LONDON – When you conceive a business idea and begin to build a startup around it, your initial thoughts envisage the success of the startup in the context of your personal drive for the idea to succeed. However, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to do everything that needs to be done on your own. At some point, you’ll have to hire workers.
Online employee scheduling software such as Humanity are powerful tools that ensure you efficiently manage your employees and make the most of their skills. However, the capability of such software won’t be useful if the hiring process is flawed. The following is a look at the most common mistakes startup founders makes when hiring.
1. Hiring to Beat a Deadline
For a founder, launching the startup is accompanied by palpable excitement. There’s a strong urge to get things moving quickly. This enthusiasm while vital can inadvertently push the entrepreneur to do things hastily including hiring. Any such rush is often self-imposed, unnecessary and counterproductive.
Do not hire someone simply because you are desperate to fill a position. You’ll be better served slowing things down, taking a step back and only settling for individuals who will perform the job as per your expectations. Anything less than that will be disastrous for the business from the get-go.
2. Limiting Your Choices to a Payroll Budget
Budgets are vital especially for bootstrapped startups where there’s a need to be conservative about spending. Nevertheless, budgets can be needlessly stifling. When you advertise for a role, always keep an open mind. If the person who satisfies all job requirements asks for a salary that’s above what you were ready to spend, don’t just dismiss them.
Consider negotiating to see whether you can come to a mutually acceptable compromise. If you cannot agree on the salary, find out what benefits you can offer as an additional incentive. Shares in the company, generous performance bonuses and telecommuting options are just some of the perks that can win over great talent.
3. Prioritizing Resume Over Attitude
The power of a great attitude cannot be overemphasized. Likewise, bad attitudes are underrated. When we think about employees with a terrible attitude, we often see the crux of the problem being such persons’ inability to drive the company’s agenda. But there’s something about a poor attitude that it is even worse than poor performance.
A bad attitude is like an infectious illness. It can start with one person and spread across the entire organization. It simultaneously demoralizes other employees who start to think their efforts are in vain if one of their colleagues will eventually drop the ball.
Ergo, give greater consideration to a good attitude over an impressive CV. Skills can be taught. It takes a far greater effort to correct a bad attitude and even such effort rarely succeeds.
4. Hiring Close Friends
There are quite a number of famous businesses founded by close friends that are successful today. However, you should consider this the exception and not the norm. It may sound convenient and logical to trust close friends with pursuing your vision with as much passion as you would. Yet, this is where it often gets complicated.
It’s hard to read the riot act to someone close to you. It’s more difficult to fire them. You’ll also feel compelled to believe them whenever their narrative of events differs from that of another employee. The failure to make tough decisions necessary to grow the startup eventually ends in pain for both the business and personal relationships. Many previously impregnable friendships have been destroyed on the altar of business partnership.
When it comes to startup success, the quality of your team cannot be overemphasized. Spare no effort in making the right hiring decisions.
