Among the challenges faced by a startup business owner is hiring employees and professionals to be part of the core team. Usually, the hiring process that small businesses do is far from how big brands do their selection and onboarding, as SMBs take lesser time to screen applicants to move forward and start doing business. Something that will, later on, affect the business operations. It is because small startups have a few candidate prospects for being new in the sector. Therefore, small business owners are usually forced to settle with interns and fresh graduates as employees.
While there is nothing wrong with that, small businesses and startups alike tend to struggle during their first few years of operations. Years that are crucial for any business to become self-sustaining and make actual ROI. Without the right people with you in your core team, you are likely to spend more resources on training than focusing on your day-to-day operations. Let us reiterate, there is nothing wrong with hiring and nurturing young talents, but there are always downsides to that, as with everything else in the business.
Downsides that this article will help you address. If you are familiar with the predicament described above, continue reading.
Be Transparent with Your Staff
Being a business leader with younger staff to mentor is different when you have older, wiser, and more mature working professionals. While it is ideal to have professionals with the experience, the voracious eagerness in young workers is undoubtedly their special asset. They will do everything that is asked of them, and they will deliver if it means being able to contribute to your company’s success. With that said, it is best to include them in everything and be transparent about how things are looking for the business.
Although, younger millennials have the reputation to job hop due to their lack of commitment and responsibilities in life, when they know what is at stake, these workers do tend to stick. Unlike the previous generation who knows have to value a job because of all the financial reasons they have: utility bills, insurance, mortgage loans, etc., it is their eagerness to help and prove something that makes them better professionals. Given the chance, they can be better than complacent consultants who would only tell you what you want to hear.
When you are upfront with your staff about how the startup is progressing, you are giving them a sense of responsibility. Something that all young workers can use nowadays.
Don’t Expect Them to Get Things Done Right Away
It is important to provide everyone with their learning curve and room to improve. Even as a startup owner, you have many things to learn and figure out in scaling your business, and that goes the same with your staff. Hiring young workers means you are dealing with people that do not have the wide skill arsenal specialists and consultants do, but it does not mean that they do not have the talent.
As an entrepreneur and leader, you can set an example and encourage them to try, promote a positive working environment for these babies to grow, and you would be surprised as to how fast they can learn and master the skills you need them to.
For example, you hired a young graphic designer with an outstanding but short resume. You might have hired your designer because of his eye for details, but expecting him to deliver a perfect website design in a week is simply not realistic. It is your responsibility to assess their skills and help your staff to do their jobs.
Provide Them Constant Training and Workshops
Following that point above, it is understandable that not all business leaders are equipped to train the whole team. If this is the case, you can always provide your young core team with the resources that they need to master their roles. Today, there are even more workshops and seminars available online. You would not have to worry about downtime that can cause tasks bottlenecks with the knowledge accessibility we have today.
Your staff can even watch the training seminars on their own time, which is better compared to how live seminars were during the pre-pandemic. It doesn’t even hurt to provide them with extra-curricular such as professional guitar lessons to hone their talents outside of work.
When you extend a helping hand towards your staff, you are not just nurturing them. You are also making sure that your investments and business goals are all aligned. You have the greatest influence on their work standards and work ethics. Think about it.
Starting a business is not a simple feat. Either you start it outright and orderly, or struggle to make things right after a year or so. Don’t let it be you; you don’t have to learn things the hard way. So, start empowering your staff today.
