Recruitment is an investment for business. The right person for the job and company culture can improve productivity, workplace morale and the bottom line.
Recruitment mistakes are costly. Long-time recruiter Geoff Morgan says the loss of one employee costs any company around $100,000.
“Productivity loss doesn’t change depending on the size of the company so for SMEs losing staff is significant, particularly if there’s multiple staff losses in one year.”
As employers fight the war for talent, SMEs need to use a mix of recruitment strategies. NSW Business Chamber CEO Kevin MacDonald says astute employers are using a strategic approach to attract talented people, employ innovative recruitment measures and promote a strong employer brand.
Here are seven strategies to help find ‘the one’.
WORD OF MOUTH
The adage ‘it’s not what you know but who you know that counts’ rings true when it comes to recruitment. Online career site LinkMe claims 80 per cent of jobs are never advertised, but are filled by people known directly or through word-of-mouth to the employer. Company Chairman Geoff Morgan urges SMEs to reference check referred job applicants.
“Less than 40 per cent of people who start work are reference checked, let alone qualification checked,” he laments. Always phone competitors to check up on a candidate, check the applicant’s driver’s licence and reference check their referees.
Malcom Dunford, Chief Operating Officer of ICT recruitment specialists Sapphire Technologies, says, “If you go through the process of reference checking and psychometric testing or profiling of prospective employees, the risks involved with this style of recruitment are low”.
ONLINE ADVERTISING
Luring staff through online job boards has its pros and cons. “I wouldn’t recommend it for an employer who wants someone unique,” says Dunford. “Placing an ad with a job board is a ‘needle in a haystack’ approach when the gem could be a passive candidate in a job, keen for change.”
Online advertising works better
“if you’re looking for just another body”.
On the other hand, Morgan enthuses that the medium is cheaper and more efficient than placing ads in metropolitan newspapers. Post a job vacancy and get responses from around the globe the same day, whereas newspapers may have a week-long lead time.
The problem with online advertising, he notes, is the volume of responses. “There’s no way of stopping responses, even after the job has been filled. This can clog up a small business.”
However, with 70 per cent of jobs advertised online and job ads in newspapers in absolute decline, employers can bet both Generation Y and X, and their parents, are searching for work online. In any given month, over 200,000 job ads are posted on the SEEK website while talent pools and candidate databases are increasing.
“Online specialised databases abound, with many targeting specific markets and industries for jobs whilst others target specific types of people,” says MacDonald.
USE YOUR WEBSITE
“All SMEs should advertise their job vacancies on their own website, but how much profile your business has will determine the response,” says Dunford.
The problem arises when a small company isn’t a household name.
“The candidate can check out the company, but why would ‘Joe’s TV Aerials’ post a job on its website?”
Morgan explains: “No one would know to look at the website in the first place. People prefer to go to a central online hub to find jobs.”
He believes small companies have a hard time establishing, maintaining and affording an up-to-date website.
NETWORKING NOUSE
Networking lubricates business deals and is a way to meet industry peers and competitors, identify their strengths and meet potential employees. Morgan suggests bosses and/or staff attend an industry event once a fortnight, and conferences in quieter business periods.
Dunford believes networking events, like business breakfasts and seminars, can be recruitment focused without the employer taking a poaching mentality.
“It’s not just a matter of turning up to these events, you’ve got to make it work for you, sell yourself and your business so people want to work for you rather than going there to poach. It’s a lot more about giving than taking if you want to make effective use of your contacts.”
MacDonald says SMEs should tap into social and business networks locally and regionally to find staff.
ASK EXISTING EMPLOYEES
Money, prizes, paid leave and dinner vouchers are some incentives being offered to existing employees to recruit staff.
“These should be provided upon the confirmed placement of a candidate,”
says Dunford.
At Sapphire Technologies, an initial ‘spotter’s fee’ is paid once the placement is made and a second payment once the new employee completes a probationary period.
“Talk to staff to find out what incentive will entice them,” he advises.
Enlist a talented employee who understands your business’s needs to help recruit new staff. Morgan says sending a staff member to a conference or industry event overseas had multiple benefits – rewarding the employee, gaining knowledge and getting the employee to refer candidates.
STAY IN TOUCH WITH ALUMNI
Keeping in contact with former employees is a way to win them back and secure referrals.
“They may return if offered more flexibility or a more senior role. Look
at what they need to be lured back,”
says Dunford.
A person may have left for reasons including raising children, study, illness and moving interstate, so Morgan recommends letting them go on good terms in the hope they will leave saying good things about your company and then one day return to you. Tell departing staff that they can come back when they’re ready, if there is a job.
Boomerang or returning staff bring experience and are an advertisement for the company because the SME can boast: ‘They came back.’
WRANGLING RECRUITERS
SMEs need recruiters to understand their business. “The employer should invite them to see their operation,” Morgan suggests.
Retaining a recruiter exclusively
or offering more money helps the SME
fill job vacancies faster.
“Five years ago it took ICT recruiters about two to four weeks to identify, qualify, select and place a candidate,” Dunford observes. “Now it takes about six to eight weeks, so where there’s a skill shortage or an urgent need to fill a job, the SME should engage the recruiter 100 per cent.”
