Mixing
Competing with corporates for talent [closed]
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So we are a small IT company, resources are tight, so cannot afford to pay high salaries. A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40k+ leaving juniors.
The trouble is that the best talent often end up going into corporates, making it hard to assemble a strong team. I can understand why they would do this, but since we cannot attract seniors, our approach is to start building our team with smart juniors, who are enthusiastic and keen to learn. In return we will invest in their career development. We are however finding this difficult.
How can we compete?
recruitment
asked Feb 4 '16 at 10:52
bobo2000
6,006113156
closed as primarily opinion-based by sevensevens, Joel Etherton, Dawny33, gnat, The Wandering Dev Manager Feb 4 '16 at 20:34
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
 |Â
show 6 more comments
up vote
-1
down vote
favorite
So we are a small IT company, resources are tight, so cannot afford to pay high salaries. A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40k+ leaving juniors.
The trouble is that the best talent often end up going into corporates, making it hard to assemble a strong team. I can understand why they would do this, but since we cannot attract seniors, our approach is to start building our team with smart juniors, who are enthusiastic and keen to learn. In return we will invest in their career development. We are however finding this difficult.
How can we compete?
recruitment
asked Feb 4 '16 at 10:52
bobo2000
6,006113156
closed as primarily opinion-based by sevensevens, Joel Etherton, Dawny33, gnat, The Wandering Dev Manager Feb 4 '16 at 20:34
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
4
What do you mean by "A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40+ leaving juniors."?
– Stephan Kolassa
Feb 4 '16 at 10:59
4
If someone asks for clarification, you do not answer Exactly what I wrote. You edit your question to make it more clear. After reading it 4 times I think you mean something like leaving only juniors as possible/affordable candidates/colleagues.
– Jan Doggen
Feb 4 '16 at 14:26
1
What country is this? Entry level IT salaries haven't been in the USD 40K range for decades.
– shoover
Feb 4 '16 at 18:39
1
Have you considered that enthusiastic juniors can go very far amok without adult supervision? You may want to consider shelling out a competitive salary to get someone in who's going to keep you from amassing some serious technical debt without knowing it and can train your juniors to grow into seniors who can do the same. In other words, if you think you're going to be around longer than a few months, you can't afford not to hire a decent senior dev.
– Amy Blankenship
Feb 4 '16 at 22:49
1
Do you have a viable business plan? Anyone can make money if they can get Oompa-Loompas to work for nothing. If your business model requires getting software written for below-market compensation, there's not much hope.
– kevin cline
Feb 5 '16 at 5:02
 |Â
show 6 more comments
up vote
-1
down vote
favorite
up vote
-1
down vote
favorite
So we are a small IT company, resources are tight, so cannot afford to pay high salaries. A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40k+ leaving juniors.
The trouble is that the best talent often end up going into corporates, making it hard to assemble a strong team. I can understand why they would do this, but since we cannot attract seniors, our approach is to start building our team with smart juniors, who are enthusiastic and keen to learn. In return we will invest in their career development. We are however finding this difficult.
How can we compete?
recruitment
asked Feb 4 '16 at 10:52
bobo2000
6,006113156
So we are a small IT company, resources are tight, so cannot afford to pay high salaries. A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40k+ leaving juniors.
The trouble is that the best talent often end up going into corporates, making it hard to assemble a strong team. I can understand why they would do this, but since we cannot attract seniors, our approach is to start building our team with smart juniors, who are enthusiastic and keen to learn. In return we will invest in their career development. We are however finding this difficult.
How can we compete?
recruitment
asked Feb 4 '16 at 10:52
bobo2000
6,006113156
edited Feb 4 '16 at 11:03
asked Feb 4 '16 at 10:52
bobo2000
6,006113156
asked Feb 4 '16 at 10:52
bobo2000
6,006113156
asked Feb 4 '16 at 10:52
bobo2000
6,006113156
6,006113156
closed as primarily opinion-based by sevensevens, Joel Etherton, Dawny33, gnat, The Wandering Dev Manager Feb 4 '16 at 20:34
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
closed as primarily opinion-based by sevensevens, Joel Etherton, Dawny33, gnat, The Wandering Dev Manager Feb 4 '16 at 20:34
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
4
What do you mean by "A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40+ leaving juniors."?
– Stephan Kolassa
Feb 4 '16 at 10:59
4
If someone asks for clarification, you do not answer Exactly what I wrote. You edit your question to make it more clear. After reading it 4 times I think you mean something like leaving only juniors as possible/affordable candidates/colleagues.
– Jan Doggen
Feb 4 '16 at 14:26
1
What country is this? Entry level IT salaries haven't been in the USD 40K range for decades.
– shoover
Feb 4 '16 at 18:39
1
Have you considered that enthusiastic juniors can go very far amok without adult supervision? You may want to consider shelling out a competitive salary to get someone in who's going to keep you from amassing some serious technical debt without knowing it and can train your juniors to grow into seniors who can do the same. In other words, if you think you're going to be around longer than a few months, you can't afford not to hire a decent senior dev.
– Amy Blankenship
Feb 4 '16 at 22:49
1
Do you have a viable business plan? Anyone can make money if they can get Oompa-Loompas to work for nothing. If your business model requires getting software written for below-market compensation, there's not much hope.
