This is the second article in our Blog Carnival Series written for us by Daniella Nerea. If you want to write a blog for us just drop me a note.
Five Ways to Build a Startup That Attracts Top Talent
Recruiting isn’t easy, especially in the startup game. If you’re going to build the next unicorn, you’re gonna need talent to get you there – a lot of it. There’s two approaches you can take this. You could throw money at headhunters. Or, you could build company that’s so awesome the candidates are clambering at the doors. Think of startups like Mailchimp. Everyone knows they’re a great place to work. They swallow up top developers, growth hackers and designers – and they make it look easy. Now you can too: below, I’ve listed five different tactics that will change the way you recruit talent.
Pay attention to your employer brand
You’ve nailed product branding, now do the same with your employer branding. The same principles apply: craft a story that customers (ie candidates) will buy. It’s not just your reputation or the perks you shove at the end of a job ad – it’s a mix of your people, quirks and ambitions. That’s what talent is looking for and those people will fit your company. Every company has one, it’s just a case of bringing yours to life. In the words of Homerun: “by telling your true story, you’ll stand out in a sea of sameness.”
Start an elite recruiting unit
When you’re in early days, it’s easy for the founders to do all the recruiting themselves with a little help from their networks or LinkedIn. But as things hot up, you’ll be spending 30–50% of your time on it and once you’re past the 100 employee mark, you won’t have time for much else. You’ll have to start building out a recruiting team to do all the legwork for you. You’ll need people researching candidates, people canvassing fairs and people hitting the phones.
Launch a killer onboarding program
Reputation and word of mouth go a long way when it comes to recruitment, and it starts with employee onboarding. It’s the process of welcoming someone to your organisation, getting them set up and getting onboard with your vision. You should invest in this as early as possible. Do this, and you’ll have a strong advantage when competing for candidates – only 12% of companies bother setting up an onboarding program. You can guess where the top candidates end up working.
Create a shared vision
Companies that have a vision, that can explain why they exist other than to make money, are the ones who are going to change the world. That’s where talent is going to go. You should be work in as early as possible, in one short sentence that sets out your company mission. Too often it’s overlooked by startups, and mixed with buzzwords by larger, older businesses.
Promote perks for underrepresented employees
Too often, startups look for talent that are similar to the founders. This leads to a lack of diversity, and can put off some great candidates. You can solve this by offering perks that would appeal to underrepresented employees. For example, if you work in a male-dominated tech company, revisit your maternity policies and invest in facilities for new parents.
Daniella Nerea is a writer and content strategist working out of London. She works with businesses getting their communications up to scratch, with a specialisation in internal comms.
