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Big People Hiring For Small Businesses

curranrecruit
May 7, 2015
3 min read

Like any business, a small business is only as good as its people. But finding great staff is not always easy. According to numerous studies - by organisations such as the CIPD, Abedreen and SHRM - hiring the wrong person can cost a business anywhere from six to twenty times the position’s base salary. Small businesses also have to compete with larger organisations that offer greater employee perks and incentives.

In this week’s post we share some tips on how smaller businesses can attract top talent aka “big people”.

A Focus on Recruitment

In a UK-based survey by Conference Genie (2014) it was found that the biggest challenge in terms of HR for smaller businesses is recruitment.

Montoya (2015) says: “The secret is to focus on attracting people who want to work for your cause rather than work for your perks. Sure, you might not be able to offer a free gym to your employees, but you come with a very different, more abstract set of perks that will attract the kind of people you actually want to hire, the people who believe that what you’re doing is important and will deliver on their goals”.

Take Advantage of the Pros of Small Businesses and the Limitations of Larger Organisations

More personal involvement – you can see for yourself

Corporate recruitment processes — with dedicated HR departments — are usually beyond the budget of most small firms. But this can also be seen as an advantage – you can be more hands-on in finding your own new recruits, listening to your gut instinct and discovering talent among your network of contacts can allow you to find new employees that will really fit in and add value to your business.

Other kinds of perks

Although smaller businesses don’t always offer big salaries, they can offer candidates more challenging work; the chance to gain more responsibility; direct access to managers and decision-makers; and faster career progression for those with talent and ambition.

Levine (2015) shares a tip on Spark Hire: “When you’re talking to talent, highlight the perks of working for your organisation. Will they get to work in a lot of departments instead of being pigeonholed? Let them know. Will they get to work from home or set their own schedule? Make this clear. These kinds of perks often outweigh those offered by bigger groups.”

Flexibility

Small companies tend to have more flexibility to the way work life is structured. Because they don’t typically have rigid HR departments, people are often able to work from home or work flexible hours. Great job candidates love the idea of having the ability to structure work their way. Sell them on the ability to create their own way of working.

Capitalise on the fact that you can provide the opportunity for someone to enter your organisation during the high-trajectory start-up phase. This will help you attract those with a founder’s mentality, people who want to actively help shape the future of your business.

The Graduate Pool

Many students are interested in working with smaller companies, specifically because of the flexibility and training that these organisations offer. Therefore, small businesses should try to include recruiting efforts at local universities and colleges. When you start building connections with students, you’re opening the company up to a pool of enthusiastic potential new employees who are trained on the latest technology that the industry has to offer.

Corporate organisations have solid operations in place and a job will revolve around executing for a specific job function. There’s a management hierarchy to be adhered to and progression will require climbing the "corporate ladder". In comparison, graduate candidates looking at a smaller business position, will also likely be joining a small team in a dynamic environment and this means that the exposure and breadth of work that will be accomplished is more varied – which in itself is a perk. The potential to lead and the opportunity for experience in more than one area very early in a graduate’s career can be attractive for many people.

Outside Help

Small companies work on tight budgets. However, getting help from outside agencies aren't as expensive as many think they are and can work with you to ensure you make the right hire. As we mentioned earlier a bad hire can cost you a lot more than a little recruiting fee and a great recruiter will help you through the entire process.