What is Growth Hiring?
Growth hiring is a recruitment method focused on acquiring talent that can catalyse and support a company’s rapid growth. This approach is crucial for start-ups and fast-growing companies, where the ability to adapt quickly and innovate is essential. Unlike traditional recruitment methods, growth hiring places the emphasis on flexibility, agility and the ability of candidates to grow with the company.
The importance of Growth Hiring in today’s market
In the current economic climate, marked by increased competition and rapid technological change, growth hiring is no longer an option, but a necessity. According to a LinkedIn study, 72% of recruitment managers worldwide recognise that the ability to attract talent is a key factor in a company’s competitiveness. In addition, a Glassdoor survey reveals that 93% of CEOs and HR managers believe that recruiting top talent is a priority for achieving their growth objectives.
Why focus on Growth Hiring?
Growth hiring enables companies to remain competitive in a constantly changing environment. By focusing on versatile and progressive talent, companies can better navigate through periods of change, innovation and expansion. This type of recruitment also fosters a dynamic working culture where creativity and innovation are encouraged, attracting high-calibre candidates.
Of course, not all business sectors will benefit as much from growth hiring as others. But for all those affected by increased competition, a paradigm or market shift (legislative or societal change) and rapid technological change, growth hiring has become a necessity rather than a simple option. Current labour market trends point to significant changes in recruitment practices and skills requirements.
Among the sectors that can benefit most from growth hiring are:
- Technology and IT: Rapidly evolving skills and technologies, the need for constant innovation.
- Start-ups and fast-growing companies: need to adapt quickly to market changes and scalability.
- Health and biotechnology: Constant innovation and growing demand for specialist skills.
- Digital marketing and communication: adapting to digital trends and rapidly evolving market strategies.
- Financial services and Fintech: Evolution of financial technologies and the need for adaptability in the face of changing regulations and adaptation to technological changes and the need for skills in data analysis and cybersecurity.
- Industry and manufacturing: Adapting to industrial 4.0 technologies and automation.
- E-commerce and retail: Transition to digital and complex supply chain management.
Keys to success in Growth Hiring
1. Identifying key skills for growth
Growth hiring starts with a clear understanding of the essential skills that underpin growth and innovation in the company. This includes not only industry-specific technical skills, but also cross-disciplinary skills such as critical thinking, creativity and the ability to work in a team. According to a McKinsey study, around 87% of companies worldwide say they already have a skills gap or expect to have one in the next few years.
Prevention is better than cure, and the role of management teams is also to be able to identify tomorrow’s skills needs within the company. And sometimes it’s the teams on the ground who are the best people to talk to about them. Keeping an eye on the sector and the technologies in your market is crucial if you are to know which profiles you will be lacking in the future before they become indispensable.
Focus on corporate culture
It is essential to ensure that candidates match not only the skills required, but also the corporate culture. Before you start the recruitment process, draw up a list of non-negotiable traits that reflect the values and spirit of your company. This list ensures that you recruit people who will fit in well with your working environment. Corporate culture guides everything from acceptable standards of behaviour to management decisions, and has a powerful influence on employee happiness and productivity.
All this will enable you to speed up recruitment processes, attract best talent, but also and above all to reduce turnover and facilitate the integration of new employees (onboarding).
2. Attracting adaptive talent
The ideal candidates for growth hiring are those who are highly adaptable and able to learn and develop quickly. They must be able to navigate uncertain environments and embrace change. A Deloitte survey shows that 94% of managers and 88% of employees believe that the ability to adapt to new circumstances is an essential asset.
This is all the more true in growth hiring, which involves enabling the company to adapt as effectively as possible to rapid changes in the sector: new technologies, methods, materials, new legislative rules or standards, etc. Not only do you have to be able to respond, but you also have to be able to adapt your know-how very quickly to new constraints or opportunities. AI is an excellent example: companies that have reacted too quickly to integrate AI into their processes have been a step ahead of those that have not. Now, this involves changes to methods and processes within the company at the level of employees’ daily tasks, changes to objectives and methods of reporting.