– kevin cline
Feb 5 '16 at 5:02
 |Â
show 6 more comments
4
What do you mean by "A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40+ leaving juniors."?
– Stephan Kolassa
Feb 4 '16 at 10:59
4
If someone asks for clarification, you do not answer Exactly what I wrote. You edit your question to make it more clear. After reading it 4 times I think you mean something like leaving only juniors as possible/affordable candidates/colleagues.
– Jan Doggen
Feb 4 '16 at 14:26
1
What country is this? Entry level IT salaries haven't been in the USD 40K range for decades.
– shoover
Feb 4 '16 at 18:39
1
Have you considered that enthusiastic juniors can go very far amok without adult supervision? You may want to consider shelling out a competitive salary to get someone in who's going to keep you from amassing some serious technical debt without knowing it and can train your juniors to grow into seniors who can do the same. In other words, if you think you're going to be around longer than a few months, you can't afford not to hire a decent senior dev.
– Amy Blankenship
Feb 4 '16 at 22:49
1
Do you have a viable business plan? Anyone can make money if they can get Oompa-Loompas to work for nothing. If your business model requires getting software written for below-market compensation, there's not much hope.
– kevin cline
Feb 5 '16 at 5:02
4
4
What do you mean by "A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40+ leaving juniors."?
– Stephan Kolassa
Feb 4 '16 at 10:59
What do you mean by "A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40+ leaving juniors."?
– Stephan Kolassa
Feb 4 '16 at 10:59
4
4
If someone asks for clarification, you do not answer Exactly what I wrote. You edit your question to make it more clear. After reading it 4 times I think you mean something like leaving only juniors as possible/affordable candidates/colleagues.
– Jan Doggen
Feb 4 '16 at 14:26
If someone asks for clarification, you do not answer Exactly what I wrote. You edit your question to make it more clear. After reading it 4 times I think you mean something like leaving only juniors as possible/affordable candidates/colleagues.
– Jan Doggen
Feb 4 '16 at 14:26
1
1
What country is this? Entry level IT salaries haven't been in the USD 40K range for decades.
– shoover
Feb 4 '16 at 18:39
What country is this? Entry level IT salaries haven't been in the USD 40K range for decades.
– shoover
Feb 4 '16 at 18:39
1
1
Have you considered that enthusiastic juniors can go very far amok without adult supervision? You may want to consider shelling out a competitive salary to get someone in who's going to keep you from amassing some serious technical debt without knowing it and can train your juniors to grow into seniors who can do the same. In other words, if you think you're going to be around longer than a few months, you can't afford not to hire a decent senior dev.
– Amy Blankenship
Feb 4 '16 at 22:49
Have you considered that enthusiastic juniors can go very far amok without adult supervision? You may want to consider shelling out a competitive salary to get someone in who's going to keep you from amassing some serious technical debt without knowing it and can train your juniors to grow into seniors who can do the same. In other words, if you think you're going to be around longer than a few months, you can't afford not to hire a decent senior dev.
– Amy Blankenship
Feb 4 '16 at 22:49
1
1
Do you have a viable business plan? Anyone can make money if they can get Oompa-Loompas to work for nothing. If your business model requires getting software written for below-market compensation, there's not much hope.
– kevin cline
Feb 5 '16 at 5:02
Do you have a viable business plan? Anyone can make money if they can get Oompa-Loompas to work for nothing. If your business model requires getting software written for below-market compensation, there's not much hope.
– kevin cline
Feb 5 '16 at 5:02
 |Â
show 6 more comments
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
up vote
8
down vote
Why would I start working for you? If you can't give good reasons, then you are in a difficult situation.
If you can't afford to pay decent salaries, the possible reasons are: Your business isn't producing something that people want to pay for, or you are charging too little, or you are selling to people who can't afford to pay much, or you are just starting up.
In the first cases, change your business. In the latter case, there are people who are attracted by an opportunity to strike it big, that is a small salary, but with generous equity in the company. Note that at some point in their life, most people will start looking for security.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
We have had many clients already (some of them are high profile), but it just takes time to build a new company/product. Since it is a B2B solution, it takes a while to turn leads into sales - many meetings, sometimes, often are not ready to use it straight away but come back later. The other issue is that the product has just been rewritten and is not 100% finished yet, so we can't go as aggressive as we would like to on the sales.
– bobo2000
Feb 4 '16 at 15:06
@bobo2000 If you have good potential but no revenue now; then you may be forced to pay lower than average (a lot lower by the looks of it). But people are not going to work for less you need to provide them with the alternative to money, this usually means a stake in the company.
– Martin York
Feb 5 '16 at 1:49
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
Your work environment needs to be great to work in. It's that simple. Benefits need to outweigh the costs.
The "best talent" have a lot of career options generally and at some level, you have to accept people in that group will move around.
Reasons people want to go to a small company:
Feeling ownership/importance. Working as part of a huge company makes it hard to feel as if what you are doing matters. As part of a 10 person company? It's much easier.
Expectations of 'making it big.' Related to the above, people want to feel as if there is a chance their company becomes wildly successful and they make tons of money. Ensure people believe this.
