If you operate a startup, you already know that recruiting for startups can be challenging and rewarding. You have the opportunity to attract top talent to help you grow your company from the ground floor, with a chance to disrupt industries in the best way possible. Conversely, there’s also more risk coming to a startup than there is for a more traditional company, which can create an imbalance in candidates’ minds when considering a startup as their new place of employment.
There’s no doubt that startup recruiting requires a unique approach with specific considerations that are different from other types of companies. The benefits of recruiting for startups can include innovation and flexibility, but only if you’re prepared for the additional challenges that come with it. This post will discuss how to overcome these challenges and get the most out of your startup recruiting plan.
What are some startup recruiting best practices?
First off, the reality: startups are different from other, more traditional companies in many ways. This simple fact can impact your recruiting efforts, as you’ll need to think outside the box when it comes to attracting talent. It’s a different ballgame for startups, as they come with various advantages and challenges. There are strengths and weaknesses associated with startup recruiting, so learn to focus on the positive while mitigating the negative.
Your startup likely has a different hiring process. For example, many startups employ the “gig economy,” meaning that for some startups, employees will be hired as contractors rather than full-time employees. This is often true for startups that don’t have the infrastructure to support full-time employees with the benefits a traditional organization can provide. In this case, you need to have detailed conversations about what the company offers in terms of benefits before a candidate accepts a contractor position with them so they can weigh your options carefully before accepting or rejecting their offer.
Identify multiple recruiting sources. You’ll want to focus on both internal and external recruiting – identifying talented candidates both inside and outside your organization. You may team with a third-party vendor as a strategic recruiting partner as well.
Startups have a different culture—sometimes that means they don’t offer traditional benefits like health care coverage or paid time off while on maternity leave. If your startup doesn’t provide these benefits but your candidates still want them as part of your compensation package, make sure you talk about it upfront so everyone is clear on what each party expects from this relationship before signing anything official. Clear communication is vital to ensure candidates are well-informed and you’re presenting the holistic truth to them throughout the process.
How can you evaluate your startup recruiting plan?
As a startup, you need to understand how well your recruiting efforts are performing. This helps you know if you need to change things or if you can continue what you’re doing. The first step is building a recruiting plan for your startup, and here’s how you can evaluate the success of that plan.
First, determine how you can measure your success. You should establish metrics and recruiting KPIs (key performance indicators) before launching your plan. Set goals and track them regularly to ensure your plan is progressing as expected. Your metrics should align with your goals, which also align with the overarching strategy and tactics you use to achieve those goals. For example, one strategy your recruiting plan could include would be using job boards for external candidate sourcing. The tactic you use to support that strategy would be identifying specific recruiting sources online (AngelList, LinkedIn, etc.) that are good for startup recruiting and target those.
You’ll also have to take a look at your budget to understand what kind of resources you can dedicate to recruiting. Anywhere you can team with a services provider, you’ll want to do that – recruiting is much more difficult when you don’t have the right tools in place to help you optimize your plan.
Once you’ve mapped out your recruiting plan, evaluate the strategy. It’s also an excellent time to ask if you have the right recruiting team in place. Does everyone understand their role and how they fit into your organization’s recruiting process? Do you handle recruiting internally or is it outsourced? If it’s outsourced, do the recruiters understand your mission and organization? Also, determine whether or not your recruiting team can effectively do their jobs while working with others on a team, as they’ll need to collaborate and communicate to be successful.
Finally, analyze past performance. Look at employee retention rates to see patterns in who stays or leaves. If you find those employees who left had specific characteristics (for example, they left for higher pay or were unfulfilled by their work), then consider what your recruiting team could have done differently for them to stay with your company longer. It also helps to examine what your startup can do to itself to drive up retention rates.
Analyzing your recruiting efforts in great detail is the best way to determine how to improve your recruiting process.
What are the unique challenges of recruiting for startups?
Startups offer a lot in the way of possibilities for explosive growth. They also provide a ton of risk in many cases. Recruiting for startups is different from recruiting for established companies due to this risk. There’s no way around it – when selling your startup to candidates, you have to find a way to overcome this reality with a well-developed pitch that accentuates your company’s benefits. Even if you do, most candidates will understand there’s some degree of risk involved with joining a startup – particularly one that has yet to prove itself over a long period of time.
Another major challenge is that startups are often small, with little to no resources on hand to help them recruit. To optimize their limited resources, they need to be flexible in their hiring practices and ability to adapt quickly. This is true whether they handle recruiting in-house or through a third party.
