Today I have an guest contributor who has written a very relevant piece for us. My thanks to Michael for this excellent article.

Any startup owner will tell you that growing a company from the ground up is tiring work. One minute you’re scraping your way through restricted budgets, and the next, you’re chasing down a late delivery or brainstorming the next product upgrade. It’s a constant balancing act that isn’t for everyone.

The only way for business owners to move forward with, and achieve their goals, is to have a great team working by their side. But here’s the thing – startup businesses often have a more difficult time acquiring and retaining talent than other, more established businesses.

Still, this doesn’t mean there aren’t effective strategies your business can adopt to not only get people excited about joining your company, but also to stay passionate and committed to seeing it succeed.

Why New Businesses Often Struggle to Find the Right People

Finding new staff members for your business always comes with a set of challenges. Depending on the type of industry you’re in and the role you’re trying to fill, it takes a lot of time to find the perfect fit for your organization who will be willing to stick around for the long term. This is the same whether your business is in property management, manufacturing, IT, or food service.

For newer businesses, however, this struggle can be even harder. Here’s why:

• Low Brand Awareness – Launching a new business and gaining visibility in the market can take a bit of time. Because of this, one of the biggest hurdles is locating talented individuals when the brand is still relatively unknown. This quickly becomes a catch-22 – you need top talent to be successful, but it’s tough to attract them without an established reputation. This is especially true when going head-to-head with industry giants who can immediately offer their new employees the stability they’re likely looking for in their careers.

 

• Limited Resources – Star-tups often face a difficult financial situation out of the gate, especially when putting together staffing budgets. Hiring new employees can be a time-consuming and expensive process for businesses. It involves reviewing countless applications, conducting interviews, and onboarding new hires. Balancing these tasks on their own is difficult enough, but if an employee doesn’t work out, you need to go back to the well and repeat the lengthy process. Although working with a recruitment agency can certainly help streamline the hiring process, their fees can be prohibitive for startups operating with limited budgets.

 

• Quickly Evolving Needs – Start-up companies are regularly evolving in the early stages of development. This means that employees need to be adaptable and ready to change direction over time. While this can be a great opportunity for those who are looking for a more dynamic environment to work and to broaden their skills, it’s not the ideal situation for everyone.

How Retention Impacts Start-up Success

Young businesses often deal with significant pressure to establish themselves quickly and efficiently. Having a committed team is vital to achieving this goal. However, many startup founders are so focused on launching their own ventures that they may inadvertently neglect to support and nurture their teams.

While it’s understandable that business owners expect to see a return on their staffing investments, businesses can’t achieve sustainable growth if employees feel disengaged from the company’s mission. This can lead to high turnover rates, which quickly drains resources and can negatively impact the brand’s image.

Early employee departures can also create uncertainty among remaining team members and can make it seem like there’s “something wrong” with the business. This is why it’s essential for startup business owners to prioritize team building and actively try to create an environment that promotes more employee engagement every day.

Strategies for Keeping Your Workforce Intact

To build a strong and loyal team, it’s important to implement effective strategies.  Below are some important ways to help you find more qualified employees while also keeping them excited about staying with the organization long-term:-

1. Evaluate Your Hiring Processes

Good employee retention starts with having a smart hiring process. Building a strong team means attracting the highest caliber talent you can by using a much wider pool of qualified candidates to work with.

You can start this process by crafting more impactful job descriptions that clearly describe the role and its benefits. Avoid using generic job posting templates and instead create unique descriptions that give potential employees a solid understanding of their daily tasks and expectations and the working environment they can expect.

During interviews, you should try to look beyond just basic skills and experience. Consider the candidate’s adaptability to a startup environment as well. This means you’ll want to closely evaluate their personality, work style, and how well they might fit within your company culture.

2. Provide the Right Value to New Employees

When assembling your team, you’ll want to think of how you can create the right amount of value compared to other organizations. Because of the additional workloads common in startup environments, many younger companies find it beneficial to provide more competitive salaries and benefits to help make potential candidates feel more confident in giving an unproven company a shot.

You may also want to consider offering unique perks to differentiate your company. This could include offering stock options, allowing for flexible work arrangements, or providing generous paid time off to help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance. If your business operates in community-based industries such as restaurants or retail, consider offering perks such as free meals, discounted services, or store credit.

3. Build a Strong Company Culture

Launching a new startup gives you a unique opportunity to establish a strong and healthy company culture from the very beginning. It’s important to make it a priority to create a positive and inclusive atmosphere where each team member feels valued and respected.

While competitive salaries can certainly help with retention rates, many employees also prioritize being in a supportive and fulfilling work environment. You can help establish this by creating a shared sense of purpose and belonging with everyone in the organization, including regularly encouraging open communication and collaboration, while being sure to recognize individual and team achievements year-round.

Create a High-Performing and Loyal Team

Being successful as a startup often rests on the quality of your team. Their dedication and drive are the engines of your growth. By recognizing the importance of keeping your team engaged and implementing effective leadership strategies, you can create a loyal and inspired workforce that helps your business achieve long-term success.

 

Author Bio Below:

Michael Bollinger, a Lexington, Kentucky-based entrepreneur, has left a lasting mark on the tech and software landscape. As the founder of LegFi and File990, Michael launched PayHOA.com in 2018 after Togetherwork acquired his first two ventures.

PayHOA is an affordable community management software for homeowner associations that streamlines payments, communication, and vendor management. Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Michael finds fulfilment as a devoted husband and a loving father to his three children.