Less process(es). Big companies are very bureaucratic with lots of things needed to do everything. Need a new keyboard? Go talk to IT, fill out a request, etc. Small companies can't be this way - for many people this is a driving factor in disliking larger companies. Figure out what processes are important, have them, then let people work.
Trust in leadership. If your employees are leaving continuously for larger companies, it might mean they don't respect or trust your leadership. This may just mean better communications.
Pay. You are willing to underpay people and have huge turnover instead of paying more market wages with slightly fewer employees? That makes no sense - I would be surprised if you added up your employee costs and accounted for onboarding/training that you are not paying more by trying to save money on employees than you would be if you hired slightly fewer, but paid them better. Unless they don't have any significant responsibilities...
Responsibilities. Make it so people feel they have ownership of something and are actually doing things.
Flexibility. A small company can offer a lot more flexibility than big companies, generally, so if you have people who would love to work 6-10am and then 2-6pm or something - let them! Figure out what people want. Do they want to work a 4 day week 7am-5pm? There are a lot of things you can do here that big companies have a harder time with.
Work/life balance. How many hours do your employees work? How many are expected? Smaller companies can sometimes have problems with this, you might consider informally understanding how many hours people work at your company. If people are consistently working 60 hours a week and are underpaid... should you really be surprised if they leave?
Cheap perks. Free coffee/snacks, or other stuff like this can be pretty cheap for 40 employees vs 40,000 employees. But make a huge difference on "how do I like this job" feelings.
Do they believe you invest in their career development? That raises my cynicism meter - it sounds like the type of thing that means, "we'll work you to death and give you great opportunities to do work isn't it great!" instead of actual career development.
If you can't relate to most of this list, you need to really figure out what you can do to change it.
For what it's worth, I recently went to a much smaller company (from a large corporation) where I took an overall paycut which I felt was worthwhile because of many things on this list.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
Great answer. If I had to take a pay cut to get a consistent 3 day weekend and wild flexibility I'd do it in a heartbeat.
– AndreiROM
Feb 4 '16 at 15:01
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Corporates compete by offering good pay and job security. You can't offer the first, and a potential candidate may have doubts about the second, unless you have been around for a long time.
Think about what motivates people to work at a place, or what turns them off. Then think about what is easier for you to offer than for a corporate giant.
Dawny33 already mentioned equity. This is a good thing if you are a startup, because there is a big upside potential, and it doesn't cost a lot. It's less attractive if you are an established smaller company that will likely not experience explosive growth.
Be nimble in your processes. Aim for those people who joined the giants for the pay, but got turned off by processes, paperwork and deadwood. Make it clear, say, that your HR and Payroll are there for the employees, not the other way around, as it sometimes seems in larger companies. It will not be easy to communicate this to potential candidates, so you will need to network and work on your reputation.
Allow people to choose their own hard- and software, set up their own desks, decide on their own working times, and so forth.
Sell working for you on a gut level. I'm working for SAP, and the pay is good, but it's certainly not sexy, and try as we might, we will never establish a reputation that we make the world a better place (though we may well be doing exactly that). Get the enthusiasts to work for you. This will depend on what you actually do, of course.
Network a lot. Recruit personally. The corporate giants are flooded with applications, so applications are first automatically screened for keywords, then go into a process, and then the applicant may well feel like a tiny anonymous cog in a machine even before he started. At a smaller place, an applicant may well be able to personally meet a large percentage of current employees during the interviews, or even before at job fairs and similar. A small company can have a face - a large company only has a website.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Why don't you just ask?
You've interviewing candidates and going through salary negotiations. If they want a higher salary, ask them what they would accept instead.
It could be things like flexible work scheduling, training/mentorship (like you're already offering), other benefits that may be perceived in larger financial amounts than what the company pays for (e.g. company gets group discount on club membership, insurance, etc..).
Each candidate can be different, so you may not be successful offering them all the same thing.
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
A very common problem with startups.
So, this is what the startups generally do:
- Offer hefty ESOPs. Equity and perks are the ones apart from salary, which can attract talent.
However, you can't attract seniors or more experienced people with ESOP's (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and equity, like they did the young talent. You have to shell out money if you want to attract them.
So, startups always raise a big round of funding and then hire senior engineers. Till then, I'm afraid you have to continue with the young and mid-senior level engineers.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
suggest improvements |Â
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
8
down vote
Why would I start working for you? If you can't give good reasons, then you are in a difficult situation.
If you can't afford to pay decent salaries, the possible reasons are: Your business isn't producing something that people want to pay for, or you are charging too little, or you are selling to people who can't afford to pay much, or you are just starting up.
In the first cases, change your business. In the latter case, there are people who are attracted by an opportunity to strike it big, that is a small salary, but with generous equity in the company. Note that at some point in their life, most people will start looking for security.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
We have had many clients already (some of them are high profile), but it just takes time to build a new company/product. Since it is a B2B solution, it takes a while to turn leads into sales - many meetings, sometimes, often are not ready to use it straight away but come back later. The other issue is that the product has just been rewritten and is not 100% finished yet, so we can't go as aggressive as we would like to on the sales.
