Top 5 hacks to hire right when starting up

Here are 5 hacks to make good hires for your start-up:

It’s often a general hiring tendency to employ people with a similar set of qualities, skills and educational backgrounds. There is some level of standardization when looking for candidates. This pre-existing mould may make things quicker and easier, but it could lead to a group of people who think along the same lines and hence could end up struggling to tackle similar problems when they arise. On the other hand, if a diverse set of people with unique skill sets and capabilities are hired, it would add immense value to the organization and enable fresh perspectives and different expertise. This would result in building a way more versatile team. These few initial hires will also play a pivotal role in shaping your company culture and hence ensuring it consists of multi-talented and unique personnel will give you a head start on creating an attractive work culture. Rich work culture is defining for start-ups, particularly those born in the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic era where remote work is prevalent.

Job posting on company websites, job boards, online groups, social media and print media would help attract talent and additionally would also help build awareness of your employer’s brand and hence build and improve company's reputation. Apart from these conventional routes for finding candidates, referrals, networking or even unexpected meetings at various events could be a source to meet the people who would join you and become integral in your start-up journey. Referrals from existing employees are an effective method of employment due to various reasons such as being quicker, less expensive and additionally having an added guarantee that employees would only refer quality candidates who can be trusted. This hence often results in the highest probability of final hiring of the recommended candidate, easier onboarding due to familiarity with the organization and often higher retention.

It is essential that the candidate is briefed well and informed about the functioning of the startup, the industry and customers served and the overall way of things at the start-up. It is proven that a candidate who is well aware of the organization will be more satisfied than someone who isn’t. Additionally, if a person shares a common pre-experience or understanding of the startup or its industry, they would be able to add more value. This is only possible if the candidate is walked through the about of the start-up. The recruitment process too has to be hassle-free; each candidate often has various multiple opportunities lined up and it comes down to not losing to a competitor just because their recruitment method was quicker and easier for a candidate to navigate.

The workspace has an impact on various aspects of employees. It affects their moods, emotions, feelings and ultimately their behaviour within and outside the organization. If a positive workspace isn’t maintained, it will affect the mental health of the employees which then would affect their performance and finally influence their motivation to continue with the organization. The factors constituting a healthy work environment for an employee include a system of appreciation, being content and satisfied with work, positive relations and good communication with colleagues and authority and finally alignment of work with one self’s career growth plans.

In current times, employees look for organizations that are willing to accommodate their preferences with respect to how where and when they work. Usually, start-ups do provide this added advantage to employees over established traditional corporations that are more rigid. When an organization exhibits, it becomes part of the culture and the employees follow suit. It encourages them to collaborate with each other, focus on innovation and brings out the best in each. Being flexible and resourceful to the employees will pay back when they too creatively adapt to new challenges and go the extra mile.

The process of recruiting can indeed make or break a start-up. It is essential to hire objectively through given facts and figures apart from intuitions or personal likings alone. The interview process put in place must ensure that all possible information regarding your start-up and expectations from the role is well communicated. The interview process can be used to prompt comments and opinions from the candidate on various areas to gauge a fit between expectations from the candidate and what the candidate has to offer. Hiring people who do not fit the objective and do not understand the values of the organization will result in dissatisfied employees and thus high employee turnover.

The recruitment process can be carried out by an internal team or be outsourced to professionals. Either way, the goal should be to end up with a diverse talent pool who are willing to go down the start-up ups and downs with you, constantly adding value and growing as an individual as the company grows.