You often find startups in a technically complex field, such as software as a service or application development. Because of this, it can be difficult for non-technical recruiters to convey the company’s unique selling points to candidates. They need to be able to accurately describe what the company does and what role the new candidate will play. For some startups, that can be challenging.
What are some of the advantages of recruiting for startups?
Now onto the advantages of recruiting for a startup. Yes, it can be challenging, but there are also some hidden (and other not-so-hidden) advantages to compelling candidates to join your startup.
For one, startups have a lot of flexibility. They often don’t have voluminous organizations with layers upon layers of decision-makers. The chain of command at a startup is usually lean, whereas more well-established institutions have more people to sign-off on a hiring decision. This is ultimately better and more attractive for candidates – most people would much rather limit the number of interviews without having to talk to numerous people as part of a long, drawn-out process.
Another advantage is that startups can grow quickly. Many times, startups have more flexibility in the type of compensation package they can offer due to necessity. This is where many startups offer equity as an incentive for people joining the organization on the ground floor. When startups grow quickly, this equity has the opportunity to expand the new hire’s compensation significantly well past what they’d earn in a more traditional role.
Additionally, startups can often be more innovative than more traditional corporations. They usually feature a more collegial, collaborative atmosphere in which the quality of ideas is valued over an individual’s title or rank. They focus on outcomes rather than outputs, which will be music to the ears of talented candidates who thrive on being top performers.
Startups can be more agile. They often have the ability to spin up quickly to tackle a problem or provide a solution. Many aren’t bogged down by the bureaucracy observed in a standard corporate environment. The tendency to move fast and break things promotes a much more relaxed work atmosphere in which employees can feel more freedom.
Above all else, startups tend to embrace a spirit of collaboration and communication not often seen in traditional businesses and organizations. This leads to a greater sense of community throughout the company. It also leads to a company culture that optimizes transparency. Employees value this kind of honest approach.
How to communicate the advantages of working at a startup to your candidates
The bottom line is that recruiting for startups can be challenging but also very rewarding. Startups are a unique breed of company that have some distinct advantages over other types of companies. It’s better to lean into these advantages rather than focus on the drawbacks. When you’re communicating with your candidates, be sure to highlight the numerous reasons why they’d want to work for you. They’re no doubt aware of the challenges. You can present those too in the name of transparency, but keep your attention focused on the benefits of them joining your team.
It’s also integral to keep a consistent line of communication open with your candidates, tracking the communication chain with them. Ensure they are followed up with for frequent updates, even if there’s no movement. Communication allows your candidates to feel valued, which will stand out as another benefit of working at a startup. They won’t feel like a cog in a corporate machine but like actual people.
Startups are more flexible and agile than established corporations, making them better equipped to grow and expand quickly. This flexibility can be attractive to competent, talented, hard-working candidates who want to build something – the type of candidate you want working for you. Startups are also places where innovation is encouraged and creativity flourishes — qualities that make working at a startup an exciting experience. When your organization thrives on creative individuals bringing good ideas to the table, and you’re able to pair that up with innovative candidates, it leads to a harmonious situation in which you identify the right people for your team. Despite the challenges of working for a startup, if you place the right people, they should enjoy the challenge.
The key to bringing in the right candidates is superior communication. Being honest and open about the state of your startup, as well as about your ambitious goals for the future, will attract the type of candidate that will succeed with you.
Don’t let the challenges of startup recruiting dissuade you from putting forth your best effort
Yes, recruiting for startups can indeed be a tricky business. The good news is that while it is hard to find great talent, your competitors are facing the same challenges as you. That’s why it’s critical to ensure your recruiting efforts are well-organized and you can make a credible pitch to candidates as to why they should come to your team. By presenting the advantages of working for a startup, and your startup in particular, you can convince more talented people to join.
As a startup, you have advantages. Use them and communicate them to your candidates. Embrace what makes your company different from more traditional ones and look for people that hold the same values as you. You’re more likely to draw in candidates that want to work hard and build something alongside you and your colleagues.
It’s also essential to give your own company an honest assessment, as startups often have fewer resources to dedicate to recruiting than companies with more infrastructure. They have smaller recruiting teams (if they have one at all) and, sometimes, less funding to allocate. Partnering with a recruiting platform that can provide full life cycle recruiting solutions can bridge that gap.
Comeet is that partner. Our platform offers a host of recruiting services that can help you optimize your recruiting efficiency to save time and money while attracting the best candidates. For more on how we can help supercharge your recruiting, contact us today.
