Recruiting Tips for Small Businesses

Competition for great talent is fierce, and employers are aggressively competing by boosting pay, creating flexible work schedules and making offices pet friendly. What can managers do to attract great performers? Here are some things that hiring managers who want to rise above their competitors need:

Well-established hiring process

Make the process repeatable and easy to replicate. Document what works. Write compelling job descriptions that tell the company’s story. The hiring manager’s goal is to offer a glimpse of the candidate’s role in the firm’s future. There are plenty of general job posting sites that get a lot of traffic and are free or low cost, even sites that specialize in remote workers. Depending on what managers are looking for, there are also industry-specific sites, often connected with professional organizations. Top companies know that their current employees can be the best source for new workers, as they may know others in their field.

Attractive company culture

Smart managers know it’s not always about salary. There are a lot of aspects of a job that are just as important as pay — or more so. Desirable companies have created cultures that even attract employees at well-known employers with deep pockets, because employees are willing to switch for a better benefits package. Indeed, many companies have lured new workers with such benefits as pet insurance, monthly team outings, unlimited paid time off or free ice cream on Fridays.

Streamlined hiring process

Some companies don’t think through what their application process should look like. They ask questions that may be irrelevant for the job and make the process so complex that many candidates just walk away. The best businesses don’t opt for an off-the-rack solution; rather, they customize it for their needs.

The college connection

Are there universities or other educational institutions nearby? Schools can be a good recruitment source. Many managers have created long-term relationships with universities by being part of their career services programs, going to career fairs and setting up partnerships to have access to the best prospects entering the workplace.

Reputation

Once a business garners a good reputation for providing worker satisfaction, word will spread.  Companies that are proactive and can set themselves apart will find they can compete for talent with the large corporations — and may even become big themselves!

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