{"id":300,"date":"2017-09-20T14:45:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-20T14:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/2020\/12\/23\/crack-talent-test\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T13:41:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T08:11:20","slug":"crack-talent-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/crack-talent-test\/","title":{"rendered":"How to crack the talent test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Running a social enterprise is hard, particularly when catering to “base of the pyramid” customers. Marketing to low-income customers, infrastructure and distribution challenges, razor-thin margins, raising money from investors—these challenges would test even the hardiest entrepreneur!<\/p>

Then, of course, there’s the major task of hiring and retaining great people<\/a>. Although this challenge around talent is typically overlooked, it is probably the greatest factor driving the success or failure of the social enterprises we’ve worked with.<\/p>

When Village Capital<\/a> surveyed its portfolio of over 400 entrepreneurs in 2012, they cited talent acquisition and retention as their number one barrier to growth, easily surpassing financing. In 2015, a survey of C-suite executives by Bain & Company for Accion Venture Lab identified human resources as the biggest organisational need across 21 enterprises.<\/p>

\"What<\/a><\/div>

The challenge exists throughout the talent life cycle—from initial recruiting to training, ongoing development and retention—across hierarchies, from junior unskilled workers to senior executives. Unfortunately, it’s not a challenge that can be magically solved with more money.<\/p>

Why are human capital challenges tougher for social enterprises?<\/h3>

Let’s be honest. Hiring and talent management is a challenge at all companies, but here’s why it’s harder for social enterprises:<\/p>

Mission, not just skills:<\/strong> Beyond finding skills and experience, most social enterprises also need to see a demonstrated passion for the organisation’s mission. For many, this shrinks a small talent pool into a puddle, making it even harder to find a fit.<\/p>

Unknown brands:<\/strong> Most social enterprises are relatively young, small and little known beyond specialised circles. With less inbound interest in the company, it becomes more of a sales job than an HR one to convince candidates and, sometimes, their families, who might prefer they join more established organisations.<\/p>

Talent doesn’t come cheap: <\/strong>As revealed by a 2012 Intellecap<\/a> report, early-stage social enterprises cite low salaries as a key constraint to hiring and retention. Personally, we don’t believe there should be an inherent trade-off in compensation when choosing a career of meaning and impact, and it is encouraging to see this slowly changing. But, for now, social enterprises often pay a fraction of what talented people could be earning elsewhere.<\/p>

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It’s not an easy life: <\/strong>To top it all off, many social enterprises operate in remote areas with few creature comforts. Five-star hotels are traded in for village cots. Express trains and Uber make way for motorbikes and rickety rickshaws. High-speed internet and stable electricity are swapped for molasses-slow Wi-Fi and off-grid living. This is obviously not always the case (and for many this experience can be a draw), but some companies find it challenging to convince senior talent to take the plunge.<\/p>

Related article: 6 steps to attract good talent<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

So, what do we do?<\/h3>

 <\/strong>Yes, hiring at social enterprises is hard. The good news is there are many ways to make it better:<\/p>

At a system level<\/strong><\/p>