Finding the right talent to work for you is not an easy task. The timing has to be right, the person’s values and skills on par with the company and role, and the employee package you offer has to work well with the potential hire’s expectations.
The time it takes to recruit new people also costs money.
Talent acquisition becomes even harder when you’re operating with a small budget. Even if you can’t offer huge salaries or have a recruiting agency do the searching for you, there are other ways to attract potential talent.
Use Your Online Presence
A business’s presence online is so important, from its website and social media to reviews on sites like Yelp and Glass Door.
Make sure the presence you have is telling your company’s story and expressing things that attract potential talent.
Do you share your values and goals upfront? Are you praising current employees for good work and showing pride in the work you’ve done? Do you feel approachable, or more like a cold business who doesn’t like to be bothered?
Sometimes people looking for work can stumble across a company’s online presence and feel compelled to reach out to them.
Offer Non-Salary Benefits
Naturally, potential employees focus on the pay of the position. The second most important thing they look at are workplace benefits that don’t have to do with pay, such as flexible working conditions.
A potential employee may be more inclined to take the job with a lower salary than anticipated if the job offers work from home a certain number of days out of the week, or flexible hours throughout the week.
You can offer childcare support, paid gym memberships, or transportation expense coverage as ways to entice potential talent.
Leverage The Employees You Have
A great way to get the word out about hiring is to have your employees tap into their own networks. If your workers are satisfied with their job, it’s more likely they’ll give you good referrals to go after.
It’s mostly safe to assume the employee will only be referring to quality talent that aligns with their own work ethic. No one wants to suggest a friend for a job only to have said friend come in and be a horrible worker, making the person who referred them look bad.
Have A Solid Hiring Process In Place
Knowing exactly what you’re going to do from job posting to interview to hiring is key in keeping recruiting feeling like an easy task that isn’t taking up time and money.
Clearly define the person you are looking to hire, who and how they will be interviewed, and what must be considered when making a final decision.
Emphasize The Positive Side of Being Small
You don’t often hear of people leaving a small business to go into a big corporation – it’s mostly the other way around, and there’s a reason for that.
People enjoy working for smaller companies where they feel they are valued more and have a better handle on their overall goals and purpose.
Clearly state your values to potential employees so they know just what they’re getting when working for a smaller company.