9 Ways to Staff Your Startup Team

Team Staffing January 11, 2023

Priyanka Bhadani

Writer

Tips for Employee Staffing

Team staffing is one of the most crucial tasks you'll take on as a new business owner. Your employees can determine your startup's success or failure. Hiring even one wrong employee can be devastating to your company's culture and productivity, so hiring the right people is key from day one. However, enticing highly skilled workers can be tough when your budget is tight and your company is still relatively unknown. In this guide, we'll demonstrate nine strategies you can use to attract and retain a highly-skilled workforce, right from day one.

1. Know your company's vision and mission

When you are just starting out, you may not have the monetary resources to offer your new employees to pay. Establishing an exciting vision and mission for your company can entice top talent to join your team. As the founder of your startup, you need to know your company's mission and have a long-term vision that you can present to prospective employees.

2. Hire people who are fans of your product or service

People who are already fans of your product or service will be more invested in your company's success. They will be much more likely to recommend your company to others, and if they like working for you, they'll tell their friends who may eventually want to work for your startup, too. If your fans don't have the skills you need, consider offering on the job training. Remember, skills can be taught over time, but it's tough to teach an employee to have a good attitude on the job.

3. Utilize remote workers

Sometimes it's hard to find the skills you need in your local area. In this case, consider utilizing remote workers. Remote employees can be located anywhere, giving you almost unlimited options to choose from. Most people consider working from home a perk, and it could even minimize your overhead costs. If remote workers aren't an option for your company, look for other ways to schedule that might entice talented staff to sign on with you. Maybe you could offer flexible schedules, such as working from home two days a week and coming into the office only three days.

4. Offer a fantastic work environment

Offering a fantastic work environment is a great way to attract new talent and retain your highly skilled workers. People will take pride in working for your company if they believe in its culture. When your employees are proud of what they do, they will be more productive and more likely to stick around.

On the other hand, employees who work in a negative environment have poor performance, and even experience issues such as anxiety and depression. Even one negative team member can affect the morale of your entire staff.

And it doesn't end there. According to statistics shared by the Harvard Business Review, the cost of employee healthcare is directly related to employee happiness on the job. When employees are stressed, healthcare costs are 50% higher and they are much more likely to call off. Even worse, 80% of all workplace injuries are related to on-the-job stress.

Providing meaningful and inspiring work, offering support and respect, and fostering positive relationships between employees all contribute to a positive work environment. Not only is this good for staff, but it also improves productivity and reduces employee turnover, so it's a win for your company as well.

5. Build your brand right from the start

People love to be associated with popular brands, so building your brand right from day one is crucial for your team-building efforts. Potential team members will invest more time and effort into building a career with a hot new brand that offers an opportunity for growth and advancement. Use social media and your company blog to build excitement about your startup. Having meetups and sponsoring events are also great ways to show potential team members what kind of employer you are.

6. Attract talent with talent

By holding on to your talented employees, you will attract other talented people to come work for you. Skilled workers are inspired by and enjoy being around others who inspire them. They motivate and learn from each other, encourage each other's success, and stimulate growth. When you have talented people on your staff, it's much easier to attract additional talented team members.

7. Stimulate and challenge your employees

Nobody wants to be bored at work, and that goes double for highly skilled team members. They want to grow and be stimulated by interesting projects. Encouraging your team to step out of their comfort zone helps them learn and grow. Offering challenging projects also encourages them to work harder, try new things, and find creative solutions.

As the person in charge of team staffing, one of your jobs is to mentor your team. Share your knowledge with them, but don't lecture. Your goal is to share what you've done to get where you are and help your team grow. Your staff will thank you for having ambitious goals and offering them a chance to advance their skills.

Be transparent about your company's story on your blog and share guest posts on industry-relevant websites. Talk about the lessons you've learned, as well as your company's successes. It's a great way to establish your brand's authority and entice talented people to join your team.

9. Plan and schedule effectively

Planning and scheduling effectively is one of the most critical aspects of team staffing. Establish goals and create a plan to ensure you're meeting them. Your goals don't have to be limited to revenue; they can be related to any aspect of your business. Effective daily scheduling offers a way to stay on track toward meeting your goals. Having a plan is much more effective than just showing up and getting as much done as possible. Scheduling your day keeps you on task and gives your team direction, which improves productivity all around.

Final Thoughts

Team staffing can make or break your startup, so hiring the right employees is crucial from day one. You may not be able to offer top pay when you're just starting out, but you can do other things to entice and retain skilled employees. Many people will jump on the chance to do work they enjoy for a company they believe in!