6 Hiring Methods for Small Businesses You Should Check Out
Hiring is a struggle for most small businesses. Time is limited and finding someone who can perform the job well can be time-consuming.
You can seek help from outsourcing agencies and recruiters, but the fees could be expensive. Fortunately, you can find candidates yourself with the help of many platforms and methods.
Here are seven hiring methods that work well for small businesses.
Currently, there are more than 2 billion Facebook users around the world and it’s growing very fast. We can take advantage of this rich pool of candidates for job recruitment.
There are hundreds of recruiting pages and groups on Facebook that can help you attract applicants. Job postings here range from seasonal, part-time, and unskilled jobs to full-time positions (though well-qualified candidates are rarer). Job-seekers also actively post their own threads to find employers.
2. Browse job posting websites
We would recommend you to check out Indeed and LinkedIn. Both are popular websites for hiring and networking.
Indeed
Indeed is the world’s #1 job search and job posting site with over 3 million active employers. The website offers both free and paid job posting options, and helps businesses build professional employer branding. Although there are limitations in the free version, the potential is still great.
LinkedIn is a social networking site made for job opportunities. Job seekers can showcase their career status, qualifications, skills, and work experience. Employers can look for suitable candidates and reach out to them via this site.
3. Create an internal referral program
Referral is one of the most reliable hiring methods for small businesses. You can create an internal referral program in which employees suggest potential candidates and receive rewards if the referred candidate is a good worker.
To get started, you need to send job descriptions or announce job openings of the hiring positions to employees. Then ask them to refer to their relatives, friends, family, or acquaintances.
As existing employees understand your company culture and the nature of your business, the candidates have already been screened for one round. You’re more likely to get candidates who are qualified and actually fit in.
However, it should be noted that even if the candidate has a close relationship with your employee, they’ll have to go through a fair review round. After all, your ultimate goal is still finding well-qualified candidates for your business.
4. Try internal promotion and rotation
Recruiting from outside can be time-, money-, and effort-consuming, so it’s reasonable to promote existing staff to a vacant senior position. Employees are motivated to strive for promotional opportunities and career development, which helps with retention.
Internal rotation is different from promotion. Employees move between different jobs of the same level in a business. For example, an employee rotates in various teams, from product development to packaging and quality assurance. This way employees can learn various skills and employers have a more flexible workforce.
Internal promotion and rotation are beneficial because current employees understand your company culture and working environment. Employers don’t have to go through the cumbersome recruitment process again, saving them time and money.
5. Connect with local colleges, universities, schools
Small businesses often hire college students and new graduates for entry-level positions because senior candidates are much more expensive.
Online job boards are available at nearly every college, university, and trade school. You can post job openings there.
You can also look for colleges that provide training for graduates in your field and get in touch with their career offices to find interns.
6. Plan for talent acquisition strategies
Talent acquisition is the process of identifying, attracting, and acquiring potential candidates for different roles in your business. Recruitment and talent acquisition overlap, but talent acquisition is more about creating a long-term, tactical strategy for finding and keeping the right people.
If you have never done this before, do it now. Save a list of impressive candidate profiles that are suitable for your company’s culture and requirements. Establish positive relationships with them and reach out when you need to fill new positions.
Conclusion
Small businesses are faced with the challenge of having to do a lot with less. Smaller workforces, limited operating budgets, and tight timelines make it harder to find and hire quality people.
Take some time to try out the hiring methods for small businesses we mentioned above. You’ll find more suitable candidates for the positions in your company.
