As a high-growth startup you have many challenges: achieving product-market fit, risk planning, time management, streamlining business processes, managing cash flow, scaling and profitability – all before the cash runs out. It’s crucial to explore different recruitment methods when growing your teams, so let’s look at ways that embedded talent could help your high-growth startup recruitment process.
A growing startup comes with unique pressures. Things like rapid iteration, validated learning, opportunity-cost analysis and hiring world-class team members. In fact, when the stakes are high, hiring the right team members can be the difference between success and failure.
In addition to this, when you’re going through a phase of scaling, it’s important to remember that the workforce planning process and timely workforce planning become integral to how you plan your recruitment and approach your talent management.
With that in mind, it’s important to assess the various recruitment methods when growing your tech team.
These methods include:
- Contingency search
- Internal recruiters
- Embedded talent partner
In this article, we’ll break down the different methods you have available to you and the pros and cons of each one.
But if you’re looking for a more in-depth look into what an embedded talent partner does with real-world examples, how we do it, and the impact of working in an embedded recruitment partnership, then this article is a more suitable read for you to dive into:
A “One Team” Approach To Recruitment: What Is An Embedded Talent Partner?
Short on time?
Contingency search 🔍
Contingency recruitment runs on a payment-by-results model. You pay the agency a percentage of the fee against the candidate’s salary offered.
Pros:
- Payment by results. You only pay when the candidate has started.
- There is usually some form of rebate system that gives you an element of protection if the hire doesn’t work out.
- Considering contingency search is based on an assignment basis, you don’t need to guarantee a set amount of work.
- You can spread a wide net quickly by allowing several agencies to work on each assignment.
Cons:
- Contingency recruitment can be time-consuming. You will be sent a high quantity of CVs and often many won’t fit your requirements.
- The fees can be very high. As much as 35% of the gross salary for each candidate hired in some cases.
- There is no guarantee that you will be sent the best candidates. For example, if an agency has higher fees agreed elsewhere, they will send their best candidates to that client to ensure they can maximise profits.
- When a contingency agency engages with a candidate, the startup has little control over how its brand is being projected.
- Candidates are generally presented to multiple clients. This means you will have more competition if you decide to make an offer to the candidate.
- Unless the Consultant is a specialist in your area, they may not fully understand your needs or the breadth and quality of the candidate’s skill sets.
Internal recruiters 🏠
Many startups are now hiring internal recruiters in anticipation of rapid growth.
Internal recruiters have varied roles. As well as recruiting for multiple vacancies they will also be responsible for building an employer brand and onboarding new hires.
Pros:
- You have someone who can dedicate themselves to building a strong employer brand.
- Having someone internal means you can better monitor and measure your recruitment process.
- An internal recruiter can build a database of candidates you can contact for future roles.
- You will be able to run an employee referral programme which will increase the time to hire and engage with your existing staff.
- Being based in the business, you will be able to have open communication lines which means you will be able to have full transparency in the hiring process.
- If you hire a technical consultant with years of experience, they will have a strong personal network which could reduce time to hire.
- An internal recruiter should better understand the business needs and culture. This means candidates recommended should be a better fit for your high-growth startup.
Cons:
- You will have limited outreach – there are only so many hours in a day and so many people one person can reach out to.
- If you no longer need to grow, you may be paying a large salary when it is no longer needed.
- Hiring a talented internal recruiter who specialises in tech roles will come with a large cost (salary, NI insurance, benefits etc).
- It often takes to a lot of time to build a robust and well-experienced internal team.
- By having access to only one mind, you may see limitations in technical knowledge and network.
- If the business (or key decision maker) has never had experience of hiring an internal recruiter it will be difficult to know what this person should look like or the many shapes of recruiter.
- Unless the Consultant is a specialist in your area, they may not fully understand your needs or the breadth and quality of the candidates’ skill sets.
- Internal recruiters are often given extra responsibilities which means they may get distracted from sourcing key roles.
Embedded talent partners 🌱
Embedded talent partners is a relatively new model that is a perfect blend of contingency and internal recruitment, optimised for technical recruitment.
Talent partners are provided by a consultancy firm and are paid either monthly, by time or project-based.
Embedded talent partners will brand themselves just like an internal recruiter whilst being able to stop and start services as and when you need.
Pros:
- You have one person on-demand for constant communication and guidance but also get access to multiple minds and networks.
- You get increased brand awareness for free. Talent partners live and breathe your brand and culture and know-how to sell your story in the best way possible.
- Talent partners can build an entire talent function including candidate experience, employer branding and recruitment metrics.
- A talent partner can build a database of candidates you can contact for future roles.
- Being based in the business, you will be able to have open communication lines which means you will be able to have full transparency on the hiring process.
- A talent partner will have a strong personal network which could reduce time to hire.
- Talent partners have a scientific approach to recruitment and will be able to provide you with sophisticated reporting and analysis.
- The resource-intensive approach reduces time to hire.
- Embedded talent models are proven to reduce recruitment spend by circa 50%.
- Talent partners are proactive in engaging with passive candidates – get the best talent, not the most available.
In summary, when deciding how to grow your startup, the embedded talent model is a strong consideration.
Learn about the benefits of using embedded talent
If you need to grow your teams and require increased hiring capacity and capability quickly, understanding how partnering with an embedded recruitment company could be the key to your hiring success.
Here’s how we partnered with Amsterdam-based Fintech Unicorn, Mollie, to achieve their ambitious scaling plans and recruitment demand planning for the upcoming year. Find key statistics, the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of why Mollie chose to use an embedded recruitment service and results data from the partnership.
Watch a short video from Mollie’s Former Head of Talent Acquisition, Charlotte Lafferty.
You can read also the full case study of the Mollie & Scede partnership here plus get an easy-to-read, shareable infographic.
About Scede
Scede are pioneers in the embedded recruitment model – we’ve helped to build teams for Mollie, Automattic, Graphcore, WeTransfer, Supercell, Klarna and more. We partner with high-growth tech companies and gaming studios to ensure they hire the best staff for their businesses and their environments. We work with you as part of your team to achieve long-term hiring success for your startup or scaleup.
If we could help build your team, get in touch using the button below.
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