It is essential for startups to have the right talent onboard in order to succeed. Attracting the right talent can be done through traditional sources such as job postings and recruitment agencies, but it is also important to look beyond these traditional sources and consider non-traditional sources such as social media and networking. Once the right talent has been identified the key challenge is onboarding and retaining the staff.

“First Impression is the Last Impression” is what we have heard so often, and in many ways the first few days of employee interaction will go a long way in how the employee perceives your company.

So, Onboarding is an important step. Just like User Experience, startups should focus on the process of how employees are hired. Often you hear of companies that have myriad rounds of interviews, lack of communication during the hiring process, delays in decision making and so on. Try making the process lean, communication and expectations clear and a swift decision making.

Retaining talent is one of the most important aspects of any successful business. It is essential to ensure that employees are motivated and engaged to stay with the company. One way to do this is to offer tangible benefits such as salaries, insurance and perks that are competitive with the industry. Additionally, intangible benefits such as career development, respect, inclusivity can help build a great work culture which will go a long way in helping you retain your employees. A number of studies have indicated that employees leave because of bad managers (direct managers) / management (leadership).

How can startups go about to address this challenge?

First and foremost, understand the aspect of “Human” in Human Resource Development or Human Capital Development. Organizations need to understand than an employee is beyond being an asset or liability for an organization. This means that every hiring should be well thought of, hire only if needed and not with a thought process of hire and fire attitude. If for some reasons we do see that a resource is no longer required, let look at opportunities to reskill and redeploy them.

Richard Branson, the flamboyant entrepreneur once said, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to”.

Respect is an essential element for retaining talent in any organization. Employees need to feel valued and respected in order to stay motivated and productive. This means providing them with opportunities for career growth and creating an inclusive work environment where everyone feels they belong. Investing in your employees is key to keeping them engaged and happy in their job. 

Lastly focus on resilience and succession planning. Make sure that you have employees that are cross skilled to be able to shoulder responsibilities if the occasion arises. Make sure there are neither single points of failure and or too much concentration of powers and responsibilities. This will ensure that your startup works like a well-oiled machinery and is geared for growth that it deserves.