The need for businesses to grow their staff strength is part of every business’s story. For young companies, especially startups that usually require a faster-than-normal growth trajectory, this is a big challenge.

Looking back at our previous articles, and through extensive research, we’ve come up with some pointers that should help any growing business.

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Before we explore the solution, we need to understand the problem. Here are some of the major issues that impact a young startup when it comes to scaling their team.

Problems that happen when hiring

  • The capital investment: For new startups, the cost of hiring a single staff may tip the scales from black into the red. While for some startups, they maybe looking to hire hundreds of people within a couple of months to scale their business. The issue is the same, as labour costs is often the largest overhead for tech startups.
  • Losing the company culture: Training and scaling your technical capabilities may not be the biggest issue for startups. Being able to scale your culture and core values of your business maybe the hardest aspect of your company’s growth.
  • An issue with ‘fit’: Startups may not hire the right staff due to inexperience, lack of options or just a time crunch. This creates inefficiencies, bloat and often impacts productivity of the whole company.

These are some of the issues that startups can face, but is there a right way to do it? Based on our research – yes and no – as there are better steps to take, but it is dependent on your startup.

What might work for your startup

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  • List your startup needs in order of importance: Knowing what you need and what each task or issue entails, allows you to better plan your hiring. The hierarchy of importance allows you to focus your resources on key issues and then go down the list in descending order of importance. This ensures that your resources are being spent wisely.
  • Invest in training and development: Ignore that impulse to dump the new hires into the fire and let nature take its course. The initial investment into training allows for better immersion into the company culture, ensuring a cleaner fit and a likelihood of retaining your hires.
  • Be open to talent in all forms: founders in Asia tend to look for employees that fit a specific profile and this often creates a culture or startup with a narrow or filled with similar viewpoints. The benefit of a variety of different perspectives and views is well documented, so you can reap the benefits of a diverse team.
  • Work with remote, part-time and contractors: Especially in these current times (COVID-19 and an economic downturn) the need for flexibility when it comes to talent is key. Hiring freelancers and even remote teams will help you scale faster and most of the time, reduce costs. There are challenges, but if you need to scale, this is an easy way to grow quickly.

With these strategies, it should provide you with a starting point for your hiring efforts at your startup. The challenges of bringing in new people within budget and with minimal effect on your culture is not something that can be solved with a single article. So, take your time and plan your expansion well.

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