Today, 67% of recruiters cite a lack of skilled candidates as the biggest hiring challenge they face. Additionally, 52% assert the intense competition for top talent has made hiring a daunting task. Coupled with the fact that leading candidates are usually only on the market for 10 days before they are hired, and it’s no wonder that staffing for growth seems to be increasingly difficult.
As a startup, learning to navigate the current climate is essential. After all, you need highly qualified candidates to scale your business up if you want to continue to thrive, and a single bad hire can cost over $18,700. With that in mind, here are a few talent management strategies that can empower fast-growing startups, ensuring they make sound hiring decisions that support their growth and long-term goals.
Avoid Talent Dilution
Many startups lower the bar when hiring. Often, the purpose isn’t to diminish the quality of the workforce. Instead, fear comes into play, impacting hiring decisions.
A newly minted hiring manager in a quickly expanding startup may worry that by hiring someone with the potential to outperform them, they are putting their long-term career goals at risk. As a result, they avoid selecting candidates they perceive as being smarter than themselves as an act of self-preservation.
Over time, this leads to talent dilution. The quality of the new hires is reduced slowly over time, creating a workforce that may not be as strong as it would have been otherwise.
Often, avoiding talent dilution involves making a conscious decision to always hire the best. It also includes understanding that most new hires don’t represent a threat to the careers of your hiring managers, particularly if they, themselves, are top performers, and you reassure them as such.
Promote From Within
As a company expands, it’s common for additional higher-level positions to be created. This may include managers for new departments or upper-tier specialists in a range of categories.
When these positions emerge, it’s important to look internally for promotional candidates. Not only does your existing staff have a strong understanding of your business, allowing them to hit full productivity in the new role more quickly, but their morale will also improve. When it comes to millennials, the largest segment of the workforce, 53% state that career pathways impact their decision to stay with an employer, showcasing just how critical promotional opportunities can be for a company’s success.
Having opportunities for advancement turns you into an employer of choice. Along with bolstering retention, recruitment will receive a boost. Over time, you’ll establish your startup as a company that helps professionals develop and grow, and that’s often a highly coveted trait that top talent seeks out when looking for opportunities. Considering that 84% of job seekers believe a company’s employer brand is a critical part of their decision-making process when deciding to apply, it’s a path worth taking.
Investing in Recruitment
Most startups strive to keep costs low, or at least focus their investments on limited areas, usually those associated with product or service development, marketing or similar segments. However, if your cost-cutting approach harms your ability to recruit effectively, you’re hurting your company in the long term.
By partnering with a skilled recruitment agency, you gain an ally that can help you reach your goals. You’ll receive support and guidance for creating effective hiring strategies based on your growth-oriented needs, including recruiting mechanisms that focus on providing job seekers with an exceptional candidate experience that boosts your employer brand.
Plus, you’ll gain access to robust talent pools of candidates, including coveted passive job seekers with in-demand skills, and can shorten your time to hire. If you would like to learn more about how partnering with a recruitment agency can benefit your fast-growing startup, the team at Cloutera wants to hear from you. Contact us to discuss your needs with one of our specialists today and see how our expertise can benefit you.
