Recruitment Challenges in Startups: How Do You Ensure Candidates Stick Around?

Respected Seniors,

Hope you all are doing great! I want to share my experience with you and need to have some information from your side.

Recruitment Challenges in a Startup

I recruited two people in my company, one for a Business Development Executive role and the other for a technical position. We are a startup firm with 13 employees at present. We waited 20 days for them to join, and they did join. However, after coming in for one day, they didn't return to the office.

I found out that there were some loopholes on my end that need to be corrected. The screening process needs to be more stringent.

Crucial Parameters in the Recruiting Process

Please let me know what crucial parameters need to be emphasized during the recruiting process. Nowadays, people tend to consider counteroffers.

Evaluating Candidates for Various Roles

Seniors, what parameters do you consider when evaluating candidates for junior-level, non-technical, and technical roles? Please share your experiences and insights.

Looking forward to a great discussion because it will be beneficial for many.

Hi Priya Verma, it is true that candidates have a lot more options today and tend to follow them without much commitment (of course, exceptions are there).

It is good that you have already acknowledged that some rigorous steps need to be taken at your end. I would suggest the following:

1. Involve the HODs (Head of Technical, Marketing, Production, etc.) in the interview process. This will provide different views on the candidates to assess their motivation to work, personality traits, and more.

2. Develop an Interview Assessment form to document all observations and details of the candidates noted during the interview. Evaluate them based on parameters such as education, work experience (relevant to the assigned functions post-joining), personality traits (impression, communication, leadership ability, presentation, ambition, motivating factors - money, profile, comfort, hard work, etc.).

3. On a practical note, review your compensation criteria and the infrastructure being offered to new hires.

Hope this advice proves helpful. Let's await valuable comments from other experienced professionals and seniors.

Dear Priya, this is in addition to what Vaishali has said.

If both candidates join on the specified date but do not turn up for their duties the next day, there are a few different things to consider.

Willingness to join a non-branded company

One aspect is the willingness of the candidates to join a non-branded company. Were they willing to join, or was the job pushed onto them?

Work environment

The second consideration is the work environment. What type of work environment does your company offer?

Please note that you are running a startup, which may be your concern, but the candidates may not be at the startup stage of their careers.

I believe that both candidates may have other job offers in hand and have given priority to another job.

Future hiring considerations

In the future, when hiring, assess the candidate's willingness to be a big fish in a small pond. While they might seem like small fry to you, they may see themselves as sharks or whales!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Priya, the sudden abandonment of employment surely affects the working operations. To address this, you may implement the induction policy. The aim of this policy is to make the newly joined employees comfortable, help them learn their duties, as well as familiarize them with the company's vision, mission, social, and financial securities provided.

Legally, an employee may leave the job at any time by following the exit terms defined in their service agreement. No employer can force them to continue their employment.

However, since both of your new employees have absconded, issue them a warning letter to resume their duties immediately. If they remain silent or continue to abscond, you can even initiate legal action against both of them for breaching the service agreement.

Thanks & Regards,

V. Shakya

HR & Labour, Corporate Laws Advisor

Thank you for contributing to the discussion. As an HR professional, my responsibility is to provide the company with the best skills, but sometimes we need to consider attitude as well (which I learned from this incident). I agree with your point on the induction process making employees comfortable, something that was missing on my part. I will surely implement it.

Addressing Early Employee Turnover

We had a similar question to this just recently. My reply to that post is relevant here also. If new employees are leaving your organization within the first 10 days, you have a serious problem on your hands. You need to find out what that problem is and fix it, double quick.

Improving the Recruitment Process

The first thing that needs fixing is your recruitment process. I have posted many, many times on this subject. It is not rocket science, but if you are going to get the right employees, you need a robust recruitment and selection process that is properly documented, and that all staff with responsibility for recruitment are trained to use. Search for my previous posts on this. In my view from reading CiteHR, too many Indian companies have a very ad hoc way of recruiting staff, and it backfires on them spectacularly.