– bobo2000
Feb 4 '16 at 15:06
@bobo2000 If you have good potential but no revenue now; then you may be forced to pay lower than average (a lot lower by the looks of it). But people are not going to work for less you need to provide them with the alternative to money, this usually means a stake in the company.
– Martin York
Feb 5 '16 at 1:49
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
8
down vote
Why would I start working for you? If you can't give good reasons, then you are in a difficult situation.
If you can't afford to pay decent salaries, the possible reasons are: Your business isn't producing something that people want to pay for, or you are charging too little, or you are selling to people who can't afford to pay much, or you are just starting up.
In the first cases, change your business. In the latter case, there are people who are attracted by an opportunity to strike it big, that is a small salary, but with generous equity in the company. Note that at some point in their life, most people will start looking for security.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
We have had many clients already (some of them are high profile), but it just takes time to build a new company/product. Since it is a B2B solution, it takes a while to turn leads into sales - many meetings, sometimes, often are not ready to use it straight away but come back later. The other issue is that the product has just been rewritten and is not 100% finished yet, so we can't go as aggressive as we would like to on the sales.
– bobo2000
Feb 4 '16 at 15:06
@bobo2000 If you have good potential but no revenue now; then you may be forced to pay lower than average (a lot lower by the looks of it). But people are not going to work for less you need to provide them with the alternative to money, this usually means a stake in the company.
– Martin York
Feb 5 '16 at 1:49
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
8
down vote
up vote
8
down vote
Why would I start working for you? If you can't give good reasons, then you are in a difficult situation.
If you can't afford to pay decent salaries, the possible reasons are: Your business isn't producing something that people want to pay for, or you are charging too little, or you are selling to people who can't afford to pay much, or you are just starting up.
In the first cases, change your business. In the latter case, there are people who are attracted by an opportunity to strike it big, that is a small salary, but with generous equity in the company. Note that at some point in their life, most people will start looking for security.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
Why would I start working for you? If you can't give good reasons, then you are in a difficult situation.
If you can't afford to pay decent salaries, the possible reasons are: Your business isn't producing something that people want to pay for, or you are charging too little, or you are selling to people who can't afford to pay much, or you are just starting up.
In the first cases, change your business. In the latter case, there are people who are attracted by an opportunity to strike it big, that is a small salary, but with generous equity in the company. Note that at some point in their life, most people will start looking for security.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:42
gnasher729
70.9k31131222
70.9k31131222
We have had many clients already (some of them are high profile), but it just takes time to build a new company/product. Since it is a B2B solution, it takes a while to turn leads into sales - many meetings, sometimes, often are not ready to use it straight away but come back later. The other issue is that the product has just been rewritten and is not 100% finished yet, so we can't go as aggressive as we would like to on the sales.
– bobo2000
Feb 4 '16 at 15:06
@bobo2000 If you have good potential but no revenue now; then you may be forced to pay lower than average (a lot lower by the looks of it). But people are not going to work for less you need to provide them with the alternative to money, this usually means a stake in the company.
– Martin York
Feb 5 '16 at 1:49
suggest improvements |Â
We have had many clients already (some of them are high profile), but it just takes time to build a new company/product. Since it is a B2B solution, it takes a while to turn leads into sales - many meetings, sometimes, often are not ready to use it straight away but come back later. The other issue is that the product has just been rewritten and is not 100% finished yet, so we can't go as aggressive as we would like to on the sales.
– bobo2000
Feb 4 '16 at 15:06
@bobo2000 If you have good potential but no revenue now; then you may be forced to pay lower than average (a lot lower by the looks of it). But people are not going to work for less you need to provide them with the alternative to money, this usually means a stake in the company.
– Martin York
Feb 5 '16 at 1:49
We have had many clients already (some of them are high profile), but it just takes time to build a new company/product. Since it is a B2B solution, it takes a while to turn leads into sales - many meetings, sometimes, often are not ready to use it straight away but come back later. The other issue is that the product has just been rewritten and is not 100% finished yet, so we can't go as aggressive as we would like to on the sales.
– bobo2000
Feb 4 '16 at 15:06
We have had many clients already (some of them are high profile), but it just takes time to build a new company/product. Since it is a B2B solution, it takes a while to turn leads into sales - many meetings, sometimes, often are not ready to use it straight away but come back later. The other issue is that the product has just been rewritten and is not 100% finished yet, so we can't go as aggressive as we would like to on the sales.
– bobo2000
Feb 4 '16 at 15:06
@bobo2000 If you have good potential but no revenue now; then you may be forced to pay lower than average (a lot lower by the looks of it). But people are not going to work for less you need to provide them with the alternative to money, this usually means a stake in the company.
– Martin York
Feb 5 '16 at 1:49
@bobo2000 If you have good potential but no revenue now; then you may be forced to pay lower than average (a lot lower by the looks of it). But people are not going to work for less you need to provide them with the alternative to money, this usually means a stake in the company.
– Martin York
Feb 5 '16 at 1:49
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
Your work environment needs to be great to work in. It's that simple. Benefits need to outweigh the costs.
The "best talent" have a lot of career options generally and at some level, you have to accept people in that group will move around.
Reasons people want to go to a small company:
Feeling ownership/importance. Working as part of a huge company makes it hard to feel as if what you are doing matters. As part of a 10 person company? It's much easier.
