The number of startups may be increasing—but the problem is there aren’t enough employees to support these businesses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that startup team sizes at birth and employment rates have declined in the past few decades.
The BLS points out that startup establishments less than one-year-old had seven employees in 1994, while most startups only had four employees on average in 2019. Likewise, employment from new business establishments peaked at 4.7 million in 1999, while new businesses only generated 3.1 million jobs in 2019.
These numbers could be better, especially if startup leaders invest in their teams. After all, employees are valuable investments that can provide significant returns for your startup.
Employees are Valuable Investments
Talent shortages are rampant across the US, and it’s serving as a wake-up call for businesses. Robert Half’s Paul McDonald notes that 88% of senior managers are worried about losing their top talents, while 47% are concerned about the burnout levels of their employees. Rather than waiting for people to leave, McDonald believes that businesses should start investing in their employees’ upskilling to retain their workforce.
This investment may seem risky, but recruitment experts guarantee that it will provide promising returns. In fact, the president of LHH outlines how the ROI of investing in employees is hugely beneficial for business and economic growth. This is because the workforce is in charge of innovating, creating, and solving problems in businesses. As an added bonus, LHH points out that companies can save up to $136,000 per employee by investing in the reskilling and redeployment of their own workforce.
Startups make a lot of risky investments. But based on the numbers, it seems that startup teams are assets that provide exponential returns.
3 Ways to Invest in Your Team
1. Encourage them to engage in virtual communities
Businesses aren’t the only ones who benefit from startup communities. Our article on ‘How to Build a Startup Community’ points out that new businesses get to acquire customers and exchange valuable information through these communities. But on top of that, this is also an investment for your staff because it will help them to meet fellow members and learn industry trends from the community.
To start, you can allow your employees to interact with customers and industry leaders through your product communities on Projectium. Your staff can further broaden their network by joining communities from various industries on Facebook groups or connecting with industry leaders on LinkedIn. By allowing employees to be active in these communities, your staff can network with professionals to understand the needs of the consumers.
2. Provide mentorship opportunities for your team
You can also invest in your startup team by offering your time and knowledge as a mentor. While mentoring is a big responsibility, it can increase the satisfaction of your employees and provide psychological support for their roles.
They align their career plans with the company’s objectives to increase their satisfaction with the program. You should also understand their expectations from the mentorship program to learn which type of mentoring they may need from your startup. To illustrate, you may discover that the younger employees in your startup want developmental mentoring programs where they can upskill through the guidance of senior staff. As you expand your startup, your employees may also voice out the need for new manager mentoring programs where first-time managers learn from experienced leaders within the company.
3. Create internal mobility programs for employees
Employees are more likely to stay if they have a bright future within the startup. As such, it’s crucial for you to create an internal mobility program that helps employees climb up the ladder within the organization. The program must include developmental plans and performance evaluations, which can guide employees in sharpening their skills for the new role.
The most common type of internal mobility program is an upward mobility program, which is developed to help startup employees enhance their skills and move up the ranks. Startup employees can also benefit from project-based mobility programs that give them an opportunity to collaborate with and learn from colleagues in different functions. Once they finish these programs, your staff will be rewarded with a higher position, while you get a more knowledgeable talent for your startup.
Investing in your startup team will take up a lot of time, effort, and even money. But unlike risky cryptocurrencies, this investment will give your startup great returns in terms of your profit, savings, and product innovation.
Post specially prepared for projectium.network
Prepared by: JBeasant
