Starting a business involves several exciting milestones – a new office, designing a website, and even making your first sale. Finding the right people to pioneer your team can be one of your biggest challenges though, so here are our top tips to help you overcome this hurdle – and find the talent you need to help make your business a success.

1. Engage with a Recruitment Agency
Leading recruitment agencies can help you streamline the entire recruitment process – advertising, interviews, reference checks, plus much more. Leaving the business owner free to leverage all of their services, while avoiding costly and time-consuming hiring mistakes.

Working with a professional recruitment partner can help you up the stakes on finding the ideal candidate in a much shorter time period.

2. Go Online
Use an online job posting site and even your own website to let others know you are on the hunt for top talent. Some online platforms even let you post an advertisement for free – so do your research and keep in mind the type of candidates you’re interested in.

3. Try Social Media Recruitment
Aside from going online, take advantage of the various social media channels as well.

In a survey published in 2016, it found that 67% of job seekers use Facebook, while 35% use Twitter. LinkedIn remains popular too – both for active and passive jobseekers.

4. Referrals and Networks
Lastly, another great way to find qualified candidates is to network with other business owners and influencers. They may be able to recommend qualified people who are looking for a job or seeking new career opportunities.

Choosing Your First Employees

Once you start receiving CVs or applications, start your short list. Here are some helpful tips to help build your pool of talent - 

• Find out how interested and passionate an applicant is about your product or service. Choose candidates who show passion - they will be the ones willing to learn the ins and outs of your product or service.
• Choose diverse candidates. Building a new team is a perfect opportunity to create a positive mindset – one that can efficiently manage business processes, so think about recruiting a team of diverse minds, people who have the capacity challenge.
• Focus on the candidates’ potentials. Since your business is new, you may find it difficult to attract well-experienced employees. As such, it is best to look into the motivation of your applicants and gauge their desire to be part of your team.
• Take your time. Lastly, your first employees have important roles to play in the growth and success of your company. So, spend as much time as you can to ensure you hire the right pioneer employees.

Your first employees will help set the tone for your business. They will also lay the foundation for the operations and future success of your company. Rarely, do things go wrong when you spend the time thoughtfully build your team!

AUTHOR BIO

David Mackenzie
A recruitment professional with over twenty years’ experience in the field and a record of entrepreneurial accomplishment, David is Managing Director and Head of HR at Mackenzie Jones.