Bangalore: There have been more than 0.34 million jobs created between July and September 2011 and another 0.326 million jobs are expected to be created by the end of the year, according to Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey. The sectors which hired the maximum were Healthcare, Hospitality, and It & ITeS sector, with Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, and Chennai leading the pack. Almost 40 percent of the total jobs created have been by the small and medium enterprises. According to a study by the Silicon Valley Bank across 375 executives of early-stage companies, 83 percent planned to hire in the coming year, compared to 73 percent in 2010.  Even with such a potential of job creation, startups are facing a lot of challenges with regards to a very high market salary package, no show during interviews, and attrition within a month or two. So how can this problem be solved?

Startups should be able to find the pain points of MNCs. The MNCs are generally criticized for being oceans, where the individuality of a person is lost. Though MNCs offer attractive packages and numerous employee benefits, they rarely pay heed to the interests of their employees. This is where a startup has an advantage.

Startups offer individuals to explore various horizons and discover their capabilities. They offer a feeling of ownership which makes up for the long hours that the employees have to put in during the initial years of a startup. A startup offers not just a highly challenging work environment, but also bustles with the passion of the employees and friendliness.

Pallav Nadhani, CEO, Fusion Charts, says, “I tell my people about the ‘Why’, and I am amazed to see that they leave no stone unturned to achieve even better results than I had imagined.” It is only when the people are made to see the bigger picture that their motivation levels will be on an all-time high and make them give in their best; a feat which is unachievable in MNCs.

For an entrepreneur, having a smaller team means that he can connect with each individual at a personal level and get to know them well. He should take the team out for lunches, treat them as friends rather than employees and talk about everything under the sun.  As an entrepreneur, it will help you to spot the hidden talent in a person and exploit it to the fullest for the growth of the company as well as the individual. Even though you are not able to give them higher salary packages, you can provide them with a culture and focus on several other points which would cover up for the gap in the salary offerings.

If you are hiring people for a startup, make sure that you don’t assign them designations head front, rather assign them duties and restructure the organization if necessary. Startups should fear away from experimenting, and should most importantly treat your employees like people.

Amiya Pathak, COO, ZipDial, says, “Hiring does not end at making an offer. You should infuse the new hires with ownership and drive down the vision. You should invest in branding and marketing and get personally involved in the hiring process as it is your baby.”

This was the focus of the HR 4 Startups, which focused on the challenges of people management in startups, and what different the startups can do to counter the challenges.

It is upto the candidates, whether they want a highly rewarding workplace, where every initiative made by them is appreciated, or go in for an MNC, which would offer them a very big salary package but treat them as machines to finish the projects before the deadline.