“We are not Yandex, so no one comes to us.” Why small and medium-sized businesses are losing the competition for the best employees

We exist in a world where the words “we are not Yandex” often become a cover for many entrepreneurs who are itching to work with a team. Or with the search for talented people to join it.

This phrase justifies a lot of things well. For example, why the team constantly screws up and doesn’t see it. Or why your diligent investment in employee development is met with resistance from them. And yet, it’s easy to get lost in the forest of your own thoughts: “oh, our people are not like that,” “the mentality is not the same,” “all the big heads have already been snapped up by corporations,” “all the best have long gone abroad.”

But we remember that entrepreneurship is the art of seeing opportunities where others see obstacles.

Faced with constant difficulties in attracting strong specialists to their project, many business owners come to the conclusion that attracting talent without a big name is a fantasy task. And it’s definitely not affordable to meet the salary expectations of such a specialist.

However, an entrepreneur who fails to attract talented people will face the same problems. They are obvious beacons that are worth paying attention to. If you recognize yourself in them, it’s time to think about your approaches to team building.

You don’t understand what strong professionals look for in a job

In the pursuit of talent, many entrepreneurs try to do it with little money, without investing much in attracting them. That’s why we often see vacancies in which they try to attract applicants with free cookies, a beautiful office or a friendly team. We do not deny that these aspects matter, but it is sad when they become the “main competitive advantage” in the job market.

Many have gone so far as to research their customers and roll out products and marketing specifically to their needs. However, almost no one is currently doing research on job seekers. This strategic mistake deprives companies of the opportunity to understand the needs and expectations of candidates and make their business an attractive employer.

People are not only looking for where to make more money – it’s important to understand this. Although the salary level is very important and should be in the market, there are many factors that can sway a candidate towards a small start-up business, even if there is an offer from a large IT company nearby. Although a corporation certainly has more resources and the likelihood of attracting talented people, small and medium-sized businesses also have their trump cards.

Some applicants will strive to avoid bureaucracy, consider companies with the possibility of non-linear growth, or look for the opportunity to work “at arm's length with the owner” in order to adopt his experience and competencies. The applicant can find all this in a small company that has not yet acquired departments, regulations, grades, and in order to have lunch with the owner, you do not need to compete for the title of best employee of the month with a thousand other people. And vice versa – the corporation will not be able to offer this. But its strengths are high stability and a clear grading system.

The problem with attracting talent is exacerbated when hiring and team development are perceived as unimportant, secondary tasks that can be done as an afterthought. Delegating these processes to “everyone” without a clear strategy and understanding of the ultimate goal leads to the fact that the wrong people are recruited into the company. Those who are content with little, without striving for growth and development, and those who really come just “for the cookies.” And then you sit with them at a meeting, get bored and think how all these people ended up here.

What to do? In short, conduct interviews, find out what is valuable to applicants and speak the language of their requests, and not just your “what can we offer you.” More specifically, you need to write a separate article about this. If you are interested in reading about it, write in the comments.

Agree to compromises

Often, discouraged by a string of unsuccessful hiring attempts, entrepreneurs begin to make compromises, choosing candidates who are “at least somewhat suitable.” Because the project is on fire, the customer is yelling, and looking for a project for a month is no good. Instead of changing their approach to hiring, they decide to simply fill the position with a candidate who falls into the “doubtful, but ok” category.

This short-term solution can lead to long-term problems: mediocre employees not only produce mediocre work, but can also undermine the motivation of the rest of the team. Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, emphasizes the importance of “having the right people on the bus” before you even get going. Not a stupid guy, you should listen.

When you decide to hire a mediocre employee, you will inevitably face consequences. These employees often require additional time for training and support, constantly go for advice, and at the first opportunity to leave for a higher salary, they immediately disappear. Not to mention, their work is rarely of the quality you need to grow your company. As a result, the time and resources spent trying to “bring up” such employees could be invested in finding truly talented candidates.

If we again draw parallels with marketing, then there is ABCD customer segmentation. AB segments generate the most revenue and require the least amount of company resources. They buy without asking the sales team any questions and don’t ask for support. Whereas CD segments consume a lot of time and energy, but the income from them is less than bread crumbs. Similar segmentation is also possible in relation to “internal clients” – your employees and candidates.

You live in the false feeling that people will a priori be interested in achieving your goals

This feeling is dangerous because few people are aware of it or even acknowledge it. This is due to the fact that working relationships are understood linearly – “I give you a salary, you give me the fulfillment of my goals.” Or it is assumed that the owner has such an interesting global vision, the team a priori shares it. At the same time, the company does not take into account the motivation and interests of individual people. And whether the goals of the employees match the goals of the company – no one… and most often, no one knows.

This creates a false expectation that employees will put as much effort and enthusiasm into achieving the company's goals as the founders themselves. But in practice everything is different. At best, people simply do tasks for show, without thinking about why it is needed. At worst, they create more problems on the way to the company's goals than values.

And here it is important not to deceive yourself and accept that people come to work with their own set of personal motivations, interests and aspirations. And they come to fulfill their goals first, not yours. And the entrepreneur's expectation that people will work for money only towards his goals leads to disappointment on both sides. And to the fact that if talented people do get into the company, they don’t stay long.

How do corporations address this issue? For example, Patagonia actively engages its employees in environmental initiatives that are consistent with its corporate values. They encourage team members to participate in environmental activities, even if this means being away from work during the workday.

Thus, the goals of the company and the team should become common, but the path to achieving them should take into account the individual needs and desires of each team member.

About how to create a team of A-players if you are not Yandex – we sort it out in the Telegram channel during March