ten years old, grow it and  use to help better understand how our resellers can and should sell Tucows services was too tempting to resist. We intend on setting it up in such a way that our resellers can use it as a reference for retail best practices, and also to help Tucows better understand its footprint as a supplier (i.e how our actions impact on our sales partners). Some have said that we’re turning Domain Direct into a “retail center of excellence”. Personally I prefer to describe as “building a glass-walled office” and “setting a good example”. “Center of Excellence” probably makes for a better catch-phrase for the marketing crowd though.

I’m taking a “clean sheet” approach. Even though the business is almost ten years old, I’m treating it like a startup. This means new people, new ideas, new plans and hopefully, new growth. To get there means a lot of time spent on the hiring process. I’m not in a rush to get a person, as much as I’m in a rush to get the right person. The right people actually.

Here’s a list of the positions that I’m currently hiring for:

• Product Manager
• Associate Product Manager
• Online Marketing Specialist
• Business Partners Specialist
• Administrative Marketing Assistant

In each case, I’m more interested in hiring great people, with great skills that can make a huge difference in terms of the overall capabilities of the team. Completing check-boxes to make sure that the perfect candidate fits the position description perfectly isn’t as important as it sounds. I’m building a team that’s going to have a lot of responsibilities and work with some pretty big challenges – this means that I need to think more like a baseball team recruiter than a business manager. I can’t just go out and find superstars and stick them into cubicles and expect to be successful. I need to find people that can work together to bring the right set of skills to bear. If the entire team can’t win, then the project won’t be successful.

So, do you know any catchers, pitchers or left-fielders that are looking for a challenge? If so, please have them get in touch with me, or even better, send their resume directly to our HR team.