August 13th, 2014
Confidence is growing among SMEs in the UK as the economic recovery gathers pace. As a result, many are looking to recruit – with a new survey by one recruitment specialist, the HR Dept, suggesting that almost 57% of small businesses across the country expect to take on staff during the second half of 2014.
But finding the right candidates can be difficult. Almost a third of businesses responding to another recent survey, by the Federation of Small Businesses, said that skill shortages were hampering their growth. The problem looms especially large in the fields of computing and construction.
If you can’t find the staff you need, you may not be able to grow as fast as you want to, because you won’t have the manpower to take on large contracts and might not even be able to keep up with your existing order book. This means there is pressure on small businesses to fill key vacancies fast. However, there is a risk that recruiting the wrong people can lose you valuable time and money. It is impossible for a small business to carry someone who can’t do the job, but there are risks of employment tribunals and other disruption if you do have to get rid of someone.
So what are the best ways to find new employees with the skills and talent your business needs, and to ensure they fit in with the rest of your staff?
Working Out What Skills Are Needed
The first step is to work out exactly what type of staff you are looking for. Do you want someone who is an expert in an area where your business needs strengthening, or someone who will take on more basic duties and free up existing key staff to do the more technical and demanding work?
Draw up a dual specification for the role, one explaining what the job involves and a “person specification” saying the skills you need. It’s important to think about which skills are vital and which you might be able to do without if you feel an individual is right for you otherwise.
Finding People Who Can Do the Job
In a competitive recruitment marketplace, there is a danger that larger businesses will walk off with the available talent because of their perceived advantages. Yet working for smaller businesses has advantages of its own – such as flexibility, the ability to achieve responsible positions more quickly, and the chance to cover different areas of the job. So you need to get the word out there about your company and why it is a great place to work.
All this means that, as well as giving information about the job itself, job advertising should include information about your workplace. As a small business, you need to put across your culture and state what the opportunities for training and progression are. Mentioning flexible working options could help to attract candidates. It’s also important to think about where to advertise, and to be prepared to use different routes from those you have tried before.
Are there specific job boards, websites or social media sites where people with the skills you are looking for can be found? Social networking sites such as Linked In are an increasingly effective way of finding potential recruits, as you can post job ads within specific groups and see members’ CVs. Twitter can also be used to give alerts of jobs becoming available.
Networking with other local businesses is another way to let it be known that you are looking for people. If you don’t have the time to sift through potential recruits yourself, it can be worth using a recruitment agency, with another advantage being that they may have people with the right skills on their books. Not all agencies are the same, so, as well as considering cost, it’s a good idea to get feedback from business contacts and also to check which agencies specialise in your area of work.
Once you have drawn up a shortlist of possible candidates, the next stage is the interview process. It’s essential to ask the right questions at interview, so that you have full information about all the candidates before making a decision. However suitable someone appears, checking references is vital. If possible, speak to previous employers, rather than just asking for a written reference, as you may get a fuller picture over the phone.
Grow Your Own
If you can’t find people with all the skills you are looking for straight off, one solution which SMEs are increasingly exploring is to take on apprentices or trainees. This won’t suit everyone and does take up staff time, while another drawback is that the new recruits may not be able to make much of a contribution at the start. But it can be very rewarding and you will end up with someone who has exactly the skills needed for your business. The risk is that they will then move on to a rival, so, alongside recruitment, it’s important to focus on staff retention, and ensure your company culture is attractive to both existing and prospective members of staff.
Above all, be prepared to try more than one method and adapt your recruitment strategy to suit your particular business. And, if possible, try to allocate time to the recruitment process, just as you would allocate time to forging a new business plan or researching your competitors. The time you spend finding the right people to help you grow your business will be a sound investment in the long run.
