Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire and connect entrepreneurs. I attended the APAC StartUp Grind Conference in Melbourne in December last year.
It was inspiring to see so many talented founders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and future of work advocates all in one place.
Given my focus and passion for recruitment and talent acquisition, I wanted to share my thoughts on the conference from this lense.
People can make or break your company in the early days of your start up or small business. Early on, everything matters.
Here are some of my recruitment and talent acquisition take outs plus some thoughts on how to build a compelling and effective recruitment and talent acquisition strategies that are sure to fast track your people capability and company success.
Recruitment and Talent Acquisition trends
Here are some of the key themes I observed at the Startup Grind Asia Pacific (Melbourne, Australia) conference:
Observation 1: Founders vet, recruit, support and nurture any one who is employed by the company.
A ridiculous amount of work, money, time and energy goes into getting a company up and running. Of course, you want to hire people who will nurture and develop the company as much as you do.
Founders play a significant role in every part of the recruitment process and talent acquisition strategy.
Observation 2: Founders remain intimately involved in the recruitment of all new employees, no matter the role they will play in the company.
The majority of founders are involved in every interview before hiring a new starter. In fact, many vet every resume that comes to the company.
Observation 3: Founders attribute a large part of the success of their start up to those they have hand picked.
Founders spoke with passion at the conference about the significant impact talented individuals play in the success of their company
Observation 4: Finding talented employees is a very challenging task.
Many founders feel restricted by the time they have available to recruit. Some even believe they cannot compete with larger, well known companies when it comes to attracting top talent. Universally, founders share the sentiment that finding talent is hard work!
Observation 5: A commitment to building a positive culture in a start up, allows employees to thrive.
A positive company culture is essential for employee retention, business growth and success.
It was pleasing to hear that many founders hire for diversity. With diversity of opinion, race, personality type and working style (amongst other things,) comes diversity of ideas. It is also proven to drive greater company performance.
In addition, hiring for passion, authenticity and a desire to be part of something bigger than themselves, make for exceptional start up employees.
Observation 6: Founders typically find that employees who thrive in building start ups LOVE a challenge.
Many employees love the challenge of getting involved at the grass roots phase of a company – they are willing and able to roll their sleeves up to get things done. They are not afraid to share new ideas and take initiative.
Observation 7: Founders recognise there is a time to step back from vetting all resumes and meeting every applicant to help their company’s to thrive further.
There comes a time when founders reach a level of company growth that requires them to focus on other aspects of their company to speed track growth. It can be very hard to let go.
One of the largest concerns for founders is that others won’t be able to articulate company vision and the value of working with your company.
Observation 8: Founders are so busy spinning multiple plates, that building a talent acquisition strategy is near impossible to add to the mix.
Talent acquisition strategies take time to develop and implement. The strategy addresses your longer-term people needs to meet your company’s growth strategy.
Throw in the fact that company viability may still be hanging in the balance, means it is may be considered a non-critical task for the time being. This means that there is a mad scramble to source exceptional talent once your company starts to grow…quickly!
Closing comments – Taking your recruitment and talent acquisition strategies to the next level.
There is no doubt that human capital is essential for company growth. With unprecedented numbers of startups forming, there will no doubt be a global shortage and fierce competition for securing the very best talent to help your company grow.
Stay tuned for a detailed report outlining a plethora of strategies to improve your recruitment and talent acquisition approach. Create talent sourcing solutions that are more efficient, professional and infinitely more engaging – your company success depends on it.