---
title: Team Design and Hiring — RGM Training
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/training/growth-leadership/team-design-and-hiring/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/training/growth-leadership/team-design-and-hiring/
---

[Home](../../../index.html) › [Training](../../index.html) › [Growth Leadership](../index.html) › Team Design and Hiring

RGM° · Training

# Team Design and Hiring

Determines what programs can be delivered. Org models, roles, hiring, development.

### What you will learn

1. [Why team design matters](#why)
2. [Org models](#models)
3. [Core roles](#roles)
4. [Hiring](#hiring)
5. [Development](#development)
6. [Advanced playbook](#advanced)
7. [Mistakes](#mistakes)
8. [Checklist](#checklist)

## Why team design matters

Growth team design determines what programs can be delivered. Right roles + right people + right structure = compound capability. Wrong design = years of friction.

## Org models

- Functional (specialists by channel).
- Cross-functional pods.
- Embedded specialists.
- Hybrid (central + embedded).
- Agency-augmented.
- Distributed.

## Core roles

- Head of Growth.
- Performance marketing specialists.
- Lifecycle marketing.
- Content marketing.
- SEO.
- Marketing analytics.
- Marketing operations.
- Brand / creative.
- PR / comms.
- Customer marketing.

## Hiring

- Hiring profile per role.
- Interview rubric.
- Practical exercises.
- Reference checks.
- Diversity discipline.
- Compensation benchmarking.
- Onboarding playbook.
- 30/60/90 plans.

## Development

- Career paths documented.
- IC vs manager track.
- Training budgets.
- Conference attendance.
- Mentorship programs.
- External coaching.
- Internal mobility.
- Performance management.

## Advanced playbook

- Annual organization design review.
- Hiring profile per role.
- Interview rubric with practical exercises.
- Diversity in candidate pools.
- Compensation benchmarking annually.
- 30/60/90 onboarding plans.
- Career paths documented.
- Training budget per person.
- Mentorship programs.
- Performance management discipline.

## Mistakes

- Org design improvised.
- Hiring profile vague.
- Practical exercises skipped.
- Diversity discipline absent.
- Compensation benchmarking ad-hoc.
- Onboarding generic.
- Career paths informal.
- Training budget cut first.
- Mentorship absent.
- Performance management reactive.

## Checklist

- Annual org design review
- Hiring profile per role
- Interview rubric with exercises
- Diversity discipline
- Compensation benchmarking
- 30/60/90 onboarding
- Career paths documented
- Training budget per person
- Mentorship programs
- Performance management discipline

## Sources and further reading

- Brian Balfour growth team building
- Reforge growth team programs
- Lenny Rachitsky org case studies
- First Round Review hiring
- Andrew Chen org writing
- HBR talent research
- Brilliant Forge career paths
- Locally Optimistic data team building
- Tomasz Tunguz SaaS team building
- OpenView talent research
- Marketing Brew talent coverage
- Ben Horowitz, "The Hard Thing"

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Part of the [Growth Leadership](../index.html) series.