How To Hire Staff For Small Business – 8 Recruiting Tips
How to hire staff for small business–a question popular among most entrepreneurs.
Hiring an employee can be a very expensive affair. Unlike large corporations, small businesses do not have the luxury of being able to withstand a high turnover number year in and year out.
Therefore the hiring process for a small business has to be thoroughly planned and should be done in a way that helps meet its long-term goals of growth.
It should also focus on acquiring potential employees who can stay and become leaders in the organization.
This article lays down eight things every hiring manager should know about how to hire staff for small business.
1. Target Potential
Every company- large or small, hires inexperienced employees for their potential to grow within the organization. However, this should be a priority hiring goal for small businesses.
Unlike larger corporations, small businesses may not have the capital to hire leadership. They have to build it, from within. Meeting potential employees who have led in school, college, or at their part-time jobs can yield great results in the long term.
It can also be beneficial to invest in creating a small presence on local college campuses and meeting students at job fairs.
2. Target Versatility
Often in small businesses and startups, position names don’t mean much when it comes down to the actual work. Employees handle multiple roles in small businesses and it is that versatility that ends up saving businesses money.
Therefore, the hiring process should also reflect that. Double majors, previous experiences, changes in industries, and even hobbies can be brought up during interviews.
If there are multiple skills that potential employees can perform make sure you utilize them, fully. These may seem small but are crucial details when thinking about how to hire staff for small business.
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3. Target Referrals
Make your referral programs lucrative. Chances are expensive referral programs will still be cheaper than investing heavily in external hiring vendors.
While the former two have their place, relying on your current employees can also be just as effective, if done right.
An additional benefit to this is that the potential employees who come in through referrals will have worked with your current corporation already, and this can lead to better teamwork and synergy in the office.
4. Target Cultural Compatibility
This is a tricky one. Cultural compatibility is important for every organization, big or small. While a small business has a culture set in place, there is always room for modification.
Small businesses expand, and with that expansion come iterations to their culture. Look for potential employees who can positively add to your current culture.
One of the key factors to consider when thinking about how to hire staff for small business is to look for employees who can challenge your current culture and make small, but noticeable changes to get your small business closer to its vision.
The hiring process should include a cultural round, as well as a casual round with feedback for the organization, its practices, and culture. Such candidness will only make the potential team member feel like they can be an integral part of a great project.
5. Target Mentors
You can’t just run small businesses with young employees. You need some experience.
While you may not have the spending power of big business, getting a few experienced employees who can lead and mentor your team can prove beneficial.
These don’t necessarily have to be hard hires, but can also be board members/ co-owners of the small business that you’ll have to ‘hire’ in a mentorship position.
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6. Target Social Media
Social media websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook offer a great platform for people to connect professionally. LinkedIn, especially, is designed just for that. A simple post can get you hundreds of responses.
Additionally, people often put their resumes, portfolios, hobbies, etc on social media websites. There is so much you can learn about a potential hire by asking them to share their LinkedIn, Behance, or other social profiles.
LinkedIn posts also offer nuggets of wisdom about hiring processes in certain industries, learnings, and dos and don’ts. Having a social media presence is only positive and one of the first answers to how to hire staff for small business.
7. Don’t Target Cultural Shocks
Getting employees that build on your current culture is great, but even the most culturally compatible employees will go through a culture shock unless you have a proper orientation in place.
Culture shocks don’t just happen when people move to different cities, states, or countries. They can happen in small businesses also. In fact, they’re a lot more prevalent in small businesses, if an employee is feeling left out of a small group of colleagues.
To make employees feel at home, set up an informal buddy system, create a welcoming environment even during the hiring process.
In fact, small businesses can set up a mock work observation day during the hiring process, so that the potential employee can interact with the current team.
8. Don’t Target Managers
Managers are great, just not for small businesses. Unlike their larger counterparts, small businesses don’t have the employee size to warrant man management, nor the capital to afford one.
Instead of hiring managers, hire talented employees who can lead small teams, and perform their roles, simultaneously.
A manager might also not bode well with the culture of an organization with young employees performing multiple roles/ tasks. It makes management complicated and adds an unnecessary level of complexity to a small business’s structure.
Conclusion
The easiest part about how to hire staff for a small business is handing in the job offer. Much like building a football team, the hiring process for small businesses has to be tactful and has to yield results.
If one player doesn’t perform, the impact on a small team is much more visible as compared to one of the bigger football clubs. Small businesses, therefore, have to think a lot more for the long term, as compared to the behemoths of their industries.
The hiring process should focus on retention and growth.
However, some practices stay the same. To maintain a level of integrity and security in your company, always perform background checks, and be open to negotiations. Always verify and test the experience and never judge a book just by its cover or resume, in this case.
This article is a good place to see what you can do while hiring for a small business. Happy team building!