Dive Brief:
- There is a fine balance between putting off hiring due to poor cash flow and slowing hiring so much that a team misses out on an opportunity to hire outstanding candidates, Monster reports.
- Setting a smart budget helps. Monster shares how Leo Welder, the founder of a startup firm in Austin, Texas approaches cash flow issues by "having enough cash in reserve to cover a new hire's salary plus an additional 20% for incentives and perks."
- Hiring at least a portion of a workforce on a temporary basis can help make a recruitment budget go further. Using creative compensation can also make it less difficult to afford a new hire such as offering less money up front but having an attractive end-of-year bonus.
Dive Insight:
Time to hire is never going to be perfect and staffing budgets will never stretch quite as far as recruiters would like, but without consistently hiring strong candidates, a company cannot move forward. Using the tips given, any organization can find ways to reduce upfront hiring costs and focus on quality of hire, which is critical at the start-up phase.
One hurdle is convincing an outstanding candidate that he or she will have a good experience but that it may take time for financial compensation to catch up. It's more evidence that creativity is required in recruiting now more than ever. To attract good candidates, some marketing is required.