Growing your team is one of the hardest things about running a small business. If you're new to recruitment, you might find that even getting candidates to apply is surprisingly difficult—especially if you need people with specialist skills. 

The good news is that small business recruitment doesn't have to be a nightmare. With the right hiring strategy, you'll be able to find the right people to grow your team and take your business to the next level. 

Biggest challenges in small business recruitment

Recruitment is hard for everyone right now, with two-thirds of hiring managers saying that they can't get suitable candidates for their vacancies. 

As a small business owner, you'll face additional challenges, including: 

• Competition from larger employers: Big companies can offer higher salaries, more benefits, and opportunities for professional development. In a limited talent pool, you are directly competing with these larger organizations. 
• Lack of in-house expertise: Most small businesses don't have anyone with recruitment experience on their team. This puts you at a disadvantage because you don't know the best practices for attracting top-tier talent. 
• Limited resources: Large firms invest a lot of money in their talent pipeline. As a smaller company, you have to choose where to focus your resources, and recruitment may not be your top priority. 
• Tighter salary structure: Most small businesses can't compete with the huge salaries on offer from bigger employers. If you do offer high salaries, you'll create a salary structure that may become unsustainable when the company scales up.

5 tips for small business recruitment

Here are a few things you can do to help you stand out in the market and attract your ideal candidates:

1. Build a strong employment brand 

Your recruiting team needs to be closely aligned with the marketing team to ensure employment branding is a priority for the organization with a focus on attracting top talent in the market.  Areas such as your firm’s web presence, search engine optimization and social media strategy are important to the overall branding strategy.

2. Offer a great work-life balance

During The Great Resignation, around one-third of workers voluntarily took a pay cut in exchange for a better work-life balance. You can establish you company as a great place to work by being flexible, supporting your team's personal lives, and offering benefits that help them live their best lives. 

3. Beef up your employee referral plan

Many companies with strong employment brands also have a well-defined culture and are able to build strong employee referral programs. Employee referrals are a powerful tool in a competitive talent acquisition environment. Employees who are referred are typically of higher quality and come armed with information about the company and the culture which helps them get off on a better start if hired.

4. Develop your DE&I strategy

Your DE&I (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) strategy can help you connect with a larger pool of candidates, including those from underrepresented communities. It can also help sway candidates who are considering multiple offers—70% of job seekers say that they value an employer's commitment to diversity. 

5. Finally, focus on your candidate experience 

An applicant who is not qualified for a role today may be a perfect fit for a future role.  Go the extra mile with your candidates to differentiate your organization in the marketplace.  Unqualified applicants could also be future potential customers—treat them well.

These are key differentiators which, if implemented appropriately, can give your organization an edge in the candidate marketplace. 

Need help with small business recruitment?

When your team is small, you might handle all of your recruitment by yourself. But as you grow, you'll find that you need specialist HR help to assist with all aspects of managing your human capital, from recruiting and onboarding, to engagement and retention. 

Helios HR has been helping businesses grow in the Greater D.C. area for over twenty years. Book a no-obligation consultation call with a Helios HR consultant today, and let's talk about how we can help your team grow.