Expectations of 'making it big.' Related to the above, people want to feel as if there is a chance their company becomes wildly successful and they make tons of money. Ensure people believe this.
Less process(es). Big companies are very bureaucratic with lots of things needed to do everything. Need a new keyboard? Go talk to IT, fill out a request, etc. Small companies can't be this way - for many people this is a driving factor in disliking larger companies. Figure out what processes are important, have them, then let people work.
Trust in leadership. If your employees are leaving continuously for larger companies, it might mean they don't respect or trust your leadership. This may just mean better communications.
Pay. You are willing to underpay people and have huge turnover instead of paying more market wages with slightly fewer employees? That makes no sense - I would be surprised if you added up your employee costs and accounted for onboarding/training that you are not paying more by trying to save money on employees than you would be if you hired slightly fewer, but paid them better. Unless they don't have any significant responsibilities...
Responsibilities. Make it so people feel they have ownership of something and are actually doing things.
Flexibility. A small company can offer a lot more flexibility than big companies, generally, so if you have people who would love to work 6-10am and then 2-6pm or something - let them! Figure out what people want. Do they want to work a 4 day week 7am-5pm? There are a lot of things you can do here that big companies have a harder time with.
Work/life balance. How many hours do your employees work? How many are expected? Smaller companies can sometimes have problems with this, you might consider informally understanding how many hours people work at your company. If people are consistently working 60 hours a week and are underpaid... should you really be surprised if they leave?
Cheap perks. Free coffee/snacks, or other stuff like this can be pretty cheap for 40 employees vs 40,000 employees. But make a huge difference on "how do I like this job" feelings.
Do they believe you invest in their career development? That raises my cynicism meter - it sounds like the type of thing that means, "we'll work you to death and give you great opportunities to do work isn't it great!" instead of actual career development.
If you can't relate to most of this list, you need to really figure out what you can do to change it.
For what it's worth, I recently went to a much smaller company (from a large corporation) where I took an overall paycut which I felt was worthwhile because of many things on this list.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
Great answer. If I had to take a pay cut to get a consistent 3 day weekend and wild flexibility I'd do it in a heartbeat.
– AndreiROM
Feb 4 '16 at 15:01
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
Your work environment needs to be great to work in. It's that simple. Benefits need to outweigh the costs.
The "best talent" have a lot of career options generally and at some level, you have to accept people in that group will move around.
Reasons people want to go to a small company:
Feeling ownership/importance. Working as part of a huge company makes it hard to feel as if what you are doing matters. As part of a 10 person company? It's much easier.
Expectations of 'making it big.' Related to the above, people want to feel as if there is a chance their company becomes wildly successful and they make tons of money. Ensure people believe this.
Less process(es). Big companies are very bureaucratic with lots of things needed to do everything. Need a new keyboard? Go talk to IT, fill out a request, etc. Small companies can't be this way - for many people this is a driving factor in disliking larger companies. Figure out what processes are important, have them, then let people work.
Trust in leadership. If your employees are leaving continuously for larger companies, it might mean they don't respect or trust your leadership. This may just mean better communications.
Pay. You are willing to underpay people and have huge turnover instead of paying more market wages with slightly fewer employees? That makes no sense - I would be surprised if you added up your employee costs and accounted for onboarding/training that you are not paying more by trying to save money on employees than you would be if you hired slightly fewer, but paid them better. Unless they don't have any significant responsibilities...
Responsibilities. Make it so people feel they have ownership of something and are actually doing things.
Flexibility. A small company can offer a lot more flexibility than big companies, generally, so if you have people who would love to work 6-10am and then 2-6pm or something - let them! Figure out what people want. Do they want to work a 4 day week 7am-5pm? There are a lot of things you can do here that big companies have a harder time with.
Work/life balance. How many hours do your employees work? How many are expected? Smaller companies can sometimes have problems with this, you might consider informally understanding how many hours people work at your company. If people are consistently working 60 hours a week and are underpaid... should you really be surprised if they leave?
Cheap perks. Free coffee/snacks, or other stuff like this can be pretty cheap for 40 employees vs 40,000 employees. But make a huge difference on "how do I like this job" feelings.
Do they believe you invest in their career development? That raises my cynicism meter - it sounds like the type of thing that means, "we'll work you to death and give you great opportunities to do work isn't it great!" instead of actual career development.
If you can't relate to most of this list, you need to really figure out what you can do to change it.
For what it's worth, I recently went to a much smaller company (from a large corporation) where I took an overall paycut which I felt was worthwhile because of many things on this list.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
Great answer. If I had to take a pay cut to get a consistent 3 day weekend and wild flexibility I'd do it in a heartbeat.
– AndreiROM
Feb 4 '16 at 15:01
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
up vote
6
down vote
Your work environment needs to be great to work in. It's that simple. Benefits need to outweigh the costs.
The "best talent" have a lot of career options generally and at some level, you have to accept people in that group will move around.
Reasons people want to go to a small company:
Feeling ownership/importance. Working as part of a huge company makes it hard to feel as if what you are doing matters. As part of a 10 person company? It's much easier.
Expectations of 'making it big.' Related to the above, people want to feel as if there is a chance their company becomes wildly successful and they make tons of money. Ensure people believe this.
