An exploratory research on enterprises' employment of competent employees

Entrepreneurial start-ups that take innovation as the basis of their activities are seen as one of the key players in economic development and growth. For this reason, the development of entrepreneurship is a current and important issue. However, there are some obstacles to the development of the field. The difficulties experienced by enterprises in employing competent employees are one of these obstacles. In this context, the aim of the research is to examine the employment of competent employees in enterprises with an exploratory approach. Within the scope of the qualitatively designed study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 entrepreneurial start-up owners and 12 competent employees determined by the snowball method. The data obtained were evaluated using the discourse analysis method and the findings of the study were reached. It was determined in the study that competent employees do not have a positive attitude towards working in entrepreneurial start-ups and that entrepreneurial start-ups frequently experience difficulties in employing competent employees. Six reasons for this situation were identified for entrepreneurs and eight reasons for competent employees. While the reason most frequently put forward by entrepreneurs is that there are not enough competent employees in the markets, the concern about the short lifespan of the ventures was the reason most frequently put forward by competent employees. Despite these reasons, when the factors that can ensure the partnership between the start-ups and competent employees are examined, the two most frequently mentioned elements are that the start-up offers competent employees the opportunity to work with flexible working hours and offers a higher title than their current title. It is hoped that the results obtained will provide guidance for solutions to the problems that entrepreneurial start-ups experience in employing competent employees.