Hiring Decisions: Why You Need Experience, Talent, and Skill in Your Startup Employees
In the formative years of your business, you must steer its growth. You are the only one who fully grasps your vision for it. Thus, it is only right that you lead the way. One of the fundamental ways to achieve that is by playing an integral role in hiring decisions.
The kind of people you hire makes a significant impact on your business’s overall growth and development. The goal, however, is not to be the startup entrepreneur that micromanages every department. Your participation mainly aims to ensure that the people you are entrusting with your vision are the right fit. So, what should you consider when making such critical choices?
Hiring Decisions: The Needs of the Business
It is advisable to take time and evaluate what your business needs in terms of staff. Especially given as most startups are often not so firmly established financially. If that is the case for yours, it is better to hire strategically as the business needs grow.
First, consider what strengths and skills you already have within the business. As you carry out interviews, look for abilities and skillsets to add value to the existing ones. Creating a diverse team increases the capacity of your business and is essential for growth.
Doing a background check is also essential to ensure your company hires people who will not jeopardize the company’s reputation or put your other employees in a dangerous situation. You can fast-track this step by outsourcing this process to a third-party service provider that can give you access to candidates’ criminal records in less than a day.
Work Experience 
Young, vibrant employees that are yearning to make their mark are an important part of any business. They keep the business in check on current trends and the social zeitgeist. Nevertheless, years of experience in a job are also an indispensable asset. There are two ways a young business can learn. You could choose to grow and learn from the mistakes you make.
Alternatively, you could hire someone who knows the lay of the land and can help you avoid rookie errors. The latter’s advantage is that it would save you time and most probably a heap of money.
An experienced employee is great for the areas where you feel green and uncertain. You could benefit from their mentorship. That said, while they have been in the business longer than you have, they should be able to follow your lead. It should be clear that their role is to provide guidance, not run the show.
The Hiring Process
You know what you’re looking for in a candidate, but how do you find them? Nowadays, job competitiveness is natural, which means you may receive thousands of applications for any given job. Your time is essential, and wasting time sifting through non-legitimate applications will not allow your startup to reach the next level.
This is where resume parsing comes in very useful; manually outsourcing the data is a thing of the past. Using resume parsing software will allow you to find the perfect candidate and give your HR department more time to deal with other vital areas of your business. If this is something you are interested in, you could check out this post detailing how to use Affinda’s software to see if this particular solution could be a good option for you.
Talent
You will know talent when you see it. Some people can poke around in your data logs or networks and trace a hack in a second. Others can tell you which parts of a watch need to be replaced by simply hearing it tick. They are just gifted to be more adept in certain areas than the average person.
Why does your business need talent? Without innovation, your business stands a very slim chance in a cutthroat market. Talented people have a unique understanding of their craft to see things differently.
Their eccentric thinking is imperative for innovation and product development. You can ask for a body of work to examine how much experience a person has in their field. That is not possible with the talent given as it is intangible. Referrals may come in handy, and you could also consider hiring them on a trial basis.
Skill
Some things have to be taught. You do not want to roll the dice with necessary business licenses and finances. Therein lies the need for skilled people that have the requisite training.
Positions involving law or accounting are the most stringent in the kind of skill they require. Due to the fees that these professions attract, engaging their services may seem too costly. Nonetheless, it is worth it. Signing bad contracts or being behind on taxes because you did not have the right advice may be your downfall. On the upside, the process of hiring skilled staff is relatively easy.
Certification and referrals can guide you in discerning whether they would be a suitable choice. You could also consider hiring a lawyer on a consulting basis than in-house. It may be cheaper. Or you might need to consider learning how to find angel investors.
Cohesiveness
Keep in mind that while you may hire your staff members individually, they will eventually have to work as a team. Collaborative workplaces have been proven to be more productive and good for staff morale in general.
To this end, cohesiveness and working well with others are characteristics you may want to be keen on. You may not be able to tell how different personalities will interact. Moreover, first impressions can be inaccurate due to nervousness. You could, nevertheless, look out for and avoid:
- Overly rigid personalities
- Poor referrals concerning teamwork
- Brash or aggressive attitudes
Hiring Decisions: Conclusion
Experience, talent, and skill are often not differentiated as they need to be. It is, however, pertinent to do so if you hope to get the most out of your employees. When you understand their strengths, you can harness them by strategically assigning particular tasks and positions.
On the other hand, finding the right people is not always easy. Your ideologies may differ, or the salary expectations of ideal interviewees could be beyond your budget. To make things more simple, sometimes it is much better to consider outsourcing the whole recruitment process. The trick is to remain persistent in your search until you find people that you are content with. Trust your gut.
