Meet Pratik-ScaleUp HR Specialist & High Performance Org Builder

Hiring Mistakes that High Growth Tech Setups/Startups make

Pratik M -

Key Insights:

  • Startup Hiring (especially with Product Tech setups) is a DIFFERENT animal altogether. It's HIGHLY NUANCED & IS MAKE OR BREAK FOR PRODUCT/PLATFORM/TECH
  • The Hiring framework differs basis the stage of setup; Startup phase, Scale-Up phase or Growth phase
  • Both, Senior Executive Hiring & Tech Hiring are highly nuanced, with Senior Executive hiring aligning more with Vision, Mission & Compatibility with Founder's Personalities, & Tech hiring aligning closely with Tech & Behavioral fitment, Company phase fitment, Product phase fitment, Engineering Culture etc

46% of startups/high growth setups struggle to find right fit candidates, 93% of the Exec & Critical hiring decisions are not backed by scientific assessments & data & Founders/Core Members waste up to 40 hours a month hiring manually - The risk of not getting a right fit is HUGE & a BAD Hire can be a make or break for entire setup, stalling entire momentum

Drawing from my experiences of building a strong talent acquisition practice in as brief time as possible, here are a Few mistakes that I have observed often made by High growth Tech setups make while hiring critical talent:

  • Delegating Hiring to Recruiters who do not understand the Startup/Scaleup nuances, Product Tech nuances. The Internal team definitely is not well equipped to size this, cos their experience is limited. This is where we come to rescue. Startup / Product Tech / ScaleUp Hiring is different, highly nuanced & is Make or Break for hiring company.
  • Ignoring nuances of Culture Fit, Product / ScaleUp phase fit, Behavioral fitment would mostly lead to Bad Hire. This means Loss of time, Bad Hire, & High Dollar Costs  - that’s triple whammy for the company & can be easily avoided with guided approach.
  • Limited pool of candidates & Long Time to Hire. We tap in to multiple talent pools, actively reaching out to passive candidates through strategic networks, networking, employer branding. This helps in getting wider talent pool & improving the time to hire considerably.
  • Neglecting Employer Branding. We partner with Founders/Core Team & HR team to shape this actively & put it out on the display. This definitely acts as strong validation for not only candidates, but also for existing team as well
  • Failing to offer Competitive Compensation packages. We research market rates for your hiring roles and recommend competitive salaries and benefits. This is generally a combination of Monetary amount + equity & other non-monetary perks, such as flexible work arrangements, high growth, culture or professional development opportunities.