More than ever before, all sorts of different business markets are leaning on startups to carry the load. There are a number of reasons for this, but the most popular factor is simply the reality that startups tend to lead to the greatest amount of innovation. When the founder of a startup company launches his or her firm, they are doing so because they believe they can service their market or industry in a unique way. Because of this innovation, rapid growth is the name of the game with one big drawback.
That rapid growth is sometimes paired with a firm that hasn’t really figured out the best way to use its workforce in a way that leads to extended revenue growth. There are a couple of directions in which a startup can look in order to make sure they are indeed optimizing the way they run their staff and the way they fill their staffing needs.
Coopetition Is the New Name of the Game
Whether talking about Germany–where the government and private businesses are looking for startups to lead the way in innovation–or in the United States, startup founders are usually seen as driven and intelligent. Startup founders work long hours in an effort to get their company and their ideas off the ground. They’re often looked at as incredibly competitive when it comes to going up against another company in their field.
While competition can drive innovation, it can also hamper growth. In the business world, a term that is being embraced more than ever is something called coopetition. This is exactly what you might think it is, it means that firms and people who are usually competing against one another are forming short term alliances in order move the entire industry forward.
Coopetition leads to greater growth and more innovation but it can also greatly aid a firm when it comes to workforce management. As coopetition grows as a concept among startups, the founder who is willing to have a smaller in-house workforce and is willing to incorporate his competitor/partner’s employees as if they were his own will find the greatest success when it comes to efficiency.
Redundancy is a buzz word that has a kind of double meaning. When you are wanting to make sure something is being done right and that all the boxes were checked, redundancy can be a positive. When you’re talking about two or more people all working on the exact same part of the project, without real communication, redundancy is simply a way to undercut efficiency and optimization. By making sure that only those who are truly needed are working on a part of the project, the workforce can be optimized. If a startup’s competitor/partner already has people who specialize in a particular aspect, there may not be a need to hire or continue to staff additional workers.
The Rise of the Temporary Worker
One of the realities of the world’s economy these days is that more and more firms are relying on part-time or temporary employees. One report, by business analyst Baird indicates that workers being hired through temp agencies are at an all-time high. Baird claims that the temp agency worker market has more than double since 1995 and is now a $120 billion industry.
For a variety of reasons, startups are among those businesses that are delving quite deeply into temp services. The biggest reason these newer firms are going through temporary workers is because the firm simply has different needs during different periods of its existence. In order to truly optimize efficiency, a firm shouldn’t be investing in a ton of permanent employees who have very specific skillsets. Temp workers allow a company to change on the fly and efficiently refresh its workforce when needed.
This approach is also best because it is, at its core, easily manageable. Should a startup decide its needs and approach are no longer in flux, it can usually quite easily transition a temporary employee into a position that is far more permanent. The added bonus of that is the company has basically given the employee a working tryout.