Getting the right team together to work for your startup business is absolutely essential. The people that you hire can make or break your business, so it’s important to put a lot of thought into making sure that you are able to not only attract but also retain the top talent. Ideally, you will want to put together a team of dedicated professionals who are passionate about the industry that you work in and ready to hit the ground running to propel your business to success. Here are some suggestions that you might find useful when putting together the perfect team.
Determine the Hours You Need Somebody to Work for You
Many startups operate on a low budget, so consider whether you need a team that works for you full-time, part-time, or a combination of both. You should also think about whether you want to hire employees or take advantage of the gig economy for some roles, where you can pay a professional per job that they do for you, rather than an hourly or monthly wage. You should also consider how much you can afford to pay your team and ensure that the salary reflects the kind of experience and skills that you want. It is usually better to pay one highly experienced, dedicated professional more compared to paying several less experienced team members a low wage.
Consider Hiring Remote Workers
Whether you work with freelancers or hire employees who work from home, giving people the option to work remotely can work very well for your startup. Some employees might not need to be physically present in the office to do their job, and providing them with the option to work from home could make your startup a more attractive option for the top talent. And, you will also be able to choose from a wider talent pool of professionals since you will not need to restrict yourself to recruiting from the local area only.
Conduct Group Interviews
As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work – and conducting group interviews as well as one-to-one conversations with any potential new hires will allow you to get a better idea of how they perform in a team setting. You might want to present your team with creative tasks to complete in a certain amount of time, which will also help you determine how well certain candidates do when it comes to being innovative and creative, as well as working under pressure and meeting deadlines.
Ask for References
Whether you are taking on remote employees or hiring a team who will be based at the office, it’s important to always ask for references from previous employers. A previous employer can help with a clearer picture of what to expect from the employee in a day-to-day workplace setting, rather than simply going by what their resume says and what they are like when they are on their best behavior in an interview.
Conduct Background Checks
The last thing that you want is for your startup to be associated with somebody who has an unsavory past or a history of problematic behavior in the workplace. For your peace of mind, it’s worth running a background check on all your potential new hires in order to ensure that they are who they say that they are and that everything that they’ve told you adds up. You can run a background check using One Source Background; they provide you with all the tools that you need to clarify everything that an employee has told you about factors such as their education history and criminal records. You can also screen for any reports of problematic workplace behavior such as employee theft or on-the-job substance misuse.
Test for Soft Skills
Don’t just focus on technical and role-specific skills when hiring. For a startup to be run well, you will need to have a team that has a strong set of soft skills between them too. Good communication, active listening, organizational and creative skills are all often absolutely imperative in startup teams. You’ll want to be surrounded by people who are able to think outside the box, come up with creative solutions to problems that your startup might face, and have the initiative to take action when needed.
Offer a Trial Period
Offering a trial period might not work for everybody, but it’s a good way to see if an employee is a good fit for your business and give you more to work on when it comes to making a decision. After the screening and interview stages, if you have a good feeling about a candidate, offer them the option to do a day of paid work for your company so that you can observe them in action and see how they get on with yourself and any other team members before you decide whether or not to offer them the job.
Choosing the right team to work for your startup can be tricky. Keep these tips in mind to ensure that you choose the right professionals.
Unnati Vaidya
Unnati Vaidya is a freelancer Content Writer and SEO generalist. She is an enthusiastic reader of Novels and a big fan of watching Sci-fi movies and seasons!