Staff shortage: every second start-up has vacancies

It is the dream of changing the world with a disruptive idea that motivates many young people to start their own company. In addition to financing, one of the big challenges for startups is finding the right comrades-in-arms for the adventure and expanding their own team.

Many start-ups begin as a small founding team or as a spin-off from university research. In the course of time, however, additional people have to be recruited. In the process, many young companies struggle with difficulties in recruiting, because the personnel question is now the biggest challenge for most of them. Despite the current crisis situation, many positions remain unfilled and the search for new employees is difficult. Start-ups that are expecting revenue growth are being slowed down by the lack of employees. The lack of skilled workers is therefore a real obstacle to growth for start-ups. This raises the question of whether there are simply too few skilled workers on the market at present or whether fewer and fewer people want to work in startups.

On average, a start-up has around 20 employees. However, if business is good and the young company is growing, then you have to look around quickly for suitable personnel. Currently, however, many start-ups are facing the problem of not being able to find skilled employees. More than every second start-up states that a position could not be filled at least once because no qualified applicant was found. Positions in the IT sector are particularly hard hit by this and suffer from a shortage of skilled workers. For example, programmers, IT security experts and developers are urgently sought after. In addition, experts who are well versed in processing and analyzing data are in high demand. If you have one of these skills, your chances of finding a job are currently very good - and not just in start-up companies.

Especially in the so-called MINT area (mathematics, computer science, natural science and technology), a shortage of skilled workers has been observed for several years. Here, politics should become active in the area of education, because especially younger founders are agile and then often decide to realize their business idea in another country under better conditions.

Start-ups are in a competitive environment that is sometimes referred to as the "war for talent". They compete with financially stronger and established companies for a small pool of talent. And when they do find qualified applicants, many start-ups encounter another obstacle: suitable candidates often end up opting for large companies. The reason for this is usually the fixed salary, because startups often can't compete with established competitors. However, the unwillingness to work for a start-up cannot be explained by the pay alone. On the one hand, there is the risk of failure, especially when the product is still in development and sales are not yet very stable. This is often a big hurdle for applicants with families. On the other hand, the work mentality can be a challenge. It can be observed that a start-up company presents itself to the outside world as a modern and young employer, but behind the facade one often encounters exploitation and rigid hierarchies.

Those who believe in the vision, value creative freedom, variety of tasks and freedom will find an exciting working environment in start-ups. Flexibility, personal responsibility, co-determination and a sense of purpose: these are the points that a start-up must live by and actively market when recruiting personnel. In this way, even larger players can be outdone in the "war for talent".

At Batterman Consulting, we regularly support young companies and start-ups in their search for specialists and provide valuable contacts in our network. In doing so, we attach great importance to individual consulting and tailor-made recruitment solutions. Are you also looking for suitable specialists? Please feel free to contact us without obligation. Our consultants will be happy to contact you and present our services. Together we will find the right people for your company.