The time has finally come: you've established your company and now you need to staff it. Finding the right team members for your budding start-up can be even more daunting than it was to acquire your initial overhead capital, but it doesn't have to be! With a little bit of knowledge and careful planning, you can hire the right people to take your start-up to the top, even during the first round of hiring.
Channel Your Inner HR Pro
HR departments take their time when reviewing, selecting, interviewing, and hiring. Follow an HR hiring model and give yourself a longer window of time to find the right employees. No aspect of a business start-up should be rushed and hiring is no exception. It is important to hire great people whose positive actions will drive business growth over time.
- Know what you're looking for in an employee and stick to these standards. An HR Manager would be expected to stick to guidelines when filling a position for you. Give yourself the same restrictions and reap the benefits!
- Consider using a "hiring panel" to give an unbiased opinion of job candidates. Established businesses have the benefit of multiple seasoned team members weighing in when evaluating a candidate's readiness, skills, compatibility, and other important morale-boosting or breaking qualities.
- Let Applicants Explore a Detailed Job Description. Take your time preparing the job description so that potential applicants know exactly what is expected of them before they send their resume.
- Test Your Candidates. Applicants may talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? Implement task-based testing to ensure potential hires are as good as they seem and not too good to be true.
Keep The Full Time/In-House Team Small
One of the biggest trends in hiring is employing freelancers instead of traditional full-time employees. There are many reasons to work with freelancers as often as possible during the start-up phase and beyond.
- Freelancers lower the initial overhead costs of staffing. They do not require retirement and other benefits because they are independent contractors, not official employees of the businesses they serve.
- You pay for quality, not quantity. Where most full or part-time employees are paid by the hour, freelancers are typically paid per project. The quality of completed work can be higher and produced in a more timely manner when payment is made for the finished product rather than the time taken to produce it.
- You gain a resource for your business. Freelancers help you to save on staffing costs while gaining the invaluable experience of a professional in the field. They bring their experiences of working with many other start-ups and established businesses to your door and put this experience to work for you.
Hiring 101: Hire a Team-Member Not Just Another Employee
Your start up is your brain-child. By hiring a team that holds the company's values and is as excited about the business as you are, you ensure that your passion will be exuded through the work your employees do. Don't let bad staffing ruin what should be an exciting, rewarding time in the history of your company. Learn from the professionals who have come before you (or from your previous start-up mistakes) and hire right the first time!
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