Learn how to recruit top candidates and attract world class talent to your brand-new business
Bonus Tactic: Stick around until the end for a fourth bonus tactic that nobody else is talking about.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably just figured out one of the biggest hurdles to getting your start-up off the ground… finding outstanding talent.
It’s probably something you didn’t worry too much about a few months ago at the MVP stage, but suddenly, the cold shower moment has arrived. Angel investors are sitting in your office sipping coffee, the bagels are almost finished, and they want in.
You’re on your way.
Now you have to fill those empty office seats (even the virtual ones) and turn your MVP into an actual product that can roll out to the public. Your desk is now stacked with projections and charts. You have a couple of start-up business books on order from Amazon, things are getting “real”.
Your next move could make or break your long-term chances of success.
If you’re not careful, you’ll run out of financial runway long before the next stage of funding takes off. It’s the reason angel investors insist on knowing the game plan for your hiring strategy.
Failure is common at this point in the start-up world, and they know it.
Talent is the growth engine that every business needs to move forward. The second you get investment, the clock is ticking, and time isn’t on your side.
Thankfully, we have your back.
Here are our three top tactics to help you through this stage of your business growth, and a bonus one at the end, so stick around.
1: KNOW WHO YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
Did you know that the average cost of a new hire in the U.S. is around $25,000? That’s twenty-five big ones, just to get one butt on one seat. Oh, and that’s just the basic costs coming top down from the government.
That doesn’t include your package of perks, stock options, beanbags, and bagels (we love a good bagel).
Having a clear avatar of what your next hire looks like will help dramatically.
Summary: Roadmap your ideal new hire and you’ll be in a better position than most other start-ups. You’ll also calm down any nervous investors.
2: GET A DEDICATED TALENT PARTNER OR LEAD
Yep, you need to hire people who hire people. You don’t have the time or even the skills to hire everyone you’ll need on your roadmap. Maybe you can spot an A+ engineer, but can you find a Product Lead?
90% of start-ups with 10 or more employees have a dedicated talent lead. That’s somebody they can turn to when the business needs more people. They also act as a safety net for poor hiring decisions.
A company can easily run into trouble by hiring more staff without figuring out who’s going to manage them or handle the H.R.
Summary: You’re great at what you do, but you don’t know what you don’t know. Get a dedicated talent lead or talent partner to handle your human resources.
3: WIDEN YOUR TALENT POOL
Company-wide buy-in to your growth strategy is another one of those things a lot of companies put on a post-it note and forget about.
Head of Talent at LinkedIn, Matt Walsh, said a recent survey suggested 60% of employees who referred another candidate, wanted an update on the hiring process.
Keeping employees in the loop when they refer someone else gives them a sense of belonging and ownership.
At the seed stage, you can easily double your squad with 3 new hires. Your company culture can shift dramatically in one week if you make a wrong turn. It’s why most companies limit employee referral to around one-third of open positions. Lack of diversity can throw company culture way off its original scope.
Summary: Recruiting from referral can work well when your company is large enough to absorb the diversity limitations of referrals. In the beginning, you need to recruit from a larger pool of talent and for that, you’ll most likely need a talent acquisition partner.
4: BONUS TACTIC – EVERY MOMENT HAPPENS ONCE
More of a heads-up than a tactic, I’ll admit, but it’s a great one nonetheless.
There’s a tendency among start-ups to “wing it” and figure it out as they go along. The idea is that you just have to keep moving forward. You can always go back and fix the mistake.
Right?
Not really.
In the book Zero To One, Peter Thiel explains that every single moment in your business will happen only once. It’s an old Heraclitus quote, but Peter is a genius, so we can forgive him. Heraclitus said, “You can only step into the same river once.”
Meaning?
Every decision is made once and once only. Even if you attempt to go back and undo that decision, it’s still a new decision. You’re going over old ground.
Microsoft isn’t Microsoft if Bill Gates starts out in 2022, it’s something completely different based on a unique set of decisions that are unique to who he is now. Likewise, every single step you take in your business today will affect tomorrow and the next day.
Getting it right the first time is crucial.
It’s why we do what we do at Emerald. You can skip the line and staff growing pains by speaking to us about your hiring needs. We deal with the issues above every day, for dozens of start-ups just like yours.
Helping you find and nurture talent as an employer of record is in our source code. We do all the heavy lifting so you can concentrate on building your business.
Talk to us today and let us take care of your hiring needs.
Our team is ready to build your team.
To find out more about how we can help your company expand globally, contact Emerald Technology.
