Growing companies often face recruiting challenges.  Resources devoted to growing the business can limit funding to keep pace with aggressive hiring goals.  Is it possible to hire increasing numbers of employees without budgeting additional funds?

We all know the chances of success for startup company survival are low.  There is little room for “bad hires” and multiple priorities compete for limited resources.  The good news is that, as critical as hiring is to growing start up companies, investing big dollars in the hiring process not only may not be needed but also may cause more harm than good.  Let’s understand what hiring companies are up against in the US and talk about 3 strategies to come out on top in the talent war.

Earlier this year, there were 10.8 million job openings and 5.7 million people unemployed in the US (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).  That’s right – there were almost 2 jobs open for every unemployed worker!  On that statistic alone, hiring companies should be very aware that they are in fierce competition for talent.  For startups or fast growing companies the problem is amplified by the critical nature of bringing in new expertise to the company and the great cost of not filling open roles.  While spending money engaging with recruiting firms, buying new technologies, and/or hiring additional recruiting staff may help, there may be less expensive avenues to startup success.  Here are 3 strategies to help stay ahead of the growth.  And, while all take an investment of time, they are rather inexpensive to implement.

1. Establish (and Follow!) Recruiting Standards
   • Some companies fail to realize they aren’t the only one looking for talent.  For example, looking on a popular job board, a search for “Cost Accountant” in the area I live received 193 results.  Imagine that – 193 jobs just in my city!  As a company, we may own one of those postings.  As a candidate those companies are competing for, they have 193 choices.  That’s a lot of competition.  So to stand out, start with the basics.  Have a well-formatted, informative job description.  Establish (and train everyone in the company!)  a standard recruiting process that is candidate friendly.  Move quickly through the assessment process and keep candidates informed of their status.  These are all observable activities and establish a strong reputation for the company.  And even more importantly for startups, if the company name, products, etc. are not recognizable, these factors hold great importance to establish credibility with candidates. 
2. Develop a “Time is Money” Mindset
   • There are ways to compete against large organizations with big budgets but it doesn’t come free.  The number one equalizer for smaller firms is the time/quality factor.  Investing time in developing a higher quality service to candidates will:  build company reputation, beat competitors in hiring the best candidates, and align the company on the recruiting standards established in the first point above.  Some ways to succeed:
     • Seek out lower cost career events AND devote time to reviewing candidates who have registered before the event.  Set up time to meet the best ones at the event.
     • Reduce the interview assessment process so that decision makers interview and stakeholders meet the new hire for lunch on day one.  Don’t reduce the quality of the assessment process, just keep it contained so the company can make the best decision as fast as possible.
     • It’s amazing that I have to write this.  If you want your company to stand out among others, train the recruiting team to provide feedback to candidates.  I know there are high volume roles with lots of applicants and many other good reasons why they are too busy to do this.  For startups without an applicant tracking system (ATS) it may be a challenging activity. But, if you do, you will set your company apart.
3. Seek Buy-In at all Levels of the Organization
   • Savvy candidates (the ones you want to hire) are taking notes during the interview process.  They are comparing what they heard from the recruiter and seeing if it aligns with other conversations.  They look past the mission statement posted in the lobby and observe if anyone actually talks about the principles listed in it.  They take note when the actions of a company align with the conversations.  Leaders in startup organizations (and other companies too!) constantly talk about the importance of talent.  “Hiring and retaining talent will be the key to our growth” is stated over and over again.  If this is really true, then you should have buy in when asking for “walk the walk” requests like these:
     • Ask leaders and their teams to attend hiring events so the company can interview and hire onsite.
     • Have managers and their recruiting teams block off time for interviews before the process has started.  The efficiencies created when recruiters can ask the best candidates to be available at that time is huge.
     • Ask leaders to be available for popup meetings with passive candidates.  There is no better way to get the attention of someone who may not know much about the company than to ask them if they want a 15-minute conversation to learn about the vision, culture, products, etc. directly from the president/leadership team member.  With the right investment of leadership, this opens up an entirely new potential pool of candidates who may not otherwise consider working for the company.

The great thing about aligning recruiting standards, focusing on the quality of recruiting activity, and getting the whole organization to be all-in in attracting the best talent, is that it sets the company up for future success.  Like a stick tossed into a rushing river, new hires will align to these standards, and it becomes a way of life long after startup or growth mode.  A worthy investment in return for the successful growth of your company!

If you would like to explore additional ideas on this subject, check out iSmartRecruit’s Eleven creative ways to hire top talents for your startup

Share your experiences by commenting on this article or feel free to reach out to me directly with any comment/questions.