Understand Your Hiring Challenges
For every business, there is a different hiring challenge. Many companies are struggling with the effects of The Great Resignation. Even though great candidates have left previous positions, there are still more open jobs than job seekers. But that's only the tip of the iceberg.
When your company is in growth mode, there are some common hiring challenges to keep in mind, including:
- Lack of training for first-time employees, leading to turnover
- Inability to delegate tasks based on previous experience of doing it all
- Finding the right employees able to grow with the company
- Lack of funds based on start-up costs
These are common problems, but that doesn't mean they have to prevent you from hiring great candidates. Let's look at the steps you can embrace to grow your business through top talent.
If you've been in start-up mode, you may not have thought about how to approach hiring. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who are used to doing it all. But there are a few ways to evaluate your hiring needs.
Start by looking at the tasks that you can no longer handle on your own. For example, it could be marketing, accounting, or customer service. Start by channelling your energy into hiring for the most critical roles. If you've never hired or the job itself before, effectively hiring can be challenging but not impossible. If you cannot work with an outside recruiter, make sure you cover your other bases. For example, always thoroughly check references or tap into your extended network.
Identify Long Term Goals
Covering immediate needs is only part of the process. Next, you'll need to begin to identify your long-term goals. To ramp up effectively, what roles will you need to hire for and when? To determine the strategy, consider these steps:
- Establish goals for the next ten years
- Prioritize your goals
- Break each long-term goal into short-term objectives
- Track goals regularly to readjust as necessary
Plan Your Timeline
We are all only human, so expecting everything to start all at once is impossible. It's essential to create a timeline to help achieve your growth objectives. Setting goals also requires determining how realistic they are and when they can be accomplished.
Start by determining an end date and then plan backwards from there. Is it realistic to go through all the steps to hire a qualified employee by your deadline? Once you begin your search and collect resumes, you'll also need to determine when to stop looking for talent. It's easy to fall into continuously expecting something better, but many business owners have missed out on top talent by not acting fast. Set a limit for how long you'll accept new applications to stop yourself from becoming overwhelmed.
The next step is scheduling interviews. Before planning something more formal, you may wish to start with a phone screen. Set a timeline for interviews so you have a target date for deciding.
Calculate Budget and Costs
Time isn't the only factor for hiring, especially for businesses in the growth stage. You also need to understand your budget and costs. Where some entrepreneurs struggle is miscalculating the difference between salary and hiring costs.
The standard calculation is that hiring costs can be 1.4 times the new employee's salary. This applies to the actual costs of the hiring process, including advertising and resume review, and the business cost of not having someone in that role.
Review Companies in the Next Stage of Growth
Some of the best advice you'll receive is from companies who have been where you are. Review companies in the next stage of growth from you to see how they got there, what goals they set, and how you can implement some of the processes that worked. Reach out to these business owners and talk to them about mentorship. As long as they are not a direct competitor, most are happy to pass on what they've learned.
Sometimes the best information you'll get is what didn't work for them so that you can adjust accordingly.
Establish a Hiring Process
While a typical recruitment process can be broken down into simple steps, there is more to the experience that will help you hire top talent.
Creating a personalized approach to hiring will position your company as a great place to work, which is critical while you're in growth mode. Simple steps can include:
- Great job descriptions
- Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Solid communication
- Providing feedback
- An easy-to-use online application
- Great onboarding
Source Passive Candidates
It's important to know that your top candidates may not even be currently looking for a new position. 70% of the global workforce are passive candidates. This means they aren't actively searching for new jobs but would consider changing careers given the right opportunity.
As you're positioned for growth within your start-up environment, finding passive candidates might be a great strategy. Allowing someone to make a difference in your organization may be a great way to bring talent on board.
Conclusion: Invest in Technology
Of course, we live in a world connected by technology, and there is no reason to reinvent the wheel when you're beginning your hiring process. As you grow, having technology in place to enhance your experience will be one of your most significant investments.
You can use technology to assess top talent for your company as you grow. An applicant tracking system can provide you with additional insights as you search for candidates who are a match for the skills and background of each job.
With more competition for top talent, it pays for companies to consider all their advantages and the use of tools to assist in the quest to find talent. HireHive helps busy people hire great people. By having your entire recruitment process all in one place, you can post jobs, streamline your online application process, improve the candidate experience, and tap into vast global networks.
