singlesprout Loading icon singlesprout Loading Imag
Client Login

Webinar: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Recruitment Process.

Posted on by natan fisher

Last week, SingleSprout kicked off a new webinar series with The Rise Journey focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Recruitment Process. 

During this panel, our speakers took a deep dive into the foundational principles of DEI, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging and embracing differences, creating an equitable and fair hiring process, and promoting a culture of inclusivity throughout the company. Other topics that came up included,  how to attract a diverse pool of candidates, with the panelists discussing the importance of not falling into the trap of tokenism in the recruitment process.  Rather, companies should focus on true representation.

Overall, the Zoom event provided valuable insights and practical tips for companies to improve their DEI strategies in the recruitment process. By implementing these strategies, companies can create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

Don’t have a DEI Recruitment Strategy? Remember, DEI is a continuous journey, not a one-time initiative. Hire someone who knows more and can help in a Full Time, Part Time, fractional, project-based, etc. Additionally, hiring a DEI project manager or ERG manager can be a huge support to keep track of momentum on initiatives.

To learn more you can re-watch the webinar here, or check out the DEI in the Recruitment Checklist created by The Rise Journey

SingleSprouts Q4 22 Engineering Compensation Report.

Posted on by natan fisher

Let’s face it, making decisions around hiring, retaining, and compensating employees is tough right now and things seem to be changing quickly. 

SingleSprout Q4 2022 Compensation and Time to Hire Report (here). 

We hope this report gives y’all a better opportunity to not only plan, but also benchmark, retain talent, attract talent, and comply with compensation transparency laws.

Compensation: Let’s Talk About It & Effective Planning

Posted on by natan fisher

SingleSprout and AllVoices led an insightful conversation around Compensation & Effective Planning.

Lessons learned from our event with AllVoices: It all starts with a compensation philosophy. Here are 5 tips when developing your compensation philosophy and pay ranges.

  1. There is no one-size fits all approach, and no company is 100 percent right.
  2. Develop a basic compensation philosophy, as well as compensation levels & bands. Even a basic framework will be helpful to guide decisions. Over time you can develop greater competencies, and get more complex or specific.
  3. Which compensation types are available to you? Salary, Short-term incentives or bonuses, Equity, Allowances or Perks, or Year-End Bonuses? Understand available options constraints
  4. What are you trying to achieve? Are you worried about retention, how people are going to progress, reward structure, promotions, transfers, new hires, or competition?
  5. Cost of Living vs Cost of Labor. The cost of living varies by location, highly driven by personal preference. So when we look to build ranges consistently, the metric that most compensation professionals use is Cost of Labor because it’s driven by supply and demand.

Special thanks to Ashley Perryman, SHRM-SCP, Vice President, Global Human Resources-Head of People at Spiceworks Ziff Davis; Enrique J Esclusa, Co-Founder at Assemble; Kaitlyn Knopp, CEO/Founder of Pequity; Mykaela Doane, Head of People and Talent – Gtmhub; Natan Fisher, Co-Founder, and Co-CEO of SingleSprout

 

To learn more, check out the webinar here.

R&D Tax credits and Software engineers: What is the connection?

Posted on by admin

Did you know that more than 80% of technology companies are either completely unaware they are eligible for government-sponsored tax credits or don’t have an easy way to get them? As many startups are thinking about ways to be efficient with spending, we want to do our part as well. 

We asked our friends at TaxTaker, to share about the Research & Development Tax Credit – which can save a company thousands of dollars (sometimes even hundreds of thousands) every year. 

The R&D tax credit allows technology companies and startups to reduce federal and state tax liabilities and earn back up to 10% on what they are spending on product development. Four types of expenses can be included in the credit calculation for your qualified projects: 

  1. W2 Wages
  2. US-based contractor expenses
  3. Cloud expenses
  4. Supplies

So how do you take advantage of this? Well, TaxTaker told us that employee wages for direct R&D activity can be included in the credit (as well as supervision or direct support of such activity). So thinking about bringing on a new frontend developer? With R&D tax credits, it is possible to recover 10% of their wage every year. 

TaxTaker also informed us the most common employee titles that qualify for the R&D tax in technology companies include:

  • Product engineers
  • Software and database architects
  • Computer and data scientists
  • Quality assurance testers

The long and short of it, tech startups have the potential to earn back up to 10% of what they spend developing products and technologies each year.

This is a heavily wage-driven credit, so the greater your salaries, the greater your relative credit adds up!  What’s more, starting in 2023, you can also use the R&D Tax Credit to offset all employer-related payroll taxes (FICA+ Medicare, 7.65%-double check this).  Further, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the upper bound for startups increased to $500,000, so regardless of profitability, your startup can reap the benefits nearly immediately.

If you want to learn more about R&D tax credits please talk to your accountant (we are not tax experts) or reach out to our friends at TaxTaker.

Data Share: Candidate and Client Survey Q3

Posted on by admin

Every quarter we gather data from both our clients and our candidates that received an offer through SingleSprout in ’22. We asked a few new questions this quarter, and some of the most interesting data is below.

From the Candidates Survey 

The majority of the folks who participated are software engineers and product managers, 5-13+ years of experience (mid-level to manager), at startups w/ 10-500 people, who received offers through SingleSprout companies.

