How To Build a Scalable Hiring Process for SaaS

With the rise of software as a service (SaaS), hiring and keeping talented developers has never been more critical. This growth in demand for tech talent has made recruitment processes, especially for scaled SaaS startup companies, increasingly competitive and time-consuming.

The lack of industry standardization around recruiting strategies means that each company is left to devise its approach. With no data to benchmark against, it’s hard to know if you’ve found the perfect SaaS hiring strategy.

Let’s look at the steps to building a scalable hiring process for your SaaS startup.

Begin by Understanding Your Hiring Foundation

Before you decide how to build your hiring process, you must first understand what makes a winning sales funnel. You’ll need to identify the general types of candidates, what kind of technical skills they’re looking for, and your company’s unique needs.

Think about where you want your business to be in the long run. If you want to be the best SaaS product in the market, your hiring strategy must reflect that goal.

Evaluate the reasons for founding your business besides making money. Your company’s mission is the heart of your SaaS recruitment approach. Understanding your mission will help you build a hiring process that attracts candidates who share your vision. People loyal to your brand will benefit the company long-term.

Evaluate which growth model you are trying to promote. If you’re a high-growth startup, you’ll have different hiring needs than a more established business. To build a hiring process that works for your business, understand where it fits in the growth model spectrum.

Look into your current hiring process and how it aligns with or fails to align with your goals. Your hiring process should be easy to digest, but you still need to have a clear vision of what you want your new hires to accomplish.

Optimize Your Job Posts

Creating compelling job posts is the first step in a recruiter’s job search. It’s also the most challenging component of your SaaS hiring process. SaaS recruiters need to create effective job listings that capture what you’re looking for in candidates yet do not appear spammy when you run them through multiple platforms.

Define what kind of candidates are the best fit for your SaaS business. The best way to build a scalable hiring process is to identify the proper criteria for picking qualified candidates. For example, if you’re looking for a senior chief technology officer (CTO), you must define that role. 

Candidate persona description allows you to establish your core-skill profile and set aside candidates who don’t possess those specific skill sets. The process makes it easier for your SaaS team to prioritize the suitable types of new hires at the outset.

Keep the ad concise. Work with your team to consolidate keywords, details or bullet points for each job post. You’ll need to communicate clearly across websites and messaging channels.

Include a picture in your job posts. Including a picture creates more engagement and increases click-through rates. Be sure to develop clear call-to-action statements below the job description in the body of your ad copy.

Develop a Strategic Recruitment Plan

To build a formidable hiring process, you must have a well-thought-out recruitment strategy. Your SaaS business is looking for quality candidates who will positively impact the company. Those new employees should possess traits that align with your company’s goals and culture.

Define the roles and responsibilities of each position. Make sure they are clearly defined, so you know what you’re looking for in candidates. For example, if you’re looking for an entry-level PHP developer, you’ll need to describe what tasks that person will be doing daily.

Utilize a Data-driven Approach

A data-driven approach to recruitment helps you determine what works and doesn’t and how to make your SaaS hiring process more efficient. Collect and examine data from every step of your recruitment process to build a scalable hiring strategy.

Set aside a budget to test new channels. Use data analytic tools to monitor which job postings get the most views and the most applications. Then, you can evaluate each channel according to audience reach and engagement performance to decide which ones are worth your time and money investment.

You’ll need to invest in an automated candidate tracking system to build a scalable hiring process for SaaS. A single platform helps recruiters manage the entire application process from beginning to end. The system tracks candidates’ engagement with your recruiting efforts, evaluates their information and determines their suitability for the job.

When evaluating applicant tracking systems (CMS), you want one that will help you organize each stage of the hiring cycle and capture information for future employee recruitment.

Track Every Step of Your Hiring Process

A scalable hiring process is fully transparent to your SaaS team, including company executives. When you create a recruiting strategy and build a candidate tracking system, it will be easier to monitor your SaaS hiring efforts.

Evaluate how long each part of the process takes. Then, you’ll be able to identify bottlenecks in the recruiting process and work with your team to pinpoint why they occur.

Begin by reviewing the conversion rate of each channel. If you’re using multiple outreach methods, evaluate which platforms generate more leads and better fit within your brand image. 

Choose the Right Technology

A scalable SaaS recruiting process includes the right technology. Test different candidate-tracking platforms to determine which ones work best for you.

Be sure your candidate-tracking system is compatible with your recruiting software. The most crucial component of a scalable hiring process is ensuring it integrates seamlessly with your other recruitment software, marketing strategies and messaging channels.

Track job applications by department, role and skills. The recruiting system can help you match applicants with suitable job openings faster. For example, the system can tell you which jobs are oversubscribed or need updates to the description text.

Don’t forget about marketing channels when tracking your candidate outreach strategies. Work with your team to develop a data-driven marketing strategy based on all of your SaaS startup marketing channels. 

The recruitment system will keep track of leads generated and decide which ones are worth your time and money investment. 

Final Thoughts

A scalable hiring process is essential to building a healthy SaaS startup company. Your recruitment strategy will determine the survivability of your SaaS business. Before investing in an electronic candidate tracking system, ensure it offers the right features and is compatible with your other recruiting software and marketing strategies.

Authors

Jeremy DeMerchant

NBD, but Jeremy is a #1 best-selling author, award-winning speaker and host of the Sales Team Rescue podcast. Before joining the SaaS Academy team, he ran his own consulting firm for 8 years, helping businesses worldwide increase their sales and revenue. But the most important part is that he is an incredible father and husband.