Often, as a startup picks up steam, its
leaders are suddenly faced with the frightening reality that a huge skills gap
exists in their ranks. The company might have dedicated coders, busy
salespeople, and a growing order book, but no one keeping an eye on day-to-day
operations.
Take Marcus Wildsmith, cofounder of Cutover,
a software-as-a-service company that helps firms make big IT changes. He, along
with his cofounders, had managed the company through two fintech accelerator
programs, secured second-round funding and six multinational clients, and moved
the company into dedicated offices near Silicon Roundabout in London. The team,
predominantly men, was up to 16 people, most of whom had been attracted by
word-of-mouth, and everyone was consumed with the technology and new business.
They were stretched for time and money in a highly competitive environment with
a relentless schedule, and they needed someone to manage their operations.
“We’re at the stage of growth now,” Wildsmith
told us at the time, “where we really need to make sure our core business
processes are in order. We still need to be focused on the technology and
business development. We have plenty of technical skills on the team, but it
feels as though we are ready for a quasi-COO. But we need to be careful we
don’t burn too much cash too quickly, and it doesn’t feel like a full-time role
right now.”
Usually in these cases, leaders see two
choices. Option one is recruiting an established COO. Hiring someone with
direct experience would, of course, have been a safe move
for Wildsmith in some respects. To lure a qualified person away from
his or her more stable job, however, he would have had to pay a premium,
probably give away some equity, and spend as much as 20 percent in recruiter
fees. Realistically, the total cost of hiring and paying a salary for the first
year alone would have been well into six figures. Plugging the numbers into the
cash-flow forecast didn’t make for happy reading.
Then there’s option two: Hire someone who
hasn’t yet reached management level. In Wildsmith’s case, that might have been
an accountant or management consultant who had seen how things work in large
organizations, was keen to work odd hours, and just needed a little
supervision. Or a lot. That’s the risk. At startups, time rivals cash for its
scarcity, and leaders need an independent thinker — one who isn’t afraid to
share ideas and is able to contribute on Day One.
But Wildsmith recognized a third option in
the overlooked pool of women who have taken a break from professional life and
now want to return to the workplace. These are women with all the experience he
was looking for; who will work hard to get the job done, whether in the office
from 9 to 5 or remotely at their own hours; and who are cost-effective. Some
are seeking part-time work and others, because they don’t come directly from
the C-suite, won’t cost six figures. They have experience delivering work,
managing projects, developing and leading people, selling, and managing risk,
but are now struggling to return to meaningful work simply because of a gap on
their resumes. And to be sure, it’s not just startups that can benefit from
recognizing this group. The looming skills gap is a critical problem for both
large and budding businesses, and no one can afford to ignore such a rich
talent source.
Enter Emma. Prior to taking a three-year
break, she had a varied career. She got a master’s degree in organizational
psychology and began her career in HR before moving to a specialist management
consulting firm, focusing on the program management of large construction
projects. Emma’s career took another twist when she was recruited to join the
M&A team of a pan-European consulting firm. Over her 15-year career, she
had built up plenty of experience in leading people, developing teams, managing
core business processes, and seeing major projects through to implementation
— all valuable skills for a growing business like Cutover.
Cutover hired Emma as its business manager,
saving money by finding someone who wasn’t at the executive level, and time by
hiring someone with years of experience who didn’t require much guidance. And
they made another important step to ensuring the long-term success of his
business. The team now counted a woman among its senior leaders. This was
important to Wildsmith, he said, because “if everything goes to plan, I’m going
to have to keep hiring. And some of the best candidates out there will be
women. We are committed to creating a diverse senior management team, and this
presented a great opportunity to address the early imbalance.”
For Emma, and other returners like her, this
was just the opportunity she was looking for: The position allows her to make
an impact at a place where her past experience is recognized and respected.
Wildsmith also understands that although Emma is committed to delivering, she doesn’t
need to be bound to the office all day, every day. Because of operating costs
and the ease of technology-enabled communication, Wildsmith actually prefers
she not be in the office 24/7. Emma gets the flexible schedule and the salary
she needs, and the company gets a valuable team member.
In a competitive environment with little
spare time and cash, companies need to think creatively about where they find
and how they deploy skilled people. The talent pool of returning women is an
option companies can no longer afford to overlook.
JUNE 2017
Lisa Unwin
Deborah Khan
https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Why-Startups-Have-to-Think-Differently-About-Their-Skills-Gap?gko=b9082&utm_source=itw&utm_medium=20170713&utm_campaign=resp
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