5 biggest recruiting speed bumps for startups
A new start-up faces a number of challenges before it can get on a stable ground. One major 'make-or-break' challenge lies in the hiring aspect. Everybody wants to bring in new employees and create a good team to steer their start-up towards success, but it isn't as easy or smooth-sailing as it sounds. Understanding these challenges would be immensely helpful and ensures that you don't fall into the trap of making common hiring mistakes that can significantly affect your start-up.
Starting a new company seems to be on everyone’s to-do list when it comes to their career goals. If you are lucky enough to have already started a company, you would know that there are a number of highs and lows in the journey. You need to figure out how to conduct various processes like hiring, management, legal or logistics. In this article, we will focus on hiring and the various challenges that you would face as a startup.
Here are the 5 biggest pain points that every startup faces while recruiting.
1) Low Brand Recognition
As a startup, you won’t have an established name in the market, thereby making it challenging to attract new talent. The candidates would not be aware of the new company and they could even doubt its credibility.
In order to solve this issue, you must build a strong brand image using various platforms like social media and print media. Word of mouth could also work wonders to enhance the company’s brand recognition.
2) Lack of Funds
While startups may be rich in ideas and enthusiasm, in most cases, they lack in budget. These budget constraints become a problem when it comes to acquiring talent. Since the salary for new positions is usually low, it becomes tricky to attract quality hires. In some cases, startups do pay high salaries to a top talent but, in such cases, the applicants end up being scrutinized more critically and become victims of high expectations. Due to this, they feel a lot of stress at work, which brings down their performance or they end up quitting altogether. Plan your budget carefully and allocate sufficient funds for hiring process so that you can bring in good talent.
Some startups offer equity in addition to low salary, but you must carefully weigh the pros and cons before doing so. You can offer other facilities to attract new talent, such as working from home, stimulating work environment, flexible working hours, etc., that can compensate for a low salary and give them a good reason to stick with your startup and help it grow.
3) Undefined Hiring Policies
Defining hiring policies are challenging even for big organizations, which means that it proves to be a herculean task for startups. Big businesses can minimize their challenges by background check policies, company culture, documented interview processes, etc., but since startups don’t have a defined hiring strategy, they might not have such practices to fall back on while recruiting.
To start with, create a defined hiring policy and make a checklist of all the questions that need to be answered before even posting the job opening. You can ask yourself questions that help in determining the kind of employees you need, how to include verification checks for education and work history, envisioning the company culture, etc. Having solid hiring policies will work in your favor during the recruitment process. Don’t forget to incorporate recruiting software during this process.
4) Limited Recruiting Resources
In startups, it isn’t unusual for employees to step into different roles, which can be beneficial as fewer people can handle tasks meant for many. But the major disadvantage is that the productivity takes a hit in this process. Hiring is a long procedure which can either stretch you thin in terms of resources or a dedicated team to carry it out. You need to ensure that despite limited resources, they work effectively for you. Make the process fast enough that you can avoid productivity loss but let the process stretch on until you find the perfect hire.
5) Limited Sources for Hiring Quality Candidates
Since you will have less brand recognition, you will have to walk the extra mile to attract quality hires. You can achieve this by implementing social media integrated ATS(applicant tracking system) that allows you to source and manage candidates in one place. Moreover, it will allow you to reach social media platforms and acquire talented candidates. Social media is the best place, apart from being the most cost-efficient, for your start-up to be visible and create a positive image.
Hiring the right candidates is more challenging for startups as compared to established businesses, but by taking the right steps, you can create a great team and build your small business into something much bigger.
