How to hire great employees for SMBs
“At a cost of nearly $4,000 on average to fill an open position, U.S. companies are spending nearly three times the amount spent on training per employee,” said Karen O’Leonard, vice president, Benchmarking & Analytics Research, Bersin by Deloitte.
Recruitment is an exhaustive process; ask any talent acquisition executive — there is a lot of investment, both in the form of time and money, to hire. So if you are spending so much money on recruitment, naturally you must ensure you get the industry’s best talent and retain that talent.
Larger and established businesses have several selling points, such as benefits and brand value, that help them attract the best talent. When it comes to SMBs, they may not attract a talent pool as large as big businesses, but some defining characteristics may help you attract your industry’s best talent. Here are a few small-business recruiting strategies you can use.
1. Know your candidate persona
Before you start working on your sourcing channels, work on the candidate persona. Define what your ‘ideal candidate’ profile is. A candidate persona helps you create accurate job descriptions, measure the effectiveness of sourcing channels, and focus on the right talent that fits your culture. Conduct interviews of existing employees and stakeholders to define characteristics of the persona — job title, work experience, job-specific skills, communication skills, professional life goals, and so on. Create a candidate persona for each job role you post and keep refining it throughout the recruitment process.
2. Write an attractive job description
Once you know what persona you are looking for, write a detailed job description. Use the JD to differentiate yourself from competitors; it should give an idea about the exact job responsibilities and skill set, to attract the right candidates. Sit with your hiring manager to discuss the exact requirement — you may waste productive time if you don’t know what your hiring manager is looking for. Create a brand story that will make candidates want to be part of the organization’s journey, and paint a clear picture of your office culture and the benefits you offer, such as work-from-home or flexible-hours options.
As SMBs grow, you may need to hire more people for specific tasks, so keep updating job descriptions with the changing needs of jobs. Talk to your existing employees to understand responsibilities and omit tasks that are no longer necessary.
3. Creative ways to attract employees
A majority of SMBs (84%) agree that finding enough candidates is their #1 hiring challenge, according to a 2019 report by LinkedIn. As an SMB recruiter, you should know how to attract the best employees while keeping your hiring costs low. The most effective sourcing channels that work wonders for SMBs are social media, referrals, company career pages, personal networks, and job boards.
Social media has changed the way businesses recruit today. For SMBs, it provides access to a larger pool of candidates in an organic way. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are some of the most used platforms; choose the one most suitable for your business and where your target candidates spend time. Maintain an online presence, use your employees’ networks to spread the word about open positions, and spend on social media ads if it fits your budget.
Referrals are the most efficient way for SMBs in recruitment. You can reduce hiring time and costs by implementing a referral program that is easy to use for both employees and hiring managers. Write clear rules defining which positions are open to referrals, the benefits, and how employees can apply. Keep both monetary and non-monetary incentives, with slightly higher incentives for hard-to-fill positions, and create easily shareable messages. Always measure the effectiveness of the program — referral-to-hire ratio, cost, and number of employees engaged.
Your company career page is where you make the first impression on potential candidates. Showcase your culture, product offerings, and employee benefits. Design the page to reflect the company’s personality, add testimonial videos of current employees for credibility, include a ‘why you should join us’ section, and show diversity so anyone who visits feels welcomed.
4. Screen candidates to get the right fit
If you are using the right sources, you will get a flood of applications. It consumes a lot of hiring time to screen them all manually, and SMB recruiters wear multiple hats. With more digital tools entering the recruitment process, it’s wise to go for automated tools — they reduce screening time and costs and improve hire quality. There are plenty of automated tools for application tracking (ATS), resume screening, skills assessment, and even online interviewing, helping you screen candidates faster and surface the right-fit candidates.
5. Follow an effective interview process
Following an effective interview process is integral to hiring. Once you shortlist qualified candidates, schedule interviews. Be prepared in advance: create a list of questions for each candidate and determine the number of rounds in a day. Keep the same core questions for everyone, but be ready to ask follow-ups based on their responses. Observe whether candidates are prepared for the role and will fit the culture, start with lighter questions so they relax, and include open questions that promote discussion. Keep notes for each candidate, invite a teammate or hiring manager for another perspective, and follow all legal guidelines to keep the interview unbiased — avoid questions that discriminate based on gender, race, color, religion, age, or national origin.
A few interview questions that provide valuable insight:
- Why are you looking for a new position?
- Explain any conflict you had with past team members, and how you resolved it.
- Describe a situation where you were asked to perform a task out of your comfort zone, and how you achieved it.
- How does your past work experience relate to this position?
- What would you consider your strengths and weaknesses?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Conclusion
Expanding a team is an excellent sign for SMBs — it directly reflects that your organization is doing well. There is no perfect strategy for hiring great employees, but following a few techniques like referral hiring, social media, candidate screening, and a structured interview will help attract the right talent. Hiring a great employee is hard, but if you are ready to take extra effort and streamline your recruitment strategy, you will benefit in the long run.