4 reasons hiring can't wait for the New Year

The ‘New Year, New Me’ posts are in orbit, on course to land on our timelines in a matter of weeks. The volume of seemingly indistinguishable posts can get irritating, but at the end of the day some people find the new year a convenient catalyst for change.

10/10

It’s all well and good for personal aspirations, but when it comes to business it’s different. Postponing critical opportunities to scale in favour of convenience will make it more difficult and significantly more expensive in the new year. Here’s why.

Increased competition

Besides funding and investment, one of the most crucial ingredients of a scaling business is hiring top quality talent. The competition for the most talented tech heads in the market is tight at the best of times. Developers, Product Managers, DevOps – they’re always in demand. Now factor in the new year when every other scale up is setting their sights on hiring. Naturally, the battle gets harder to win and the probability of settling for second best raises – which is never good for scale ups striving for the spotlight.

Getting ahead of the competition undeniably puts businesses in a better position for growth, and growth means investor intrigue, more funding, higher product development rate... the cycle goes on. Whereas leaving convenience in the hands of fate is…

Considerably more expensive

The heightened competition for top quality talent post New Year means you’ll be paying 20 – 30% more for the same calibre candidate. Fact. More businesses looking to hire = more opportunities for the candidate to choose from. You’re effectively putting the winning cards in the candidate’s hand. Now they can work the table with a greater breadth to dictate their own terms (okay, poker metaphor over).

Not only does this translate to a higher salary and a better benefits package for the candidate, but it also means increased hiring fees (maybe we shouldn’t be telling you this). Joking aside, these expenses can greatly affect your ability to rapidly scale. Not to mention the time lost in sourcing and negotiatons.

Hiring latency

The best things in life take time, and it’s no different when hiring. Sourcing premium candidates should be a careful, considered approach, not rushed and hasty like many of the traditional recruiters out there. Putting off this process until the New Year is only delaying the inevitable. A month to source the perfect candidate, interview period turnaround and those 3 month notice periods (which unfortunately seem to be getting more common). You could be waiting until halfway through next year to get them started! Five or six months is a long time to wait to kickstart your scaling.

Obviously there’s going to be latency time with any permanent hire, so it’s always worth considering onboarding a contractor or two to cover this period and ensure you’re still growing. Have a read of our 5 reasons you should be hiring contractors article here.

Retention of your existing team

Laying out concrete plans for a scaling business is difficult. Whether it’s approval of funding, investment or market success, circumstances can transform at the drop of a hat. You can’t know what’s around the corner 100% of the time, so it’s crucial you can demonstrate to your existing team that you’re moving in the right direction. The ‘big things coming soon’ attitude not only assists retention, but also looks impressive to potential investors. What better way to make your plans clear for 2022 than getting the hiring ball rolling early, ey?

Feel free to get in touch to have a conversation about scaling your business with premium talent today.

David Robinson,
Director