Recruit the Right Talent (for small businesses) - part 1

Recruiting the right person can make the difference between success and failure in a small company.  It is therefore one of the most important decisions a business owner will need to make. While small businesses are often pressured for time, making hasty decisions regarding requirements and recruitment methods must be avoided in order to secure the right person.

Here is the first of a two-part blog with advice on how to recruit the right people for your small business...

 

Your requirement

To identify where your business has a gap in skills or where its productivity is being restricted, you’ll first need to carry out some basic analysis. In order to develop a clear understanding of your requirement, spend some time tracking business activities and seeking feedback from your staff. If this suggests that you need a new staff member to move things forward, what’s next?

It’s time to define what you need in a clear, concise job description and person specification – the two core elements of your job advert. It’s key that your job description covers the key responsibilities of the role highlighting the main duties up front. The job description will help you to identify the skills and experience of an ideal candidate, which must then be detailed in your person spec.

 

Your offer to potential employees

Working within financial constraints, small businesses often need to offer something unique in order to attract new talent. While it’s important that the package you’re offering is competitive, other factors such as progression, training and flexible working arrangements can help to attract applicants too. Use online job adverts and social media to track the recruiting methods of competitor businesses – What salary and benefits are they offering? What skills are they seeking? Are they including elements that you have missed in your job description and person spec? What are you able to offer that competitor firms do not offer?

 

Be clear and open

The internet is overflowing with unclear and incomplete job advertisements. To make your offer stand out from the pack, make sure you clearly describe the duties of the role and avoid any ambiguities. However enthusiastic you may be about your company, it’s important not to oversell it – you must be truthful and realistic.  Let your company website do some of the work for you. By including company values and principles you’ll enable prospective employees to identify with your business as well as find out about your products and clients.

 

Consider the cost (and your time)

There are many recruitment options available including recruitment agencies, fixed fee recruiters, online job boards, trade press and newspapers. When considering which method to use, remember to balance the cost of the service with that of your time. All too often, businesses are put off by the cost of recruiting via a recruitment agency and they neglect to factor in the time required to conduct the same activities internally if using an alternative method.

A Job advert can prompt anything between 5 and 100 applications. While larger businesses may have HR departments to screen CV’s and short-list the best candidates, this may not be possible when resources are more limited. If you do choose to advertise the role and short list candidates yourself, use your job description and person specification to aid the short-listing process – there’s no point in reviewing a lengthy application form if a candidate does not satisfy your essential criteria.

 

Ask for advice

In a small business, the financial and productivity costs of getting it wrong are substantial. Before you start, make sure you know who you can contact for advice and support if you need it during the recruitment process and don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Seek out reliable introductions from your network when choosing an expert to assist you.

Business Consultants/Coaches will work with you to analyse skill gaps and offer advice on the type of person to recruit.  A trusted Recruitment Consultant will provide you with information on salaries/pay within the market and advise on the optimum way to attract talent for your particular role/sector. HR Consultants are available to help with any questions about Employment Law.

 

As a smaller business, we understand the need to have contacts to call upon for help and advice in different areas.  We are always happy to do the same for others. Every day we offer advice and share our knowledge to help smaller businesses with their recruitment.  Please don’t hesitate to call us if you have any questions.




In our next blog, we will share our advice on Interviewing, so you can get the best out of any interview resulting in the right hiring decision for both you and the candidate.

 

Article by Keeley Edge, Key Appointments (Managing Director) on 0844 5044666 or keeley@key-appointments.co.uk