First off, we hope we didn’t offend you by calling you a ‘small’ business. We think small companies are GREAT and sometimes better than those big boys. (heck – Integrity HR is proud to be a small business!)
However, being a small company means you might not be able to deploy the same type of charades those big companies can to attract the level of talent you need (and deserve).
Offering embarrassingly large salaries, every benefit under the sun, and a fuel-efficient company jet may be outside of your small business’s budget. Have no fear! Integrity HR is here to help.
Today, we’re showing you how to attract big talent to your small business. Follow these 5 tips and your candidates will be knocking down your door for a chance to join your small business’s success!
#1 Create A Culture People Would Leave A High Paying Job For
Did you know that along with losing weight, “get a better job” makes the list for the top New Year’s resolutions? Wouldn’t you love to be that “better job” everyone is searching for?
You can!
Small businesses have the ability to offer perks that those big dogs often can’t. Here’s some ways to make your company stand out:
- Offer Work/Life Balance: It’s all about flexibility. You can choose to tailor a job to fit with your employee’s individual needs – like working from home once a week. Try not to be too stingy with vacation days. Did you know some small companies allow for unlimited personal days?? (We’ll give you time to pick yourself off of the floor.)
- Create a Family Atmosphere: Many entrepreneurs treat their employees as an extension of their family. Take that, cold corporate businesses! Not ready to adopt your employees? You can make small gestures like allowing employees to bring their kids to work on snow days. Just bring in some old movies and create your own little snow/sick day office space!
- Have creative, but not ridiculously costly perks. So what – you can’t offer your employees a cereal bar every morning? No big deal. If a fully stocked kitchen stretches your small business budget, look for ways to provide inexpensive incentives like passing out popcorn treats, hosting ice cream breaks or catering lunch once a month. Or go big and offer cash bonuses for excellent work.
#2 Know Where To Look For Great Talent
As a small business, networking may solve a lot of your recruiting problems. Hopefully, you are a part of some local small business groups or mastermind groups that can send some quality referrals your way when it’s time to hire.
You may even want to reward employees for submitting referrals – typically employees will only recommend people who they think will be a good fit for your company, and who they think will make them look good as an employee as well. Bonus: a candidate who comes through a referral will have a better picture of your company than any job ad can provide.
So maybe you don’t have a circle of fellow small business owners who will send you endless candidates. It’s not the end of the world. All you need to do is…think like the candidate!
Don’t waste your time and money by posting your job advertisement everywhere. You need to be strategic and think like the candidate!
Looking for installation technicians? Try posting on Craigslist. How about call center employees? Reach out to the Career Services departments of your area colleges. Want a professional candidate? Most professional level jobs have “societies.” Start there.
Check out this blog for more tips on how to think like the candidate.
#3 Spice Up That Job Posting
Who are you trying to attract? Creative marketing professionals? Number focused accounting specialists? Detail-oriented executive assistants? Write the post that will get their attention! Here’s some more important information to include…
Key Parts of Your Job Posting
- Information about the company
- What position is being advertised?
- What qualifications do they need?
- What are the responsibilities and challenges for this position?
- Performance clause
The Do’s of Writing Job Postings
- Do use relevant titles and keywords
- Do reflect the company
- Do add a little sparkle
- Do be specific to allow candidates that are not a good fit to self-select out
- Do use the job description as a guide
- Do keep it short
- Do keep it legal
To get more information on the Do’s and Don’ts of Job Posting, check out our blog here.
#4 Boast About Your Company
Don’t be shy! You have a great company – let the candidate know that!
You can be subtle and display all your fabulous awards in the entryway of your office. Or you can just straight up tell the candidate in the interview how awesome you are (ex: We were #– on the Fast 50 List of fastest growing companies in Louisville! We are looking for the right people to grow with us.)
In small businesses, employees get to wear more hats (make sure you phrase this as a benefit!). More hats = more job diversity, developing more skills, and the possibility to grow their career as the company grows.
Important: Regardless of the type of employee, you’ll need to show them how their skills can contribute to the success of the business. In big companies, you are often viewed as a cog in the machine. In a small business, each individual employee has a stake in the success of the company!
Lastly, be sure to explain your company’s mission, vision and values. You know what is important to you and your company – explaining what you are passionate about may just strike a cord with the candidate.
#5 Get Some HR Help
Okay, you knew that was coming. You’re probably thinking: “But I’m too small to hire an HR professional!”
No such thing! Well, maybe if it’s just you and you have no employees to hire or manage — then you may be okay without HR help.
If you think hiring people is a headache, just wait until you get to onboard them, train them, keep their benefits straight, make sure they get paid on time, have to conduct their performance reviews and make sure you don’t cross any compliance/legal lines.
Things get messy when you add people into the mix. That’s why you need some HR help if you want to play with the big dogs.
Just because you are small, this doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the best. At Integrity HR, we recognize that your business is unique. You have certain HR issues and employee challenges that your next-door neighbor might not ever have to deal with. That is why you deserve a strategic HR partner – not an “HR Services” fee added on to your monthly payroll services bill.
You deserve a partner like Integrity HR that provides small business HR solutions to improve performance, reduce liability and increase profits.
You deserve a local company with roots in your town that knows your business and your culture. You deserve an HR consultant that can come to your company whenever you’re having an HR crisis or when you just need a one-on-one meeting.
You deserve to have the support of a team of certified HR consultants that understand and serve your organization’s unique needs. Whether you need us 10 hours every week or 10 hours every quarter – we’re here for you.
To learn more about our HR services for small businesses, check out this fun video here.
All you have to do is follow these 5 tips on how to attract big talent to your small business, and you’ll be stealing candidates from those big dogs in no time!
