3 Reasons Why You Need to Stop Hiring to Grow Your Business At the Elevate conference in Toronto, the CEO of Lighthouse Labs, Jeremy Shaki, and Abu Batasi, Director of Sales, took to the stage to discuss a rather peculiar subject: 3 Reasons You Need to Stop Hiring to Grow Your Business.

It may seem an odd subject for a tech bootcamp company whose primary goal is to get their grads hired at the end of their program. Especially since a grand total of 40,000 students have passed through these virtual doors, and the company counts 4,000 hiring partners. However, as Abu explained, Lighthouse Labs is more than just a tech reskilling company.

"We have equally been working with companies like Toyota, BMO and Telus on enabling them to find a competitive advantage in their internal training approaches. Most importantly we have driven real ROI that goes beyond retention by moving away from passive learning with 'learning outcomes' and moving into deliberate, hands-on training with real ROI and work outcomes that benefit the company and employee."

In other words, in addition to getting new boots on the ground in tech, Lighthouse Labs has also been actively working with companies to equip their employees with the in-demand skills they need to elevate their careers and save the company money and time along the way.

Check out the video below for the entire 10-minute talk:

3 Reasons Why You Need to Stop Hiring to Grow Your Business

Reason #1: The Cost of Hiring is Steep

Almost no one has sat through an entire training video without some sort of discretion quickly diverting your attention. Beyond the time it takes to train a new hire (and time is money), the external hiring costs add up quickly.

“In fact, it can be as much as 6x more costly to hire externally.” Jeremy Shaki, CEO of Lighthouse Labs

In a case study with Lighthouse Labs, opting to upskill saved one company $116,000 over three years.


Reason #2: It Takes New Hires Longer to Contribute

Remember when we said time is money? New hires can take 3 to 6 months to become proficient in their roles and 1 to 2 years to achieve full productivity. It can be hard to calculate just how much the training time costs a company. Still, there's no question that investing in current talent who are familiar with the company's workflow saves loads of time.


Reason #3: Investing In Your Own Talent Has Multiple Benefits

Time and money matter in this capital-driven economy. While this isn't a bad thing (we all need to make a living), it shouldn't be the only thing that motivates someone to work.

Cultural fit and company knowledge

As Jeremy put it, "A technologist who just knows technology will always struggle to understand the importance of what they are building. But in training our own people, we've found so much more value in the soft skills and understanding of our org and customer".

New and old employees need to understand the company's vision and what makes it tick. Instilling this information in new employees can be challenging and may not work in the end. With current talent, the business and the employee know where they fit and what the expectations are.

Effective corporate training results in positive ROI

Organizations with strong learning cultures enjoy employee engagement rates around 30% higher than those without such cultures. And they stay on average 2-3x longer.

“If you invest in your employees, they will invest in you.” Abu Batasi, Head of Sales at Lighthouse Labs

Showing your employees that you value their time and are willing to invest in their growth goes beyond dollars and cents. You'll gain long-term relationships with loyal employees primed to train others and build into the succession of future leaders. Also, we can't downplay the most important form of marketing: word of mouth. Nurtured and listened-to employees spread the good word, and you get more business and new talent (hey, it's not always a bad thing!).

Want to make a meaningful investment in your employees' careers? See how Lighthouse Labs can elevate your team.