Here is a fact most startup companies can agree on: great employees matter. When a company is scaling up, looking for investors, or even just getting started, employees can be the difference between success and failure. This is why the hiring process is so essential for startups and the skills gap is so troubling.
The skills shortage is a critical issue across all industry segments, but especially serious for startups operating with limited resources. Employers of all kinds are finding it harder to reach candidates with relevant skill sets for the job. According to the Job Preparedness Indicator, only 17 percent of hiring managers said job seekers are presenting the critical skills needed.
“Hiring takes time and that’s the last thing startups have,” notes Mike Santoro, President of Walker Sands Communications. “At the startup stage, you are only as strong as your weakest member. With less employees, every hire matters, because every employee is required to do so much.”
Startup employees will be the people putting in the all-nighters with you, helping you find solutions to critical problems and working as your company’s brand ambassadors. Here are some ways to jump the skills gap and find the best people:
Assess and Calibrate
In a startup, time is limited and new team members need to be able to hit the ground running. In his public relations company, Santoro puts candidates through a rigorous three-hour writing test before even scheduling an interview.
“Test their skills before you fall in love,” Santoro advises. “Just because someone has had a similar job doesn’t mean they are great at it.”
For time-strapped startups, skilled employees can be the difference between whether the company sinks or swims. So giving candidates a test drive before hiring is a good way to make sure you end up with an employee who is as impressive in the office as on paper.
Look for Fit First, Then Develop Skills
While engaging with talent, look for candidates who will fit into the company culture first and evaluate skills second. This might seem counterintuitive to closing the skills gap, but it can be essential to good startup hiring.
“Sometimes the most qualified job candidates aren’t a good cultural fit,” according to Molly Meyer, creative director for Chicago marketing company nuphoriq. “The real challenge lies in building a team that truly loves what they do and the people they do it with, because they won’t always be getting paid the same as they would at a larger company.”
If candidates have skills that can be developed, either through a training program or mentorship, your startup has just gained an employee who fits into your environment. Better yet, this employee will look forward to growing with your company and helping you achieve your mission.
“When all is said and done, you can’t teach personality, but you can teach skills,” Meyer advises.
Reward Referrals
Referrals are a great way to find the talent your organization needs. Your current employees understand the company, the challenges you face, and your startup culture. They are also unlikely to refer someone who they think would be a poor performer, as this would reflect negatively on their own judgement.
“The person referring candidates is a matchmaker that has a connection to both the candidate and the company,” notes Nicole Lindsay, founder of DiversityMBAPrep.com. “Organizations should get creative in identifying referral sources from current employees, advisors, and peer organizations.”
Startups looking to hire great new employees should look no further than their current workforce, according to Lindsay. Next-generation recruiting platforms can help leverage employee referrals like never before, making it easier for employers to keep track of referral data while incentivizing the employees and other stakeholders who help in the process. With the enterprise benefits of employee referrals, it should come as no surprise that they were the number one source of external hires in 2011.
Startups need to find the right people without having to go through the traditional search processes, which can drain precious money and resources and unnecessarily prolong the recruitment cycle. Following these simple rules, however, can help you take on the challenges of finding great candidates and be more effective in bringing the best possible team members on board.
What are some additional hints for jumping the skill gap in startup hiring? Share in the comments!
Sajjad Masud is the Co-Founder and CEO of Simplicant, a cloud-based social recruiting platform transforming talent acquisition and making enterprise-level recruiting technology accessible to companies of all sizes. Connect with Sajjad and the Simplicant team on Twitter and Facebook.