  • 72.4% of candidates reported that they made their final decision based on compensation. The next most important factor was flexible workspace (ie Remote) and company mission
  • These same candidates said they responded to our emails about a new role because the skills of the role matched – 58.6% (top answer) 
  • 70.3% of candidates negotiated their base before accepting the last offer. 
  • 83% of candidates had previous startup experience with  26% having more than 6 years of startup experience. 

From our Clients

  • Greenhouse is still the most popular ATS among our clients. 
  • 78.9% of our clients say the best benefit of SingleSprout is our Quality Candidates. 

If you have any questions or want to dig deeper into the data, please reach out to our team. 

 

SingleSprouts Q3 22 Engineering Compensation Report.

Posted on by admin

It has been a difficult quarter for most of the hiring market, with hesitation from both clients and candidates. That being said, our team has quickly adapted to the new hiring market, and we have been able to help numerous companies find amazing talent.  In fact, we are still on pace to have our best year ever.  With amazing placements, comes amazing data – that we are happy to share with our network.  

 

Here is a link to SingleSprouts Q3 22 Engineering Compensation Report.

Singlesprout and Amanda!

Posted on by admin

As we recently reviewed our team’s benefits, we asked our team what they liked about our current wellness benefits and culture. This is the first in a series of blog posts highlighting how our team thinks about our culture.  Here are the thoughts of the one and only Amanda Hoffer. 

 

What is one thing you love about SingleSprout?

I love the comradery we have at SingleSprout. From the top-down everyone is so supportive and pushes each other to be even better than yesterday. This bleeds into how the team supports one another on a personal and professional level. Regardless if it is a new activity outside of work someone has shared with the team or making a super impactful deal, we are always supporting each other as much as we possibly can. 

 

How does our remote environment benefit you?

The remote environment allows the flexibility I never thought I would have in my career. Currently, I am working from Tampa so I can see my mom and Nana for Mother’s Day. Having the ability to connect with my family that is far away and still work is a game-changer in terms of my WLB. I also love to travel so being able to tap into that side of myself while staying connected at work is something I am extremely grateful for. 

 

What other benefits make you excited about SingleSprout

I absolutely LOVE our Boon Coaching. We are fortunate enough to meet with a professional coach that works with each member of the team on almost any topic we want to cover. I personally work with a coach around professional development and management and she is absolutely wonderful. 

 

What do you do with your free time instead of commuting? 

I am able to tap into my love for Yoga during the time I would be commuting. It is one of my favorite ways to unwind after a long day and be mindful of my life.

How to Create an Intentional Equitable Hybrid/Remote Work Environment

Posted on by admin

Everyone has heard the debate over company culture remote work, and now everyone is talking about quiet quitting. We feel like these conversations are all a distraction from the real problem we have seen in the tech industry – employee burnout. In this new age of hybrid and remote work, it is harder to create the type of engagement and culture with one’s team. 

A couple of weeks ago we co-hosted an event with AllVoices. We had just the most incredible lineup of experts including Jasmine Francis, VP of People and Culture at Thinx, Celeste Bell EVP and Head of HR  at Deutsch NY,  Veracelle Vega, CPO at Boxed, and Adrienne Barnard SVP People Operations & Experience at Mainstay. They shared their insight on creating an intentional equitable hybrid/remote work environment. Below is a short list of action items your company can take, to improve engagement with your teams. 

  • Over-communicate (same message(s) being sent on slack/email, etc, not just one format).
  • Q&A’s to share market feedback and gather employee feedback (send guidelines beforehand).
  • Internal newsletter end of the week that recognizes world, market, and business happenings.
  • Share the risks (and upside 🙂 of joining your company with candidates interviewing.
  • Employee-led conversations where employees can discuss a range of topics (ie. Well-being, water-cooler chatter, etc).
  • Share what your company is doing to make the world a better place.

 

To listen to the who conversation, you can watch the webinar here. 

A new way to compete for talent – Video

Posted on by admin

This week our cofounders shared advice with our clients on how to get more candidates interested in their company in this very competitive market.  We got such a great response to this, that we decided to share this with our entire network –  please feel free to read their advice below: 

Given the competition in the market (nearly all engineering roles increased in salary last quarter), we are looking at ways to increase engagement from qualified candidates. One such way companies gain an advantage is by using video in recruiting marketing. Through the insights of our Client Advisory Board and our own data, companies that use video for recruiting marketing are increasing conversion rates by as much as 25% at the top of the funnel / first interview. 

Your company’s personality and culture shine in the video. Additionally, in one of our latest polls to placed candidates, the #1 reason candidates join their company is team/culture.

Ask: We propose creating at least 1 video (1-2 minutes) on why your company is an exciting home for prospective candidates to join (ie: problem, solution, scale, culture, impact, investors, founder’s background). Please then share it with us, so we can share it with qualified candidates to increase interest and conversion. 

Some video software that we recommend include:

  • VideoAsk
  • Scenery (collaborative video editor)
    • Example recruiting video here (Pinterest’s head of corp dev made remotely)
  • Loom 
    • Example here of a job description pitch and here of a candidate product demo 
  • Youtube (put a link in the JD)
  • The Muse 
    • Example here of leadership and culture. 
  • How it works videos

All the best,

Natan and David

Referral  program
Do you know of any Engineers, Product Managers, Designers, or Attorneys?

At the end of each year, we donate a portion of our proceeds from successful candidate referrals to the following forward-thinking, social good organizations:
Trevor Project Dev Color Give Directly

    Referral  

    program