In our last article at Silverton HR, we covered a little of the challenge and opportunity presented by startup HR and getting it right (Why HR is needed from day one for a Startup). A critical part of startup HR is startup recruitment. A small but vital team can only grow effectively if the best match is made in a new hire. Bringing in the wrong new employees can throw a startup team so far off the rails business failure ensues. In contrast, the perfect new hire can add an exponential amount to a team dynamic.
As per McKinsey, a study of 600,000 researchers, entertainers, politicians and athletes found high performers are 400% more productive than average ones. A study of the relationship between quality of talent and business performance found the result to be “drastic.” This increase in productivity, of the right hire, rises with job complexity:
“Managers, software developers, and the like – high performers are an astounding 800% more productive.”
Apple’s Steve Jobs, talking about the importance of the right talent, said:
“Go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.”
Recruitment, done right, is time intensive. From preparing contracts, offers, and job descriptions through to writing adverts, and processing responses, the recruitment process takes hours and any skimping or impulsive decision-making during the process could miss the perfect hire. It’s also stressful for existing team members. And, if you are recruiting in an industry where there is a skills gap, job advertising costs will be higher as will be the opportunity cost of an empty vacancy when recruitment takes time.
Andrew Stoe, Head of Talent at popular workflow and collaboration platform Asana, says choosing a specific type of recruiter can help turn a company into a “recruiting machine.” Stoe says:
“If you’re a founder and you’re looking for a great startup recruiter, you want to find someone who has the ambition to really build a company.”
He explains that startup recruiters have a certain skill set and that if they really have the drive to help a startup succeed and are a great recruiter then:
“They’ll want to know everything that’s going on within the company, from the product roadmap, sales numbers and metrics to the history on each employee and why they joined your company.”
Stoe believes a recruiter’s enthusiasm “will come through,” to new hires and that the ideal time to contract a startup recruiter is once a company surpasses 15 employees. He says founders should still be involved but they can take advantage of the economies of scale a startup recruiter benefits from.
Specialist startup recruiters are experts, have access to a pool of candidates, the ability to headhunt, and the knowledge and breadth to discover and lever the best places to advertise for the most capable talent.
No matter how many employees an infant company has, a startup recruiter has the dedicated time to search, match, and assess candidates. For startup founders and CEOs this clears all important time to concentrate on critical revenue generation.