Less process(es). Big companies are very bureaucratic with lots of things needed to do everything. Need a new keyboard? Go talk to IT, fill out a request, etc. Small companies can't be this way - for many people this is a driving factor in disliking larger companies. Figure out what processes are important, have them, then let people work.
Trust in leadership. If your employees are leaving continuously for larger companies, it might mean they don't respect or trust your leadership. This may just mean better communications.
Pay. You are willing to underpay people and have huge turnover instead of paying more market wages with slightly fewer employees? That makes no sense - I would be surprised if you added up your employee costs and accounted for onboarding/training that you are not paying more by trying to save money on employees than you would be if you hired slightly fewer, but paid them better. Unless they don't have any significant responsibilities...
Responsibilities. Make it so people feel they have ownership of something and are actually doing things.
Flexibility. A small company can offer a lot more flexibility than big companies, generally, so if you have people who would love to work 6-10am and then 2-6pm or something - let them! Figure out what people want. Do they want to work a 4 day week 7am-5pm? There are a lot of things you can do here that big companies have a harder time with.
Work/life balance. How many hours do your employees work? How many are expected? Smaller companies can sometimes have problems with this, you might consider informally understanding how many hours people work at your company. If people are consistently working 60 hours a week and are underpaid... should you really be surprised if they leave?
Cheap perks. Free coffee/snacks, or other stuff like this can be pretty cheap for 40 employees vs 40,000 employees. But make a huge difference on "how do I like this job" feelings.
Do they believe you invest in their career development? That raises my cynicism meter - it sounds like the type of thing that means, "we'll work you to death and give you great opportunities to do work isn't it great!" instead of actual career development.
If you can't relate to most of this list, you need to really figure out what you can do to change it.
For what it's worth, I recently went to a much smaller company (from a large corporation) where I took an overall paycut which I felt was worthwhile because of many things on this list.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
Your work environment needs to be great to work in. It's that simple. Benefits need to outweigh the costs.
The "best talent" have a lot of career options generally and at some level, you have to accept people in that group will move around.
Reasons people want to go to a small company:
Feeling ownership/importance. Working as part of a huge company makes it hard to feel as if what you are doing matters. As part of a 10 person company? It's much easier.
Expectations of 'making it big.' Related to the above, people want to feel as if there is a chance their company becomes wildly successful and they make tons of money. Ensure people believe this.
Less process(es). Big companies are very bureaucratic with lots of things needed to do everything. Need a new keyboard? Go talk to IT, fill out a request, etc. Small companies can't be this way - for many people this is a driving factor in disliking larger companies. Figure out what processes are important, have them, then let people work.
Trust in leadership. If your employees are leaving continuously for larger companies, it might mean they don't respect or trust your leadership. This may just mean better communications.
Pay. You are willing to underpay people and have huge turnover instead of paying more market wages with slightly fewer employees? That makes no sense - I would be surprised if you added up your employee costs and accounted for onboarding/training that you are not paying more by trying to save money on employees than you would be if you hired slightly fewer, but paid them better. Unless they don't have any significant responsibilities...
Responsibilities. Make it so people feel they have ownership of something and are actually doing things.
Flexibility. A small company can offer a lot more flexibility than big companies, generally, so if you have people who would love to work 6-10am and then 2-6pm or something - let them! Figure out what people want. Do they want to work a 4 day week 7am-5pm? There are a lot of things you can do here that big companies have a harder time with.
Work/life balance. How many hours do your employees work? How many are expected? Smaller companies can sometimes have problems with this, you might consider informally understanding how many hours people work at your company. If people are consistently working 60 hours a week and are underpaid... should you really be surprised if they leave?
Cheap perks. Free coffee/snacks, or other stuff like this can be pretty cheap for 40 employees vs 40,000 employees. But make a huge difference on "how do I like this job" feelings.
Do they believe you invest in their career development? That raises my cynicism meter - it sounds like the type of thing that means, "we'll work you to death and give you great opportunities to do work isn't it great!" instead of actual career development.
If you can't relate to most of this list, you need to really figure out what you can do to change it.
For what it's worth, I recently went to a much smaller company (from a large corporation) where I took an overall paycut which I felt was worthwhile because of many things on this list.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
answered Feb 4 '16 at 13:36
Elysian Fields♦
96.7k46292449
96.7k46292449
Great answer. If I had to take a pay cut to get a consistent 3 day weekend and wild flexibility I'd do it in a heartbeat.
– AndreiROM
Feb 4 '16 at 15:01
suggest improvements |Â
Great answer. If I had to take a pay cut to get a consistent 3 day weekend and wild flexibility I'd do it in a heartbeat.
– AndreiROM
Feb 4 '16 at 15:01
Great answer. If I had to take a pay cut to get a consistent 3 day weekend and wild flexibility I'd do it in a heartbeat.
– AndreiROM
Feb 4 '16 at 15:01
Great answer. If I had to take a pay cut to get a consistent 3 day weekend and wild flexibility I'd do it in a heartbeat.
– AndreiROM
Feb 4 '16 at 15:01
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Corporates compete by offering good pay and job security. You can't offer the first, and a potential candidate may have doubts about the second, unless you have been around for a long time.