3. Agile recruitment process
An agile recruitment process is fundamental to growth hiring. This means shorter recruitment cycles, transparent communication, and rapid decision-making to capture the best talents. A LinkedIn study shows that companies that reduce their recruitment time by 10 days can increase their pool of qualified candidates by almost 2.5 times.
As we discussed in another article, accelerating your recruitment process is the best way to save money, avoid losing top talent to the competition and reduce the attrition rate.
To achieve this, the use of recruitment software such as Jobaffinity is essential.
4. Strategic use of data
Using data and analysis to guide recruitment decisions can significantly improve the effectiveness of growth hiring. Analysing market trends, emerging skills, and candidate behaviours helps refine recruitment strategies. According to IBM research, organisations that use advanced analytics for recruitment are 3 times more likely to achieve superior performance.
There are many ways in which you can optimise the collection and analysis of your strategic data. Analysis software, whether AI-powered or not, but also data analysts and consultants. Keeping track of your most strategic data is vital to the running of your business, but it’s also very important for the HR and recruitment departments, so you need to share key data with the right people.
Growth Hiring strategies
We’ve seen the importance of growth hiring, which is all well and good, but how do you go about it?
Using social networks for recruitment
Social networks are a powerful tool for targeting and attracting talent. Not only do they allow distribute job offers, connect directly with potential candidates, promote the company’s culture and extend their reach. According to a study by CareerBuilder, 70% of employers use social networks to assess candidates before hiring, and 43% of them use social networks to attract candidates.
We’ve mentioned it many times in our blog, recruitment needs to be multiplatform and social networks are a major asset for your employer brand. Don’t neglect them.
Offer opportunities for professional development
Offering training and professional development opportunities is essential to attracting and retaining talent. These initiatives demonstrate the company’s commitment to the personal and professional growth of its employees. According to LinkedIn, 94% of employees say they would stay longer with a company if it invested in their professional development.
Again, we have already discussed internal training and employee onboarding in another article. It is important to give your company’s workforce the opportunity to respond to these new skills requirements: training, workshops, dedicated work sessions… Sometimes, the internal mobility allows you to respond to a need for growth hiring.
Creating an attractive employer brand
Developing a strong employer brand is crucial to attracting the right candidates. This involves promoting a positive corporate culture, a stimulating working environment and an inspiring corporate vision. A Glassdoor study revealed that 84% of candidates consider a company’s reputation to be an important factor in their decision to apply for a job.
We’ve already touched on it above, so we won’t dwell on it, but we also have articles on employer brand.
Training plan from day one
Successful integration of new employees starts with a solid training plan from day one. This plan should include a precise job description, company objectives and personal development milestones. Setting follow-up dates to assess progress and offering informal coaching sessions can greatly improve the experience of new arrivals and facilitate their integration. This shows new employees that the company is organised and invested in their success, reducing the risk that they will regret their decision or consider returning to their old job.
Using predictive analysis in recruitment
Predictive analytics can help anticipate recruitment and to identify candidate profiles likely to succeed within the company. Tools such as artificial intelligence and big data are playing an increasing role in predicting recruitment trends and an understanding of the skills required. According to a Deloitte study, 56% of companies are already using artificial intelligence software in their HR processes.
Again, as mentioned above, it is essential to monitor and understand the key data for both the company and the market.
A new approach to recruitment for a changing sector
Growth hiring is more than just a recruitment method; it’s a strategy for companies looking to navigate and thrive in a rapidly changing business landscape. By focusing on attracting and developing adaptable and versatile talent, companies can not only meet their current needs, but also prepare for the future.
Adopting growth hiring requires a holistic approach that encompasses the identification of key skills, the strategic use of social networks, the creation of a strong employer brand, the implementation of candidate-centred recruitment processes, and the exploitation of predictive analysis. Together, these elements can transform the recruitment process into a significant competitive advantage.
It’s important to understand that growth hiring isn’t just about hiring talent; it’s about building a corporate culture where innovation, adaptability and continuous growth are at the heart of recruitment practices. For recruiters and HR managers, adopting this approach means not only attracting quality talent, but also actively contributing to the upward trajectory of their organisation.
