One of the main characteristics of small businesses in general and especially startups is that they usually don’t have a clear hierarchy with defined positions and obligations for all of their employees. So, what ends up happening is most of your employees, including yourself, will end up doing all and any jobs and tasks that come to your business. Because of this, making sure you hire skilled individuals who will be able to reliably handle doing more than just what their job description says is one of the keys to making sure your startup can start to grow and expand. However, will this should be somewhat apparent, knowing how to attract top talent to your startup and more importantly how to make sure you are getting the most out of them as well as just how important they can be being topics that often evade many startups. So, let’s take a look.
Attracting top talent
The first thing you should take into account is how you are going to attract top talent to your startup in the first place. Your ability to articulate the vision of your company’s direction as well as your plans for that to your potential employees is going to be the most important factor by far. There is no company that a person would like to work in more than the one that takes itself seriously and wants to achieve big things. Because of this, a good vision people can stand behind and strive for is crucial as it will give their work meaning. However, you should also remember that, as the owner, you are the de facto face of your business and as such you will have to believe in your vision and be passionate about it, as your enthusiasm will surely be the key factor that will attract the best possible employees. In fact, studies have found that 9 out of 10 people are willing to earn less money to do more meaningful work which only goes to show that giving a huge amount of money to people, no matter how talented they are, won’t make them want to work for you.
Don’t limit your search
Business owners often limit their search for top talent to high achievers in school or people with a lot of prior experience. Why there is some sense behind this, at the end of the day, you are only limiting your potential to hire top talent from sources that you otherwise wouldn’t consider. For example, around 15% of the world’s population has some form of disability, which is roughly one billion people. This means that by not wanting to hire people with disabilities you are depriving yourself of the possibility to hire some exceptional talent. On top of this, there are many added benefits of hiring people with disabilities that include building your brand image, increased employee retention and so on.
Getting the most out of your star employees
Once you’ve managed to hire some top talent you will have to make sure you give them the right environment in which their talents can fully shine. There are many ways you can achieve this, from allowing them to choose their own tasks to motivating them through rewards but by far one of the most important things that will enable your top talent to give their best is constant feedback. Maintaining a constant feedback loop will give them constant room to improve on their weaknesses and expand their skills even more, while at the same time allowing you to keep an eye on the overall status within your business. However, you should also remember to be careful and not to overburden them with obligations as they may start feeling burnt out and stop performing at their highest capacity which may cause them to leave your business.
Conclusion
Top talent is essential for the success of every business. However, it’s even more important to know how to attract it and get the most out of it. The suggestions listed here are only the basics ones but they will allow you to get started on setting the foundations for your startup’s future success. With that being said, there are only so many talented people you can hire, so what are you waiting for? Start now!