Think about what motivates people to work at a place, or what turns them off. Then think about what is easier for you to offer than for a corporate giant.
Dawny33 already mentioned equity. This is a good thing if you are a startup, because there is a big upside potential, and it doesn't cost a lot. It's less attractive if you are an established smaller company that will likely not experience explosive growth.
Be nimble in your processes. Aim for those people who joined the giants for the pay, but got turned off by processes, paperwork and deadwood. Make it clear, say, that your HR and Payroll are there for the employees, not the other way around, as it sometimes seems in larger companies. It will not be easy to communicate this to potential candidates, so you will need to network and work on your reputation.
Allow people to choose their own hard- and software, set up their own desks, decide on their own working times, and so forth.
Sell working for you on a gut level. I'm working for SAP, and the pay is good, but it's certainly not sexy, and try as we might, we will never establish a reputation that we make the world a better place (though we may well be doing exactly that). Get the enthusiasts to work for you. This will depend on what you actually do, of course.
Network a lot. Recruit personally. The corporate giants are flooded with applications, so applications are first automatically screened for keywords, then go into a process, and then the applicant may well feel like a tiny anonymous cog in a machine even before he started. At a smaller place, an applicant may well be able to personally meet a large percentage of current employees during the interviews, or even before at job fairs and similar. A small company can have a face - a large company only has a website.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Corporates compete by offering good pay and job security. You can't offer the first, and a potential candidate may have doubts about the second, unless you have been around for a long time.
Think about what motivates people to work at a place, or what turns them off. Then think about what is easier for you to offer than for a corporate giant.
Dawny33 already mentioned equity. This is a good thing if you are a startup, because there is a big upside potential, and it doesn't cost a lot. It's less attractive if you are an established smaller company that will likely not experience explosive growth.
Be nimble in your processes. Aim for those people who joined the giants for the pay, but got turned off by processes, paperwork and deadwood. Make it clear, say, that your HR and Payroll are there for the employees, not the other way around, as it sometimes seems in larger companies. It will not be easy to communicate this to potential candidates, so you will need to network and work on your reputation.
Allow people to choose their own hard- and software, set up their own desks, decide on their own working times, and so forth.
Sell working for you on a gut level. I'm working for SAP, and the pay is good, but it's certainly not sexy, and try as we might, we will never establish a reputation that we make the world a better place (though we may well be doing exactly that). Get the enthusiasts to work for you. This will depend on what you actually do, of course.
Network a lot. Recruit personally. The corporate giants are flooded with applications, so applications are first automatically screened for keywords, then go into a process, and then the applicant may well feel like a tiny anonymous cog in a machine even before he started. At a smaller place, an applicant may well be able to personally meet a large percentage of current employees during the interviews, or even before at job fairs and similar. A small company can have a face - a large company only has a website.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
Corporates compete by offering good pay and job security. You can't offer the first, and a potential candidate may have doubts about the second, unless you have been around for a long time.
Think about what motivates people to work at a place, or what turns them off. Then think about what is easier for you to offer than for a corporate giant.
Dawny33 already mentioned equity. This is a good thing if you are a startup, because there is a big upside potential, and it doesn't cost a lot. It's less attractive if you are an established smaller company that will likely not experience explosive growth.
Be nimble in your processes. Aim for those people who joined the giants for the pay, but got turned off by processes, paperwork and deadwood. Make it clear, say, that your HR and Payroll are there for the employees, not the other way around, as it sometimes seems in larger companies. It will not be easy to communicate this to potential candidates, so you will need to network and work on your reputation.
Allow people to choose their own hard- and software, set up their own desks, decide on their own working times, and so forth.
Sell working for you on a gut level. I'm working for SAP, and the pay is good, but it's certainly not sexy, and try as we might, we will never establish a reputation that we make the world a better place (though we may well be doing exactly that). Get the enthusiasts to work for you. This will depend on what you actually do, of course.
Network a lot. Recruit personally. The corporate giants are flooded with applications, so applications are first automatically screened for keywords, then go into a process, and then the applicant may well feel like a tiny anonymous cog in a machine even before he started. At a smaller place, an applicant may well be able to personally meet a large percentage of current employees during the interviews, or even before at job fairs and similar. A small company can have a face - a large company only has a website.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
Corporates compete by offering good pay and job security. You can't offer the first, and a potential candidate may have doubts about the second, unless you have been around for a long time.
Think about what motivates people to work at a place, or what turns them off. Then think about what is easier for you to offer than for a corporate giant.
Dawny33 already mentioned equity. This is a good thing if you are a startup, because there is a big upside potential, and it doesn't cost a lot. It's less attractive if you are an established smaller company that will likely not experience explosive growth.
Be nimble in your processes. Aim for those people who joined the giants for the pay, but got turned off by processes, paperwork and deadwood. Make it clear, say, that your HR and Payroll are there for the employees, not the other way around, as it sometimes seems in larger companies. It will not be easy to communicate this to potential candidates, so you will need to network and work on your reputation.
Allow people to choose their own hard- and software, set up their own desks, decide on their own working times, and so forth.
