Recruitment Solutions for Small Businesses
Recruiting is the biggest challenge for any small business. They have to compete with large companies that have a clear advantage over small companies when recruiting and hiring great employees. They can attract more candidates by alluring them with career advancement opportunities, stock options, and a variety of other benefits.
It’s not an easy task to attract the best talent for the company and takes time, patience and effort, and on the top of it, you’ll need some smart recruitment solutions. We’ve spoken with quite a few hiring professionals to develop some top recruitment solutions small businesses can implement during the hiring process to cherry-pick the best talent. Let’s get started.
Make it Easy to Apply
Your company website must have a career section dedicated to attracting job seekers. Ensure you have an “About Us” page that helps candidates know about your company’s history and a careers page that shows what it’s like to work for the company. You need to create job listings to post on your website to reach more candidates or share them on several job boards. Create a custom application to make it easy for them to apply, so if any candidates are interested in your company, they can directly apply from your website.
Post jobs on Niche Job Boards
It is challenging to stand out on popular job sites when you’re a small business. Even your post, your listing will get lost in the sea of openings, so a better recruitment solutions to deal with the problem is by posting openings on niche job sites. You can find hundreds of niche job boards online, including Snagajob, Flex Jobs, and College Recruiter.
Find the one that works best for your business based on your industry and recruitment strategy. Another recruitment solution you can use to attract local talent is through local newspapers. Also, don’t forget to post openings on social media platforms to attract thousands of applicants.
Write Solid Job Description
A solid job description can make all the difference in your recruitment efforts. There are thousands of job boards out there, overflowing with openings, so to hire a candidate you need to tempt them first with an enticing job description. Write a quality job description that is specific and clearly states what the job is about and the eligibility criteria. Be reasonable with your job requirements and don’t ask for too much that makes the potential candidates feel they aren’t qualified for the job. The more professional the job description, the more candidates it will attract.
Ask Employees for Referrals
One of the best recruitment solutions is asking your trustworthy employees to refer to people. Create an employee referral program where your employees can recommend their friends or previous colleagues to apply for the job. Your employees would never refer to someone not good enough for the job because it will affect their reputation. Referrals are the best way to screen potential candidates before interviewing them, and it also gives a sense of security, knowing them in advance compared to hiring a stranger.
Conduct Interview with Specific Goal
Setting specific goals in mind before conducting an interview is the best way to find the right candidate for the job. Make a list of objectives and qualifications needed for the job. Ask questions relevant to those requirements to judge if the candidate is fit for the role or not. Keep in mind that you’re looking for people who can help you grow your business, so extending the interview to assess overall candidate quality before making a hiring decision is the best recruiting solution you could use.
Hire the Best Candidate
Be clear about what you need from the person in terms of skills and traits before hiring them. Please give them a hypothetical problem and ask to suggest a solution. Take them out of the interview zone, to get an actual reflection of the person you’ll be working with. Listen to them carefully and pay close attention to their behaviours. Please find a way for other team members to interact with the candidate and get their feedback. Successful candidates can be given a project to complete; they would be doing as a part of their job.
Make an Attractive Offer
Once you finalize your ideal candidate, persuade them to join your team by offering an excellent salary package. Decide in advance what you’re willing to pay for the skills and experience required to satisfy the job objectives. Ask candidates in the custom application about the anticipated salary in your hiring and recruiting solution. Make a fair offer and be prepared for some negotiation. You can filter the ones who ask too much and consider ones within your range.
Offer unique Perks
Maintaining a work-life balance is necessary to attract and retain employees. When employees think that their personal lives are as respected as their professional lives, they’re less likely to move on. Besides, bonuses, health benefits, and retirement plans provide services like meal allowance, paid off time, childcare costs or access to a fitness centre to encourage well-being.
Hire on a Trial Basis
Small businesses often struggle to find the right talent. Consider hiring on a trial basis as a recruitment solution to evaluate their skills in the actual job environment. Hiring on trial basis not only helps to hire the best fit for your business but it’s also beneficial for the candidate to learn the rules of the company’s workflow during projects. Ensure you treat them as full-time employees, set up their workstation with all necessary equipment and supplies, and brief them about the procedures of the company’s procedures. At the end of the trial, compensate the candidate fairly for the work even if they don’t get hired.
