How can scale-ups hire more successfully? 

“I’d always known that I had a business in me”, says Talent Gateway founder, Nici Jupp. Her career break to start a family coincided with her falling out of love with the corporate world that had been the bedrock of her career to date. “I asked myself, what challenges and problems are out there that I can solve?”, she says. 

Recruitment was the first challenge that sprang to mind – but it coincided with Nici needing to be at the school gates to drop off and pick up her children each day. “On the school run, I was surrounded by some exceptionally talented people who were struggling to find meaningful professional work, because they didn’t want to go back full-time. Back then, recruiters were paid commission based on the salaries their recruits earned – and those who were part-time and professional didn’t earn as much.”

So, Talent Gateway was born. Nici quickly realised that businesses need different things when it comes to talent at different stages of their growth. 

“Early startups tend to recruit through their own networks”, she says. “Large corporates are structured, well-oiled engines with the teams, skills and capabilities to hire the right people at the right time.”

With the businesses in between, though, Nici discovered that there was a bit of a void. “In many cases, they’ll try and hire by themselves – sometimes successfully, sometimes not”, she explains. “Alternatively, they might go to a recruitment agency. The expectation is, however, that the business knows exactly what it is that they want, and that they can articulate it perfectly, but that isn’t always the case.” 

Scaling a business requires the right team. To make that happen, Nici uses five foundational pillars, the subject of her recent Vistage session on May 21st. 

Watch the session recording on demand here.

Aligning recruitment and talent needs

Today, says Nici, businesses need to align recruitment with their talent needs more than ever. “And those talent needs aren’t just about people”, she stresses. “They include the skills, capabilities and behaviours a business needs to achieve its aspirational goals.”

As such, businesses should begin with planning: understanding the skills and capabilities that already exist within the business, identifying others that are needed, and identifying where the gaps lie. 

“It’s also important not to assume that these skills and capabilities will be the same as they have been in the past”, says Nici. “In terms of technology and other developments, it’s important to plan forward, otherwise, there’s a lot of money being wasted.”

Once those skills, capabilities and behaviours have been identified, businesses should develop a proposition to acquire the right people. “Here, many businesses automatically jump to holidays, salary and bonus schemes”, says Nici. “Of course, those are important, but the magic in hiring happens with what I call ‘values alignment’: the behaviours, the norms, the company culture. Your proposition should ensure that you attract candidates who are the right fit for the company, and vice versa.”

Next, promote. “This is about making sure that the adverts you write, the social posts you do, the career site you have as a business, all communicate with clarity to the right people”, says Nici. She uses the example of her 17-year-old son applying for a degree apprenticeship. “When I read the description of it, they were describing me”, he says. Promoting your business in the right way should help the right candidates to feel like they are the perfect fit. 

“Businesses neglect that level of understanding that the online world is the same for you as a business as it is when you’re selling a product or service”, continues Nici. “You’re the product that candidates are buying”. Candidates won’t buy your product – the role you are offering – without first conducting desk-based research. Using Google, Glassdoor or ChatGPT, what does the online world say about you?

Pillars number four and five are process and perform. Building a successful hiring process should begin from the very first touchpoint of a job application, right through to being interviewed, hired and onboarded. “With ‘perform’”, says Nici, “it’s all about how you get this individual to gain traction inside the company as quickly as possible.” 
These five foundational pillars were discussed in detail in Nici’s recent webinar. Have your own hiring challenges? Watch the session on demand here.

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