Sell working for you on a gut level. I'm working for SAP, and the pay is good, but it's certainly not sexy, and try as we might, we will never establish a reputation that we make the world a better place (though we may well be doing exactly that). Get the enthusiasts to work for you. This will depend on what you actually do, of course.
Network a lot. Recruit personally. The corporate giants are flooded with applications, so applications are first automatically screened for keywords, then go into a process, and then the applicant may well feel like a tiny anonymous cog in a machine even before he started. At a smaller place, an applicant may well be able to personally meet a large percentage of current employees during the interviews, or even before at job fairs and similar. A small company can have a face - a large company only has a website.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
answered Feb 4 '16 at 11:11
Stephan Kolassa
8,35532850
8,35532850
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Why don't you just ask?
You've interviewing candidates and going through salary negotiations. If they want a higher salary, ask them what they would accept instead.
It could be things like flexible work scheduling, training/mentorship (like you're already offering), other benefits that may be perceived in larger financial amounts than what the company pays for (e.g. company gets group discount on club membership, insurance, etc..).
Each candidate can be different, so you may not be successful offering them all the same thing.
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Why don't you just ask?
You've interviewing candidates and going through salary negotiations. If they want a higher salary, ask them what they would accept instead.
It could be things like flexible work scheduling, training/mentorship (like you're already offering), other benefits that may be perceived in larger financial amounts than what the company pays for (e.g. company gets group discount on club membership, insurance, etc..).
Each candidate can be different, so you may not be successful offering them all the same thing.
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Why don't you just ask?
You've interviewing candidates and going through salary negotiations. If they want a higher salary, ask them what they would accept instead.
It could be things like flexible work scheduling, training/mentorship (like you're already offering), other benefits that may be perceived in larger financial amounts than what the company pays for (e.g. company gets group discount on club membership, insurance, etc..).
Each candidate can be different, so you may not be successful offering them all the same thing.
Why don't you just ask?
You've interviewing candidates and going through salary negotiations. If they want a higher salary, ask them what they would accept instead.
It could be things like flexible work scheduling, training/mentorship (like you're already offering), other benefits that may be perceived in larger financial amounts than what the company pays for (e.g. company gets group discount on club membership, insurance, etc..).
Each candidate can be different, so you may not be successful offering them all the same thing.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 19:48
user8365
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
A very common problem with startups.
So, this is what the startups generally do:
- Offer hefty ESOPs. Equity and perks are the ones apart from salary, which can attract talent.
However, you can't attract seniors or more experienced people with ESOP's (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and equity, like they did the young talent. You have to shell out money if you want to attract them.
So, startups always raise a big round of funding and then hire senior engineers. Till then, I'm afraid you have to continue with the young and mid-senior level engineers.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
A very common problem with startups.
So, this is what the startups generally do:
- Offer hefty ESOPs. Equity and perks are the ones apart from salary, which can attract talent.
However, you can't attract seniors or more experienced people with ESOP's (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and equity, like they did the young talent. You have to shell out money if you want to attract them.
So, startups always raise a big round of funding and then hire senior engineers. Till then, I'm afraid you have to continue with the young and mid-senior level engineers.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
A very common problem with startups.
So, this is what the startups generally do:
- Offer hefty ESOPs. Equity and perks are the ones apart from salary, which can attract talent.
However, you can't attract seniors or more experienced people with ESOP's (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and equity, like they did the young talent. You have to shell out money if you want to attract them.
So, startups always raise a big round of funding and then hire senior engineers. Till then, I'm afraid you have to continue with the young and mid-senior level engineers.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
A very common problem with startups.
So, this is what the startups generally do:
- Offer hefty ESOPs. Equity and perks are the ones apart from salary, which can attract talent.
However, you can't attract seniors or more experienced people with ESOP's (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and equity, like they did the young talent. You have to shell out money if you want to attract them.
So, startups always raise a big round of funding and then hire senior engineers. Till then, I'm afraid you have to continue with the young and mid-senior level engineers.
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
edited Feb 4 '16 at 11:03
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
answered Feb 4 '16 at 10:58
Dawny33
12.2k34563
12.2k34563
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â
4
What do you mean by "A lot of mid level/senior's salary expectations are 40+ leaving juniors."?
– Stephan Kolassa
Feb 4 '16 at 10:59
4
If someone asks for clarification, you do not answer Exactly what I wrote. You edit your question to make it more clear. After reading it 4 times I think you mean something like leaving only juniors as possible/affordable candidates/colleagues.
– Jan Doggen
Feb 4 '16 at 14:26
1
What country is this? Entry level IT salaries haven't been in the USD 40K range for decades.
– shoover
Feb 4 '16 at 18:39
1
Have you considered that enthusiastic juniors can go very far amok without adult supervision? You may want to consider shelling out a competitive salary to get someone in who's going to keep you from amassing some serious technical debt without knowing it and can train your juniors to grow into seniors who can do the same. In other words, if you think you're going to be around longer than a few months, you can't afford not to hire a decent senior dev.
– Amy Blankenship
Feb 4 '16 at 22:49
1
Do you have a viable business plan? Anyone can make money if they can get Oompa-Loompas to work for nothing. If your business model requires getting software written for below-market compensation, there's not much hope.
– kevin cline
Feb 5 '16 at 5:02