Did your climate-tech start-up just receive funding? Do you need short-term help during a busy period in your start-up? Are you short-staffed and need a permanent employee to solve a specific business problem in your business?
Talent solutions come in a variety of shapes and sizes and approaches: contract recruitment, seasonal, permanent, project based, on-site, remote and an entire team. As a climate-tech founder, you have to ensure that your strategy is unique to your individual business needs, and a climate-tech recruiter prioritises for those specific needs. After all, all businesses are unique and have their own set of challenges and goals.
Climate-tech recruiters give you quick access to highly relevant and skilled people that you may not find on your own. They also do a lot of the administrative, background screening and “heavy lifting” which easies your workload and stress. In this way, none of your important non-hiring projects will be affected as you’ve outsourced the immense time it takes to find the right people for your start-up and all the details about the candidates are taken care of by the recruiter.
So how does a climate-tech recruiter work, and how can you optimise the way you work with them to receive the best return on your investment?
Check out the list below to understand the best way to work with a recruitment firm.
1. Engage a specialised employment agency that is a subject matter expert in climate-tech
When looking to outsource the recruitment and sourcing of talent for your start-up, make sure that the partner you hire specialises in both the function of the talent you need and the industry. Whether it’s sales, marketing or operations talent, you should go to a specialised recruiter as they will have a huge network of talent already. Generalist recruitment firms work with a broad range of candidates, meaning it will take longer to find someone with the specific skills and qualifications you need for your start-up. A firm that specialises in your industry would already know a few candidates who would be successful in your new open role.
Lastly, a specialised talent solutions firm really understands your industry and can provide talent insights on trends, opportunities and challenges in the candidate marketplace. This means they can advise you on this and also find a very close match on their first try, which saves you time and money and ensures the person is hired and working for your company faster.
2. Communication is key
Do your best to speak with the recruitment firm directly rather than only submitting a job description and communicating via email. You should tell your recruiter about your hiring requirements, business challenges and company culture.
Ensure you create a detailed job description so that the climate-tech recruiter knows the skills the candidate must have. Your recruiter can also help with this if you’re feeling stuck and can simplify the process for you.
Also mention any policies your start-up follows, for example remote working, work hours, dress code and any other information like benefits etc. Make sure you talk about your climate-tech start-up’s mission and values if you have them. This information ensures your recruiter can match you with talent that fits within your requirements. When everything is clearly defined, the recruiter will start their search immediately.
From there, the recruiter will reach out to their candidate database of relevant talent, look for further talent, review resumes, conduction applicant evaluations, conduction interviews, negotiate salary and benefits, call references and more. All you have to do is conduct the interviews and make a decision on whom to hire.
3. Follow up with your recruiter after the new hire starts
After your new employee has started, be sure to provide feedback on how they are performing in their new role. This will help both you and the recruiter with future searches for your company. Building a close partnership with your recruiter will ensure that any future searches are optimised and future candidates are an even better fit that before. If there are any problems, let the recruiter know regarding specific issues with individual performance. The more you can share with your recruiter, the better they can serve your talent acquisition needs.
4. Weigh fees vs. costs of working with a climate-tech recruiter
When you instruct a climate-tech recruiter, you will have to pay fees for the individuals that they find for you. Generally speaking, the fee is either paid in advance on a retainer contract or after the person is hired, on a contingency basis. However, even though you pay a fee, there is a typical net savings for you if you choose a specialised recruiter that delivers talent solutions to you quickly. It’s a business expense that pays for itself, for example, if you can hire your sales director within 2 weeks instead of 2 months, they can already start generating revenue for you as they start working for you earlier.
Finding qualified, skilled talent can be complex and time-consuming, so you save this time and money and potential frustration and delays by turning this over to recruiting experts.
Plus, most employment agencies are likely to offer a guarantee period, which means that they will find you a replacement if the hire does not work out. Lastly, if you build a strong partnership with the agency, not only do you add up savings over time, but you save time if you work with them frequently as they already know what your company culture is like and the types of positions you need filled, so they are faster at delivering you the right talent.
Now that you know how recruiters work, be sure to communicate with them in every step of the recruitment process, that will put you in the best position to maximise your working relationship and speed up the hiring process, so you can focus on your business goals and get the best return on investment.
Looking to hire for your climate-tech start-up? Look no further and leave the recruiting to the experts at Jobs for Planet. Contact us on hello@jobsforplanet.com or submit a form here
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