As the tech industry continues to grow, more and more startups are entering the market. However, for cash-strapped tech startups, the process of hiring the right talent can be a daunting task. This article will provide a comprehensive guide for tech startups on how to hire the best talent while maintaining a tight budget. We will discuss the importance of setting a budget, the advantages of hiring remote workers, and the value of having a strong recruitment process. With this guide, tech startups can hire the best talent without breaking the bank.
SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) quotes Seclore CEO Vishal Gupta, saying that the gap between supply and demand for tech recruits is even more. He further says, “For the same role, there is a 30% to 50% salary increase over the last two years.”
In such a scenario, hiring in the tech industry has become a bit of a challenge. The condition is significantly impacting cash-strapped tech startups looking forward to entering the industry.
Tech startups are therefore looking for ways to make great hires in the constrained budgets they have.
Post-COVID Hiring Guide For Cash-Strapped Tech Startups
So how can you ensure that you hire the right talent by spending as little as possible? These insights could help:
1. Hire Fresh Talent
Hiring newcomers is an excellent way of saving up money. In addition, people who have just completed their bachelor’s have the willingness to learn like no other. However, big companies can often ignore them due to weak language skills, a degree from a not-so-known college, etc.
But these skills can quickly be developed with a little bit of time and patience. Talent is not always constrained by the name and fame of large institutions. You can hire freshers and enhance their skills. This benefits both the employees and the company- the employees get a chance to hone their skills, and the company receives the right tech talent without spending a hefty amount.
The best place to start looking for fresh talent is a university.
You can go straight to educational institutions and ask if they can attend their career fairs or give a career counseling session. Having contacts with universities will benefit you since you will have access to individuals looking for work. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, career fairs might no longer be happening. You can then host webinars for university students, solve their career queries, and ask them to join your tech startups.
2. Be Open To Remote Work
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about considerable changes in the way that people work. Most offices have switched to the remote mode of working. But, for a tech startup, going remote shouldn’t be much of a challenge. Most roles involve employees sitting in front of laptops and working. And this can easily be carried out at home.
Going remote has two benefits-
- it saves costs for both employees and the company
- it significantly increases the talent pool available for hire
Think about it. When you hire employees to work remotely, there are no geographical boundaries. You can hire people from any city, any legally permissible location, and ask them to begin working. Generally, recruiters hire talent only from tech hubs such as Pune, Bangalore, Gurugram, Mumbai, Hyderabad, etc. However, there is plenty of talent in smaller cities as well. When you recruit employees to work remotely, the talent pool of these smaller cities also becomes accessible.
3. Pay attention to incentives offered
The word incentive is usually associated with financial bonuses and so on. However, incentives need not be purely financial. For example, as a cash-strapped startup, you might not be able to compete with huge tech giants in terms of annual bonuses, etc.
However, you can offer different kinds of incentives.
The incentives you offer can be flexible working hours, permanent work-from-home positions, a relaxed working environment, more authority in their role, etc. But, did you know, according to Harris Group research, 72 per cent of Millennials value “experiences” over “things?”
Just be creative and market your incentives well.
4. Upskill your employees instead of hiring new
In upskilling, you provide your current employees with advanced skills through training and additional education in order to enable them to take on a variety of duties.
When applicable, this may be an option, and you may even be able to avoid hiring new talent and making further investments.
You may need to change the employee’s department and transfer them to the one where they are needed more. In its place, an employee on another team can perform the exact same role after undergoing some training.
5. Know what to look for
Don’t make the mistake of only paying attention to the technical skillset of candidates. An employee with great skills but a poor attitude will harm your startup and create problems later. Of course, you can still instill a few technical skills in your employees, but it is almost impossible to fix a bad attitude. Hence, if someone has a decent knowledge of their field and is willing to learn more and contribute to your startup, go ahead and hire them.
Unfortunately, as per a study by LeadershipIQ, technical skills accounted for only 11% of hiring failures, and 89% of new hires failed due to a lack of emotional intelligence, unwillingness to learn, lack of motivation, temperament issues, etc.
6. Make use of the employee network for hires
Your current team members can attract eligible talents like themselves, or even better. People always socialize, and it is only apparent your team members will have connections from their past workplaces, training centers, institutions, etc. You can tap into the connections of your existing employees for new talents.
Recognizing and thanking employees for referrals is another excellent strategy to enhance morale. Also, don’t forget to acknowledge their contribution by any possible means. It could be a monetary incentive, a gift, or even an acknowledgment note from the founder.
While the pandemic has affected business severely across industries, there are still plenty of ways to hire new talents.
Hiring the right people is a crucial step for a startup. After all, these are the people who will hold important positions as the company grows.
We hope this article helped you determine how to hire technical talent without spending a hefty amount. For more such articles, check out our blog by clicking here.Â
