MEDIA ARTICLE Seldom do startups look inwards when they are not able to attract and retain right talent Oct 31, 2017 STT GDC India SHARE Link copied! Talk to any startup Co-Founder about his people related challenges. The key challenge that most of them would tell you is that 'I am facing difficulty in attracting and retaining the right talent'. The most common statements you end up hearing would be "We hired a bunch of people from reputed companies and with reputed degrees but not all of them performed at the same level" or "There are not enough candidates that fit into what we need" or "The candidates these days are just jumping ships" or to a similar effect. The underlying problem all of them have is the same. They find it difficult to find the right talent and attract them to join them and when they finally do, they are not able to retain them or make the employees perform at the expected level. This is a common problem with many startups, whether it's a bootstrapped or funded. Where is the exact problem? And what is the solution to that? Culturro's team was in conversation with Sanjeev Verma, VP - HR at STT GDC India to find the answer to the same. Prior to joining STT GDC India Sanjeev has worked with organizations such as Sodexo SVC India, ESPN Star Sports, Essar Steel and BHEL, formulating and executing HR strategies including attracting and retaining the right talent. He says "Most human beings have a tendency to look outwards to find solutions to their problems. The same is also applicable to most startup founders. Seldom do founders stop and take a look inward on their approach to attract and retain talent. Are they looking at the right places for the right talent? What view are they giving about their company to prospective candidates? What environment and experiences do they provide to employees that join?" He further adds "Technical or functional skills have become table stakes these days. The line managers do a fantastic job of identifying candidates that are equipped with these skills. But it becomes an HR responsibility, or in startup's case founder's responsibility ... Read more