How SMEs Can Bounce Back from Hiring Challenges

Daniel Braithwaite

4 Apr

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It's hard for small businesses to find and keep good employees, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) report released on 30 Nov 2021.

The report said that small businesses have a hard time giving their employees the development and career paths they need. This makes it hard for executives to find and keep talented employees. According to the WEF report, SMEs also have difficulty paying their employees competitively. Moreover, competition from larger companies is stiff and makes it tougher for SMEs with lesser budgets to attract candidates.

Overcoming the challenges of attracting and keeping talented staff

Despite the lack of resources compared to their larger and richer competitors, SMEs have unique attributes that could be leveraged to attract interested job seekers. Here are five ways that SMEs can consider to better their hiring situations:

1. Prevention is better than cure.

Conduct ‘Stay Interviews’.

These employee engagement and communication interviews are similar done when people are already working with your business, and they involve asking them what encouraged them to remain with you as an employer, with a discussion about the aspects of their work and work environment with which they are satisfied and / or dissatisfied.

2. Shop for talent, where your target candidates are

Go to candidate instead of waiting for them to come to you. LinkedIn is a great way to reach out, network, and connect with prospective employees. For specialist technical skills, such as software developers, you can check out GitHub.

3. Reverse job ad

Ask your job applicants list down what they are good at, and what they can bring to the table beyond what is listed in their resume and your job description. This way, you can fully realize their strengths and maximize the impact they can bring to your organization.

4. Benefits that large corporates may never do

Deliver personal mentorship and coaching from the CEO and senior management.

Four-day working weeks.

Instilling a warm, family-style team culture with regular get-togethers to celebrate staff birthdays, and various team bonding events.

5. Speed up your recruiting cycle

Use an applicant tracking system. Have a critical look at your hiring process, to find the places where it takes too long to progress recruitment. Find a reliable background screening vendor that can match the speed and efficiency needed to make rapid and effective decisions.

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FAQs

What background check do I need?

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Why should employers check the background of potential employees?

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