Scaling Start-Ups

Bad hires, bottlenecks and unnecessary costs

One of the biggest challenges for any start-up is scaling the workforce. It can feel like there is no perfect time to recruit new hires. A time when there is both available funds for additional salaries and the capacity of hiring managers to take applicants through the interview process. Not forgetting the cost of promoting the role, the interview process itself, and inevitable delays in the internal approval process.

James Full, the Team Lead for Functional Development & Infrastructure, discusses the bottlenecks faced by scaling start-ups and how they can streamline processes, saving time and money…

The cost of meetings

“If the price tag for a 30-minute meeting with three employees ranges from £540-£1230, going up to £1540 if a C-suite executive is involved, it’s easy to see how having a 3-stage process containing 1 hour and 2-hour interviews with a panel of executive and non-executive employees can easily amount to circa £5000 per interview.

“The first thing I would recommend is taking the quality over quantity approach. Instead of screening 10-15 candidates, hoping for a needle in a haystack, aim to have all stakeholders and hiring managers on the same page when it comes to requirements. This will create a more specific understanding of what kind of applicant is needed, cutting 10-15 candidates in the process down to 4-6 and then hiring one of them.

“This is why choosing an agency is a great way to save money. By correlating all the stakeholders and hiring managers requirements, aligning with company culture and values, an agency can then confidently conduct screening calls, only sending through applicants that are perfect for the role.”

What about sourcing candidates?

“Sourcing candidates for start-ups can also be challenging for many reasons. If the company is yet to solidify the office-culture and values, it can be hard to find an applicant based on culture fit. Some people also prefer to work for large-global corporations with less accountability. The right person should see the challenges of a start-up as an exciting prospect to get stuck into. There are often more hours required, unpolished processes and far more accountability within start-ups, causing an increased workload. However, this is the perspective of a candidate that ultimately shouldn’t be applying for a job at a start-up.

“The flip side is that you can be part of the company journey, with potentially lucrative equity packages to work towards, along with the ability to establish yourself as a critical employee early on. This will open endless amounts of growth opportunities. There is also a real case to be made when it comes to having a much more personally-driven business, with more understanding and transparency ingrained in the culture. The key is to focus on these positives and live and breathe them during the scaling process. These are the company values and will inevitably create a positive culture.”

3 reasons to use a recruitment partner

1. A streamlined approach to recruitment. Quality over quantity of candidates and taking the screening process off the plates of key stakeholders.
2. Aligning with the company culture and acting as an extension of the brand, bringing a passionate representation of the business to the market.
3. Formula offers insightful, honest market information and genuine recruitment consultancy when it comes to shaping your growth strategy. It’s important to identify the right time to start scaling your business. This time should be before your teams reach maximum capacity and don’t have the bandwidth to invest in the interview process.

Final comments…

“We pride ourselves on being the good guys the recruitment industry. We understand how important culture and transparency can be, and immersing ourselves in this will allow a seamless partnership to make hiring easier and way more successful. Our service isn’t as shallow as just finding someone to hire, it’s about shaping a business with the tools and processes to grow sustainably in short and long-term future.”

Get in touch with James to discuss how Formula can scale your business.

0203 940 7464 | james@formularecruitment.co.uk

Written by James Full, Team Lead