Lessons from start-ups on attracting the best talent

Today, companies are no longer directly competing for talent against competitors nor within their industry. While big brands, competitive salaries and great employee benefits used to make for an attractive proposition, today’s workforce values more than just perks and financial rewards and is finding it in start-ups. This article examines the characteristics of start-ups that make them attractive and suggests ways for established companies to incorporate these traits to recruit the best talent.

1. Career Growth

One of the attractive qualities of working in start-up companies is the potential for career advancement. Our recent global survey shows that an increasing number of company employees (28%) want to work with autonomy, which is common in start-ups.

Start-ups don’t have large teams, so their employees must complete any necessary task, regardless of job title. From performing a human resource function one day to assisting business development the next, start-ups teach employees the ins and outs of a company, increasing their value as professionals. On the other hand, large companies tend to have many teams, each specialising in a particular field, which provides fewer opportunities to gain various experiences. This environment where everyone can demonstrate their abilities in multiple fields offers excellent growth opportunities for building a career.

How to create growth opportunities like start-ups:

• Provide discretion and autonomy in job duties
• Provide opportunities for different departments to collaborate and learn about each other's work

2. Innovation

Start-ups, and entrepreneurs more broadly, embody the core principles of innovation to drive commercial outcomes. They embrace failure and risk-taking and respond to challenges and opportunities with ease because of their agility. They see failure as a learning experience to improve a product or business and are constantly tweaking, pivoting and iterating their business models, designs, products or services to fit their market and create customer value.

Innovation, by its very nature, involves risk and failure. In fact, many start-ups fail, yet failure is integral to the success of those that survive. In other words, the “failure” culture of start-ups is the driving force behind their innovation.

Be more innovative like start-ups:

• Fail as early as possible to minimise the cost
• Build a culture of continuous learning
•         Identify organisational skills gaps
          Build a model where employees embrace learning on the job and strive for self-improvement
          Invest in learning opportunities that are accessible to all
          Provide and support funding for personalised learning methods
  
• Organize small teams with autonomy to speed up innovation

3. Distinct Corporate Culture

Since start-ups are often run by a small team working closely together, their “culture” is typically a reflection of the founding team’s passions and personalities. In most situations, each individual working in a start-up contributes to the overall culture. Start-up culture is aimed at breaking down the barriers and hurdles of growth that more established corporations might have and is known for being creative, laid back and passion-driven.

Four key factors that make up the feel of the ideal start-up culture:

1. Passion is what defines the existence of the business and acts as a great motivator for the team.
2. Personality is what makes the start-up unique and cannot be found anywhere else.
3. Agility enables knowledge and information to flow at a pace that greatly improves the business. It’s the more visible factor as it can be identified in the way workers work, offices are organised and brainstorming sessions are carried out.
4. Authenticity allows freedom and respect for everyone’s own identity. Bureaucratic companies tend to have processes for everything and a strict decision-making chain. The opposite is within the start-up culture values.

Establish a start-up culture:

• In addition to skills and experience, hire people who fit the overall company culture well
• Create a flatter leadership structure that encourages more engagement
• Adopt flexible working styles
• Implement a flexible employee benefits plan that employees can use at their discretion
• Provide a productive and enjoyable workplace

In recent years, employees have become increasingly aware of the importance of differences between established companies and start-ups. Therefore, companies need to be quick to incorporate the best aspects of start-up culture to attract the best talent.

For a more comprehensive overview of how your organisation can take cues from start-ups to increase its Employee Value Proposition, read our e-guide ‘Act like a start-up and recruit the best talent.’