How do Small Businesses Manage to Hire Great Employees?

A small business usually does not have a large budget for recruitment and this can work against it when it comes to hiring talent. Such businesses, therefore, fear that they may end up with mediocre talent and a high attrition rate. Here we offer guidance on how small businesses can overcome the budget issue by having a full-fledged recruitment process.  

Why is hiring for small businesses so difficult?

A small business or start-up usually has a limited budget. This would mean average salaries for employees and fewer benefits compared to what is available at larger organizations. So, often it's difficult to find well-qualified and experienced talent until the business starts growing. At best, the businesses can hope to find fresh graduates but would have to invest time and resources in training them, but, that does not have to be the case with your small business.

The uncertainty and attrition rate

Fresh graduates and first-time job seekers are always looking for better opportunities. In all probability, they may use your organization as a stepping stone to gain experience so that they can reach the next level in their career. This is why small business owners face a higher attrition rate.

The question remains, how to recruit good employees for a small business? Even before we get started, you should first work out the nitty-gritty details like how many employees you need and how badly you really need them.

Here are some tips that you may find useful in the recruitment process:

Contractors and independent workers

If budget is a major concern for you then you can try outsourcing as much work as possible to contractors, freelancers, and independent workers. There are many out there who prefer to work out of their homes and on their own schedule. No benefits, paid sick or vacation leave, employment taxes to consider, however, the downside is that they may quit at any time and are not bound by any contract or loyalty.

Offer a competitive salary

When you offer good salaries including benefits, your business may make do with fewer employees. A good workforce is often multi-talented due to their experience and can handle multiple job roles simultaneously.

Provide attractive performance-based incentives

All employees love incentives and will often forego a high pay packet for attractive incentives. These incentives could be in the form of bonus, gift cards, movie tickets, or just about anything that keeps them motivated.

Put social networks to use

Creating a page on social networking websites and posting some interesting blogs about your business is a great way to attract talent. Publish interesting articles about the work culture and social interaction benefits. Encourage visitors to upload their resumes. The upside of this strategy is you can avoid the unnecessary costs of hiring recruiting agencies.

Make the recruitment process easy

Aim at hiring employees in one single interview if you are impressed with their persona. Do not make it into a “who wants to be a Millionaire” questionnaire. Ask relevant questions and  provide the offer letter immediately if you like the candidate. The advantage is that you save time and get the right candidates before they are snared by your competition.  

Keep the interview goal-oriented

Every interview that you conduct should be done with a goal in mind. You should know what the job entails and ask them relevant questions about the job role. Around five questions related to the role should be sufficient for you to judge the ability and expertise of the person and whether they are the right fit for the role. For the rest of the details, you can use their resume.  

Get referrals from existing employees

Ask your existing employees for employee referrals and you can make it more attractive by offering a hiring bonus to the prospect.  Giving employee incentives for referring talent that get's hired is also a win win. Current employees are a great resource to find new employees. This is also a way to build a trusted and reliable workforce.

Try out free listings

You will be surprised at the amount of web traffic that a free listing website like Craigslist attracts. Post your requirements on such websites and you may get some promising responses.

Go through resumes in detail

Never go through the resume of the candidate in front of them. Even before you call them for an interview, check their resume, and see if their profile is the right fit for your needs. There is no point calling candidates who do not meet your requirements. You will be wasting your time and theirs.  

The Bottom Line

After the employment process is done, the most crucial thing is employee retention. The more you are involved with them, the more highly they will regard you and the business. This does not mean that you hold frequent employee meetings, but you could schedule some fun events, like lunch brought in the office, social hour, employees volunteering at a local charity, or organizing in-house competitions. These ideas will help you keep employee spirits high and reduce the attrition rate.