Why Talent Acquisition is a Rising Problem in Startup Organizations
Given the accelerated expansion of specific industries, the fact that talent acquisition is currently among the top three startup challenges should come as no surprise.
According to a global study conducted by Silicon Valley Bank, the companies stated that acquiring and keeping the right talent was currently one of their biggest problems, along with scaling operations and access to equity capital.
This is exactly why we will delve a bit deeper into this rising problem of talent acquisition among startup companies and see why the devoted, eager and, most importantly, talented new recruits are so hard to find and keep on your team.
Understanding the startup hassle
Startup companies are usually so busy working on new product ideas or planning a budget to move the business forward, that the management tends to forget how attracting and retaining the right people is the most significant aspect of modern, hyper-competitive global economy. Innovation and growth could be just around the corner, but you need the right people to help you get there.
Every startup organization should have an aggressive strategic plan that goes beyond the traditional CEO and HR methods for acquiring top talents. So, let us take a look at the issue from a slightly different angle and try to figure out the core problem.
What you may be doing wrong
Every new and aspiring company has to come up against a plethora of challenges during the process of hiring new workers. Everybody wants talented, diligent, innovative, enthusiastic and hard-working people on their team, which is perfectly normal, expected even, but these people are often pretty hard to find.
The trick is to be patient, know where to look or where to look twice, as these talented and valuable team players can sometimes hide in the candidates that you dismissed right away. These are usually the candidates who, for instance, totally blew it during the interview or simply had insufficient experience in the given field. This is exactly why HR professionals need to change their tactics for tackling the much-needed talent, and learn how to avoid hiring wrong personnel by acknowledging and recognizing the potential, as well as raw experience.
One of the most widely spread issues when hiring new personnel is called “Speedy Hire.” Making rash decisions due to the lack of time or all the annoying deadlines that are knocking on your door is usually not a great idea. This way, HR representatives are making the situation even worse. Remember, looking a bit longer for the right person is always better than losing even more time in the long run by hiring the wrong one. Let’s see why.
Long-term vision rather than a spur-of-the-moment hire
Getting the right people on your team is the key for growing a successful and innovative company, and is more important than any other overall goal of your startup company. People are your largest investment. Period.
Bad, or even mediocre hires, will always result in losing money, time, and resources. Successful companies innovate past their competitors by looking at talent acquisition as a long-term war, rather than as a single, opening battle. Far too often startup businesses focus merely on the fight for customers while it should all be about the war for talent.
