Start-up businesses typically face plenty of challenges. From the idea of being planted on solid ground alone to running the business, more than a few challenges can and will arise. Among the unavoidable but not amendable challenges, finding and hiring good candidates to fill roles is one of the most pivotal and most daunting.
Before you get down on your discovery process, your SWOT analysis for your marketing strategies, your web design approach, and even your interior office design, you must actively choose the right people for the job.
Many start-ups and SMEs struggle with hiring new employees, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While it might seem simple enough, more innovative hiring equates to better and seamless business operations. And as overwhelming as it can be for small businesses, understanding these challenges help entrepreneurs get a better grasp of the whole process.
In that regard, here is a list of the four most significant and most common hiring problems faced by business owners:
1. Sorting Good Apples from Bad Ones
A great leader instead interviews a hundred people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person for the role. Finding and hiring a good candidate takes hard work, strategy, and an in-depth understanding of the job description. There are no tricks.
Dealing with hiring the wrong talent is not always pleasant, and avoiding this dilemma is be your best chance of getting out of this mess. Sort the good apples from the bad ones as early as their first interview. You can set guidelines for your HR team or hire a third-party recruitment firm to do the screening for you. In any case, spending at least a week or two on each candidate is already enough for owners to decide which CVs to keep and shred.
2. Going for the Cost-Effective Choice
Anyone can teach and learn skills—that’s true. However, skills and qualifications to help you make your visions come to fruition are paramount, especially when you are still making a name for yourself. Going for the cheaper candidate might sound okay, but it is a risk you need to consider. The right people for your core team should possess the same passion and qualities as you. One weak link and the foundation is not strong enough.
Cost-effectiveness is out of the equation when you are a start-up or an SME. Select employees based on best fit and qualifications, or risk possible inadequacies that might cost you more.
3. Manual Hiring Process
Manual processes might give you a better grip on everything, but it also results in counterproductivity. Meanwhile, modern recruiters can find and hire qualified candidates out there without wasting their energies with endless spreadsheets by combining sourcing and job posting tools.
Going manual in your hiring process already means longer hiring time, putting pressure on the hiring manager. This practice creates a funnel and a lag to progress. The failure to utilize tools such as an applicant tracking system (ATS) for efficiency costs you more than you are saving when you think you are.
4. Taking on the Talent Acquisition Mantle
One main challenge of small businesses is that they are small. For this reason, business owners tend to take on the responsibility of reviewing résumés and screening applicants themselves. When you wear too many hats, so will your employees, and the main focus of your business operations will shift as you do.
While being at the helm yourself sets a clear direction of the hiring process, you might leave more critical aspects of your operations vulnerable. Having a clear and concise job description from you should already do the job. Those must remain consistent for better and smoother operations.
It is quite tricky for every small business owner to delve into everything in running the operations, from recruitment to sales and even web development. Even more, some might forget the grave importance of not wearing too many hats and implementing just a simple and more streamlined hiring practice.
As a business leader, you need to decide on your company’s lifeline, especially during trying times as now. Without qualified professionals to do the tasks you need for your start-up, everything might end up down the bin. Keep in mind that you need a good match between people, skills, and job description.
Consider investing in a recruitment firm that can help you sort bad apples and assure you quality and pre-screened candidates. Also, remember that the cheapest candidate might not be the best one, so focus on their character. Lastly, don’t wear yourself out wearing too many hats. You’ll be better off if you hand this responsibility to a dedicated recruitment team. While it might cost your company more, being upfront to acknowledge these existing challenges will pay off in the long run.