It can be hard to find committed, talented employees these days, especially during a labor shortage. You may fear that your startup is not in a financial position to afford the cream of the crop. But don’t worry! There are lots of ways to make your business attractive.
Think of Employees as an Investment
Financials are the biggest obstacle right out of the gate. You may need to raise the wages that you are offering to applicants in order to attract people with more experience and ability. This can be a hard decision for small business owners – increased wages add up quickly and do make a noticeable difference to the bottom line. What you have to remember is that this is a form of investment. Too many employers make the mistake of trying to use employee wages as a way to cut financial corners. Instead, by offering more, you’ll be freer to leave behind the mediocre options – since it is sure that you will attract better people with the right advertising.
Offer Stock Options
What if you can’t afford to raise wages, or you can’t afford to raise them to a meaningful point? Don’t worry – there are other options. Benefits are another great thing you can offer to attract better applicants. Some benefits (like insurance packages) will cost money, although that definitely might be a worthwhile investment depending on your situation. Others will only require flexibility on your part, like providing the option to work from home. Even stock options can be offered as a bonus. The structure of your business also might help determine which route you go; a C-Corp is the ideal structure for offering stock options.
Cultivating a Better Company Culture
The best way to have consistently good employees is if you develop enough of a reputation that good people will want to come work for you by word-of-mouth. It takes time and effort, but creating the kind of environment where people want to work will mean better workers – who are more efficient and passionate – for longer periods of time. Work hard to make the workspace one that points towards peace and not stress. Cultivate a culture of listening, understanding, and pride in hard work that gets generously rewarded.
Again: as hard and time-consuming as some of these options might be, they will guarantee better long-term results that allow you the flexibility to reject subpar applicants. Even higher wages can’t fix a toxic job environment, after all. Make the extra effort and you will see results.
Check out this article on how to boost employee morale at our startup!