Growing Your Startup: How To Make Sure Your Employees Are Along For The Ride

Last Updated on March 22, 2016 by Work In My Pajamas

If you want to retain as many employees as you can from the incubation period up to being a fully developed business with all the right endowments, it makes sense to start right. Focusing on the hiring process is a worthwhile investment of your time and energy as it affects the long-term direction of your business. It’s best to approach it with scrutiny and have all the pieces fit well together than to hastily pick candidates and later on have to fire and replace them one by one.

Are They a Cultural Fit?

As defined by the self-made billionaire, Elon Musk, a business is nothing more than a group of people coming together to create a product. What glues people together until this mission is accomplished is culture. For your employees to stick with you to the end, they have to feel a sense of belonging and satisfaction that goes beyond just work routine and biweekly paychecks. If your business does not have culture, employees get bored or burnt out easily. Hire a third-party design consultancy firm like Xplane to help your startup create organizational strategies and navigate across complex databases and systems.

Are They Truly Committed?

Obviously, candidates will say anything on their resume and interview to snag the job from the competition. They’ll tell you they’re in it to win it or a similar cheesy statement that only serves to add conviction to their application. Look for people who are genuinely driven and committed to learning and practicing every day. Only committed employees understand that change in a business is inevitable. Employees who are only working to collect paychecks will get scared or agitated when work schedules, environments, or tasks change. They would rather give into a comfortable yet sedentary career than continuously improve in their chosen professional field.

Are They Quick to Learn?

Startups are different from traditional businesses in that most startups do not yet have clearly defined departments that necessitate specific talents and roles. A new startup looking to fill in job positions should prioritize a candidate’s learning abilities rather than their work experience or existing skill set. It’s much easier for an employee to fit into a long-term role when they learn most or all of their abilities on the job. And because you’ve chosen employees who are highly adept in learning new knowledge and skills, they can better accommodate future changes in the business’ models and goals.

Working with the right employees eases the burdens and challenges of trying to grow your startup. There’s less tension or resistance working against your organization thus you are able to progress quite rapidly as a company.