Examining Organizational Factors

The second thing to look at is your organization, and why people don't want to work there, e.g., pay, management, other staff members, lack of training, lack of future opportunities, etc. You have the handicap of being a start-up, and the possibility exists that you will not be there for the long haul. People need certainty, hence the reason to try for jobs with brand-name companies as Dinesh has pointed out.

Ensuring Honest Communication During Interviews

Thirdly, when people are interviewed, you need to ensure they are not being told lies about what it is going to be like to work for your organization. Many of us have gone to job interviews and been told how wonderful it is going to be, but the reality is sadly different.

Humans being what they are will always be perverse. You've got to learn to deal with those few people that will upset the apple cart. Problems such as this can be mitigated to a great extent with proper procedures and policy, but you will never ever eliminate it entirely. However, in my defense, I will say that in several organizations I worked, my 6-step recruitment policy that I implemented almost never failed us. We gained the right employees, looked after them, and they stayed working for us for many years.

The interview process should ensure that candidates are more genuine and will stay in the company long-term. From the candidate's point of view, the company should fulfill basic to the most essential requirements for them to stay for an extended period.

Hi Priya,
As per my opinion, in future while hiring check candidate's willingness to join your organization. In addition, the candidate's point of view about your company. This will for sure help you find the reliable candidate.
Thanks!

Dear Priya Verma, this is a universal problem. As an organization that is new (startup companies), the candidates who apply are very eager to take a job but will also want to have some advantages when joining a startup.

General expectations of youngsters today

1. A good salary - decent by industrial standards.
2. A good work environment - one that enables growth and provides a future.
3. An organization that provides facilities such as transport, canteen, stay, etc.

Above all this, the projection of the existing employees who are happy and have enjoyed stability in employment with superior technology being used at work can become a competitive edge for them in seeking better employment.

When all the above is ensured, you can make the candidates who join you stay with you too.

Note: Look for people who send negative signals to the new recruits and keep them away.

Good luck.

Dear Priya, I have noticed that your organization is a startup. Therefore, you need to be more cautious about your recruitment process. I have a few points to highlight.

Firstly, clarify what you expect from a candidate before beginning the search. Next, establish the job description and specifications for the position. Subsequently, outline the rights and responsibilities associated with the role you are looking to fill. Categorize the received profiles based on various criteria such as educational qualifications, experience, job history, and previous company profiles. It is essential for the HR person to evaluate these aspects.

Following this, schedule interviews for the candidates with technical personnel and gather feedback from them. Consider conducting background verification if possible through a reliable source. Avoid declaring interview results on the same day; instead, take time to analyze all candidates' feedback. Afterward, discuss the job expectations with the candidate and inform them about the position's offerings.

I believe these suggestions may assist you in streamlining your recruitment process. Should you require a concise interview assessment form, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards, Subhash Kumar

Assistant Manager HR

JEPL

I would like to thank everyone for sharing valuable knowledge. I successfully hired good candidates after evaluating them in all those aspects mentioned in the discussion.

Thank you

Hi Priya, a very pertinent question, and it is truly a challenge to get the right candidate every time. However, generally, a few critical steps help to narrow down the list of potential candidates and finally pick the best-suited candidate:

Be specific about the position

Be very specific in your details about the position, its responsibilities, and the special qualifications, traits, characteristics, and experience you seek in a candidate.

Phone screen the shortlist

Phone screen the shortlist of candidates—the tone, the choice of words, responses, attitude—these are great indicators that give you a clearer picture of the candidate apart from the salary expectations.

Candidate's motivation

Get the candidate to write a short note about why he/she wants to join your firm. It is a clear giveaway of what the candidate expects from you. You will be surprised at some of the responses you get.

Preliminary interview or test

The preliminary interview or test gives you a fair idea of the capabilities. You can make some intelligent assumptions here—too many job hops, avoiding direct answers to questions are indications of restlessness and lack of confidence, sincerity.

Also, you can determine if the answers are given based on solid domain knowledge or on quick preparation specifically for the interview.

I am sure other HR professionals in this forum would have insightful points to add here. Awaiting more inputs to this critical discussion.