Building a solid team is critical to growing your business. However, learning how to navigate the hiring process and finding the right employees can be easier said than done for new business owners. Not only that, but small businesses often have limited resources to devote to recruiting, which can further complicate the process.
Fortunately, you’re not on your own when it comes to figuring it out. Instead of floundering through the hiring learning curve, use these 5 recruitment tips and strategies for small businesses to efficiently find high-quality employees that will help you take your company to the next level.
#1: Only Hire When You Need to
No matter how many corners you’re able to cut to save money during the recruitment process, the fact is that hiring an employee is one of the biggest expenses your company can take on. That’s why you shouldn’t hire anyone until you actually need them to handle demand.
Of course you want to be careful to not push your current team past their limits to the point where they can’t realistically complete the amount of work on their plate, but finding the right timing to bring someone on is critical. This can help you avoid unnecessarily tying up resources and prevent you from hiring someone who’s essentially just going to be sitting around.
#2: Be Thorough When Vetting Potential Hires
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is failing to properly vet job candidates. This can backfire when you hire someone who isn’t qualified to perform the job duties, isn’t a good match for the culture and ends up quitting quickly, or is a huge liability due to their history of unsafe behavior.
A reliable way to verify a job candidate’s identity and record is with a background check, which can reveal any discrepancies in their personal or criminal records. It can also confirm their past job experience. In addition to a formal employment background check, you can also review their LinkedIn account and contact their references.
#3: Offer a Competitive Benefits Plan
In a competitive job market, the benefits you offer can make all the difference. When employees are looking for employment opportunities, they’re interested in more than just the salary. While fair pay is a good starting point, you also need to offer a competitive benefits package.
Good benefits show employees that you’re invested in their well-being and value their labor. At the very least, you should offer healthcare, paid time off, and sick days, but you can get as creative (and generous as you want). Just make sure you can afford what you’re promising.
#4: Be Specific in Your Job Posts
The more detailed your job posts, the more likely you are to get responses that are a good match for the position. Vague job descriptions tend to bring in a lot of applicants who aren’t quite qualified, either because they’re not sure what’s required for consideration or because you haven’t given a good description of the job duties.
Whether it’s just you filtering applicants or you have an HR professional on your team, you only have so many hours to dedicate to the hiring process. To avoid wasting your already limited time sorting through useless applications, take the time to create a specific and descriptive job listing. A good job listing should include the following:
- A clear description of job duties they’re expected to complete
- A list of requirements candidates must meet to qualify for an interview
- An introduction to what your company does
- Information about the company culture
#5: Take Advantage of Free Resources
As a small business, your financial resources are limited, so you want to find ways to keep your recruiting costs as low as possible. That’s not to say investing isn’t worthwhile, it absolutely is, but it’s smart to save money where you can. One way you can do that when hiring is to look for free resources you can use to your advantage. Some examples of free recruiting resources include:
- Job posting templates
- Job boards that don’t charge to post ads
- Blogs with hiring tips (what qualities to look for, how to narrow down your search, questions to ask, etc.)
With the right team, the sky’s the limit for what your company can accomplish. Next time you’re hiring, keep these tips in mind to save time, money, and headaches throughout the hiring process.
