Hiring Strategies
The Indian startup ecosystem is among the most fascinating ones in the world. A country with a billion brilliant minds has birthed startups that have become the greatest solutions and service-providing corporations.
According to a survey, the Indian startup ecosystem is the 3rd largest in the world with a 12-15% YoY growth rate. Among the 50,000 startups that commenced operations in 2018 around 9,300 belonged to the tech sector.
When looked at from a hiring perspective, these numbers seem outright daunting as a single tech startup has to compete with 9,299 others to acquire talent that adds value to its growth. The drastic shortfall of talents pushes startups to take measures like offer high salaries and outsource jobs.
What's the solution?
Well. Of course hiring, but how are you planning to beat the other companies to get the best talent there is. This is where you spend time learning about hiring strategies.
What is a hiring strategy?
In a nutshell, it is a plan that a company prepares to decide upon measures that it has to take for identifying, recruiting, retaining talent, and hiring the right people.
A well-planned strategy involves using different ways that a company can attract candidates which includes portraying healthy work culture, creating specific roles, and paying handsome salaries.
Is it important to have a hiring strategy?
In today’s time, it can be fair to compare hiring to mining. As both of them are time-consuming and the results vary every time. However, a strategic approach sets you in a direction where you can spend less time and resources to get favorable results.
Startups who enter the hiring bubble have less to no idea of hiring works. Due to this, they end up hiring people who might not be a good match for the company or pay thousands and lakhs just to get one resource that makes it worthwhile.
So the answer is, Yes. It is very important to have a hiring strategy.
Key factors to include in a hiring strategy
As mentioned above, a hiring strategy consists of many different aspects and the combination of tools and tactics depends on the kind of approach you wish to take towards hiring. To get started we have listed some of the essentials that you need to include in your hiring strategy.
Drop the conventional approach
We are in the year 2022 and sadly most startups follow hiring processes that were effective in 2005s and 2010s. Inevitably, these processes don’t bear great results, and companies miss out on employees with great potential.
One of the common mistakes that founders make with this approach is judging candidates by their resumes. Resumes are just an introduction to a candidate’s professional and academic career. Instead, the best way to gauge a candidate’s caliber is to conduct an interview and give them a test.
Build a talent pool
This is among the key steps of a hiring strategy. A talent pool helps you to get an indication about many things including the kind of people you’re able to attract with your hiring ads.
What is a talent pool?
It is a database that consists of information on people who areÂ
- Interested in joining your company
- Candidates who haven’t applied yet but could possibly apply in the future
- Candidates who applied but didn’t get the job
- Candidates who were not qualified but fit the company’s culture
Maintaining a talent pool comes with a lot of benefits, here are some of them:
- A reaching point for passive candidates: Candidates who are interested but to join your company but cannot apply due to lack of openings or prior commitments. It also works as a great way for passive candidates to stay updated with hiring news.
- Helps in planning for the long-term: A talent pool saves the information of candidates who tried to apply for your company. Some of them might also comprise experienced professionals. You can approach them later when you feel it is necessary.
- Creates a positive employer image: The talent pool also lets you show the recent events and news about your company which can have a significant impact on the applicants.
Create a peer-to-peer network
Companies around the world follow the same process of outsourcing their hirings to an HR company. While there is no harm in doing so, the efficiency of this process is questionable as most hiring companies find candidates from job portals without conducting any background or reference checks.
Therefore, it is better to take a peer-to-peer hiring approach which is also what we do at Anzy Global. The process takes time but in the end, you end up with a candidate who fits your company the best.
There are many ways to create a peer-to-peer network of your own. The most common one is reaching out to your friends and ex-colleagues, and asking them to recommend good employees.
The second option might seem like a slow process but it has great potential i.e. through social media platforms.
You can reach out to people on platforms like LinkedIn, Quora, Twitter, Facebook, etc. by sharing your job postings and requirements. This can also help you create an employer image among other employers and passive candidates.
Work on your employer brand and EVP
Employer Brand is the image your company portrays in the hiring world. There are different factors that combine to form a brand image. These factors enable a candidate to choose between another alternative and your company.
Just like EB, your company’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is equally important. EVP is the commitments you make to the candidates. All the benefits, salaries, rewards, etc come under EVP.
Brands that have a positive image tend to get more job applications naturally. This reduces the time and money you have to spend while hiring.
EVPs on the other hand, convince employees to work for your company and say good things about it, giving momentum to word-of-mouth marketing.
Get an applicant tracking system
Application Tracking Systems are great for companies who are in the hiring phase as this software allows you to post jobs and find candidates automatically. With a single click, you can post your job ads on multiple websites, sort applicants, and schedule interviews.
There are many application tracking systems available which is why it is important to find the tracking system that matches your requirements and budgets.
Reach out to generation Z
While Millenials make up for most of the experienced workforce, Generation Z is more knowledgeable and advanced. They basically grew up around technology that ushered the world into a new era. Also, Generation Z candidates tend to be more motivated than Millenials.
The best place to find good Gen Z candidates are social media platforms. You can post ads on Instagram and Twitter to connect with them. Also, Gen Z candidates make good interns and motivated freshers that will be willing to stay with your company for a long time.
Final thoughts!
Your hiring strategy depends on the kind of situation your company is going through. If you’re just starting out you can either hold your plans till you find the right team or hire good candidates as you go along. But remember, hiring takes time and good candidates are really scarce. If most of your time goes in building the business, you can contact us to take control of the hiring process and find the candidates that work best for your company.
