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In every company, employees are an invaluable resource. Not only do they assist startups get off the ground by working fast and furious to achieve outrageous goals, but additionally they bring an incredible background of education, experience, skills, creativity, and more.
It’s these intangible aspects that make human capital such a key piece of the startup puzzle.
As a former entrepreneur and current investor helping startups realize their dreams, I know how a talented and motivated staff can mean the difference between a successful business enterprise and failure.
Let’s talk about how human capital may be the secret weapon of a successful startup.
Invest in people and their skills
While entrepreneurs have great ideas, they need a team with the right skills to transform their vision from a concept into a viable product or service. This means finding the right people with specific skills and experience who can innovate and solve problems that others cannot.
Personality, attitude and work ethic are crucial. This is one element of human capital that can not be ignored. You can hire someone who is the best in their field, but if it causes division and conflict inside your team, it won’t work.
Conversely, the success of your startup depends on individuals who know what they are doing and do it well. It is difficult to build a strong company with good individuals who do not contribute to the every day technical needs of the organization.
It’s a balancing act that you simply need to get right the first time, because hiring the mistaken person could hurt your online business. And in a dynamic startup environment, this does not bode well for future investments.
Attracting and retaining top talent
Anyone familiar with startup culture knows that trying to hire top talent may be quite cutthroat. There is a lot of competition here, and many fledgling corporations are competing for helpful capital.
Therefore, it is necessary to create a culture that draws the right candidates. With so much change over the last decade, startups don’t have many opportunities to differentiate themselves in a tangible sense, corresponding to virtual work, ping-pong tables, free food, etc. Since most corporations already offer these items, they focus more on selling their vision and what the future can hold with the right people on board. Appealing to a candidate’s self-esteem and intrinsic value can go a good distance in attracting a candidate.
However, once you discover them, the game is not over yet. According to Founders Circle, average length of service of employees in fast-growing start-ups that is two years. If getting them in the door wasn’t hard enough, keeping them there is even harder.
This attrition rate makes sense. Startup life is tiring and can quickly take its toll on everyone in the organization. That’s why worker engagement initiatives are so necessary. As an entrepreneur, you will need to keep in mind that real people work for you and even the most dedicated ones have their very own needs.
Talk to your team members individually and have honest conversations about how they are doing, how the company is doing, and how your team will help each other through difficult times. Ask them what they need or if there is any further education or learning that would help them in their roles. You have no idea how the easy act of taking the time to engage with your employees and treating them like people moderately than resources can motivate them to keep their eyes on the prize.
A culture of continuous learning
While the schedule and budget constraints of running a startup may be brutal at times, it’s still necessary to give employees the opportunity to focus on higher learning and skill development. An integral a part of the human capital process is providing employees with the opportunity to pursue their passions and improve their craft.
If you think about the technology and software industry, change and evolution are constant. It only makes sense that you simply want your team to not sleep to date with the latest trends and events, bringing recent insights to your organization. You want your team to evolve with the technology they work with, so give them time to focus on the latest updates and incorporate these ideas into their every day work.
Not only is this a significant investment for your organization, but you furthermore mght send a message to your employees that you simply value them and their careers. You want them to be the best version of themselves and give them the opportunity to use their knowledge and experiences.
This may be scary because there is at all times the possibility of transferring all of your recent knowledge to one other organization. However, it’s a risk you ought to be willing to take if it means improving your products and services while strengthening your organization culture.
Building a winning team
As I discussed, I have been on either side of startup life as an entrepreneur and investor. In my experience, no single person can do all the work or has the talent to do it.
As a leader in your organization, it is your responsibility to realize that you simply cannot do every little thing and that it is best to not do it. Finding the right people makes an incredible difference in the work you do. This includes building a diverse and inclusive team. A solid and diverse team is a good signal to investors of a healthy organization, but it also motivates your team to think in recent, modern ways in which are crucial for growth.
Every person in your organization must be viewed as a strategic ally and a source of your organization’s continued growth, development and success.