Camelia RodriguezTo say creating a startup is no easy feat is an understatement. It takes a lot of courage and tenacity to start your own business and make it grow and be successful. You must also invest a great amount of time because there are many elements of a new business that need to be considered. Aside from needing to protect your idea, you also have to make certain that you choose the best people to partner with. There’s also the added worry of ensuring funds to maintain your business.
You would think, then, that most Americans would say “no thank you” to starting their own company. However, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, last year 514,000 new businesses were created each month in the United States. Clearly there are plenty of people willing to take the plunge into being a business owner and face all the challenges head on. Unfortunately, not everyone comes out successful.
After one year, a quarter of startups have already gone out of business. More than half of startup businesses will fail after five years. Even more disheartening, 71% of startups fail after 10 years.
Video interviews can be an extremely helpful and powerful tool when getting your startup off and running. Here are a couple benefits you can enjoy when utilizing video interviews to contribute to the success of your startup company:
Save money
Not everyone can win the lottery or inherit a family fortune. Many startup owners will tell you that they strongly desire saving money when first creating their company. Saving money early on can help your company in the long run.
Hiring highly skilled and talented people will surely keep your company going in the right direction toward a bright future. Therefore, it’s crucial to get these people on board quickly and without breaking the bank. The cost-per-hire for small businesses is approximately $3,079 according to SHRM. According to the Startup Outlook Report, most startups don’t immediately start earning a profit so you may not have a couple extra grand to devote for just your hiring.
Furthermore, talented people that could be great performers at your company may not be in your backyard, but you don’t want to miss out on them just because you didn’t have the funds in your budget to fly them in. Utilize video interviews such as the one-way or live to avoid unnecessary costs that come with having to fly in candidates and arrange lodging for them. Video interviews save 67% of the travel expenses associated with hiring.
Saving time
More of your time can be dedicated to ensuring the high quality of your product and service and growing your business if you implement video interviews into your startup’s hiring process. You can instantly connect with job seekers and quickly screen through them to find the best people to add to your team.
By utilizing video interviews, you can avoid the methods used in the traditional hiring process which take up a lot of time. According to the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), it can take small organizations as long as 29 days to fill open positions. This is just far too many days being wasted on the hiring process when startups need top talent as soon as possible in order to consistently grow.
You can avoid wasting time with one-way video interviews. With the Spark Hire One-Way Interview, candidates record their answers to your interview questions and you can later review these answers at your convenience. The Aberdeen Group found in their study that you can watch 10 one-way video interviews in the time it takes you to conduct one phone screen. By using video interviews you can slice through your pile of applications quickly and focus on just the best candidates. This allows you to be more efficient about making a hiring decision.
Finding employees that fit your company culture
Company culture is an important aspect of your new business that you need to consider. It’s more than just office perks and casual Fridays. A positive company culture can contribute to your startup’s success. A bad company culture can potentially send your startup back to the drawing board.
Here are some statistics to keep in mind when hiring for your small business: 46% of new hires fail within the first 18 months and the cost of a bad hire can set you back as much as $50,000. Obviously, these are fairly terrifying statistics and could be disastrous for your startup when every moment counts and every penny needs to be saved.
New hires at a small business fail because of poor company culture fit 89% of the time. As a startup, every hire you make will contribute to establishing and developing your company culture. It’s very important, then, to not only find candidates who fit your company, but to also think about the kind of company culture you’d like for your new business.
As was mentioned, the one-way interview can help with avoiding methods of the traditional hiring process that waste time. With the one-way, you can focus your attention on only the best candidates. When it comes to hiring for cultural fit, you can tailor your one-way interview questions to focus on whether a candidate will thrive in your startup environment and contribute to your company’s success. When reviewing these video interview answers, you can quickly weed through candidates that may have all the right qualifications, but not the right personality and drive for your startup. You can then focus your time and energy on the candidates who will actually bring value to your company and help it to grow.
Starting your own business means having to juggle numerous things on your plate. Take advantage of technology such as video interviews to simplify things for you so that your focus can be dedicated to more important tasks. Download our free eBook made especially for startup founders and entrepreneurs to learn about more benefits of using video interviews:
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