When aiming for growth, it's not just about improving the quality of offerings, sales and marketing performance. Growth also comes (and starts) from the inside, down from the hiring process of getting more power to sustain the business.
For big corporations or organizations, unless they are looking for candidates to fill key roles, the hiring process doesn't seem to be a big problem for them. After all, they are already sitting on a huge pile of resources.
In many cases, new young candidates are in needs for a job at those places, more than the businesses need those people as employees.
But for small businesses, like startups that are just gaining traction, things are different.
Small businesses and startups may have big potential for growth and groundbreaking ideas that can change the world. But at their state, they are still fragile and most of the time, clueless. They may have the knowledge, but they simply lack the experience.
At one point or another, startup founders may find difficulties in hiring people. Not only that young startups can't promise anything 'extravagant' to their employees as incentives like their large businesses counterpart, but also that small startups have less to no experience in hiring professional people.
Furthermore, hiring process can take a lot of time and effort, and also money. Struggling to get more employees may force startups to cut corners and seek shortcuts. Careless decisions here can lead to bad hires, which may eventually translate to bad business performance.
Tawney Hughes from Google has three solutions for those small businesses to get their hiring process on track:
1. A Consistent Hiring Process
Hiring people should be consistent, and done regularly even when the business is still young.
While putting efforts into creating a defined hiring process can be cumbersome for small businesses that lack the experience, but according to Tawney, "inconsistent hiring processes lead to inconsistent results."
Having structure right from the start makes businesses more appealing to potential employees. It also makes the business more organized and professional to candidates that want to know more about the business. What's more, it also makes it easier for team members to take on the hiring process responsibly, to then use the same reference points when making final decisions.
Consistent hiring and structured organization can also help businesses to scale rapidly.
Tawney recommends businesses to follow the following aspects to avoid making expensive hiring mistakes:
- "Spend some extra time on that job description and make sure it’s understandable to someone who doesn’t know what your startup does," explained Tawney. "Also, make sure you’re really intentional about your words."
Businesses must tell a strong story about their purpose. They need to address any candidate that applies directly, by providing all the necessary information as clear as possible. Businesses also need to be specific when it comes to education, experience, and skills required for candidates to be accepted for the job.
- "Be clear about the attributes your company is hiring for, and build a rubric around these attributes," Tawney explained. This should help businesses assess many candidates' answers and compare responses fairly and consistently.
- "Use interview committees - the decision shouldn’t be in the hands of one person," insisted Tawney.
This can reduce biases, and also prevents idiosyncrasies. This should also make businesses easier to determine whether a person is a match for the role.
2. Provide Realistic Expectation
“We all think we have great intuition. We all think we should operate from and trust that ‘gut’ feeling. But, we’re so often wrong - this cannot be overstated,” said Tawney.
Businesses need to spend enough time and efforts to create job description, the expectations of the role, and the rubric. "This will ensure that you’re not operating from the ‘gut’ feeling, but operating from the realistic expectations of the role."
"Awareness is truly the first step," she continued. "Give every candidate a second glance - make sure you’re really clear on why someone isn’t the right candidate and question that word ‘fit.’ At Google, we like to think about cultural enhancement versus cultural fit."
This is like saying how the candidate can add value to the company's work environment, rather than if they can "fit" with the company.
"Of course, if someone isn’t qualified or right for your team, then don’t hire them," reminded Tawney. "You and your team should feel excited about new talent and believe they will expand and elevate the work you’re doing, fill in gaps, and enhance the culture of your team."
3. Providing End-To-End Hiring Experience
Businesses at all times, should be professional. Including when addressing someone who is clearly isn't fit for an applied job.
Sometimes, candidates are just so eager to work that they apply to as many companies they see. When these people are asked for an interview for the company, usually, they don't fit well. Most likely is because due to their lack of necessary skills or attitude.
Here, businesses need to decline them professionally. This is to make sure that the candidates in question, are getting a good experience with the company, despite not being hired.
"Even if you know from the first interview that someone is going to be a ‘no-hire’ for your company, it’s imperative to treat them with respect, clarity, and equality and create a great end-to-end hiring experience," explained Tawney. "No matter the candidate, these people will go out and talk - you want to make sure what they have to say about your company is positive."
"Every person that applies for a role within your startup can either become an ambassador for your brand or a naysayer - the power is all in your hands! You also never know, someone who mightn’t be a great fit for your team right now might be perfect for a position you’ll have open six months or a year down the road. It’s all about building a pipeline - so be intentional, respectful, and communicative throughout the hiring process for all candidates."
Conclusion
No businesses can grow without sufficient workforce that make ideas to happen.
Small businesses may sustain themselves by having only a small number of people. But when aiming for growth, hiring the best people out there is as important as creating the products that sell. No businesses shall thrive without the dedications of people spending hours each day to make business goals come true.
"At the end of the day, you’re working with humans and there are no shortcuts. Yes, hiring is a huge investment of time, but skipping steps and cutting corners can really cause tremendous problems down the road. There’s nothing more expensive than a bad hire - so it’s worth the investment of time from you and your entire team," advised Tawney