It’s no secret, small businesses spend considerable time and money hiring employees that are a good fit. One study estimated that, on average, a small business will spend 42 days and $4,000 hiring 1 employee. It is a very laborious and expensive process to not only find but then complete the hiring process all the while hoping that this new employee is a good fit and remains with your company for years. As HR specialists, we know how stressful the hiring process can be so we are sharing 5 ways to find the perfect member for your team.
Here are five ways to improve your chances of finding the perfect team members:
1- Showcase Employer Brand
To attract the right talent, you have to lead with a clear brand. By clear brand we mean transparency in all areas of your business. For example, make your company culture front and center so that anyone who interacts with your company is clear about your brand. Having a strong employer brand is more important than ever before. For example, millennials value transparency during the hiring process because unlike older generations, the right cultural fit is at the top of their priority list.
Not only is having your brand front and center, but you can also be transparent about your core values and mission that drive your day-to-day operations. Include in your job description a brief paragraph about your company’s history, clearly state your core values that your company holds dear and that your expectations of someone who would successfully fill that role. In a few sentences talk about the company culture and what it is like to work in your office. It is always a good idea to include a few sentences in the job description and share what your current employees enjoy the most about working at your company. Do they have a work-life balance? What makes them excited to come to work each day? Do they feel supported by the management? How you describe the job matters, you want to make sure that you put your best foot forward and demonstrate why this is a position that would be attractive to the right person.
2- Include Salary Ranges in Your Job Ads
Many small businesses are hesitant to list the salary in the job description but we feel that this is a mistake. Posting a competitive salary range in your job description is crucial for attracting the right individual. You don’t want to get through the entire hiring process only to find out that the person you offered the job to can’t accept the job because they had much higher salary expectations. This again is a case of transparency, be clear as to the salary range so you are attracting people that can work for that amount of money. If you are unsure as to a competitive salary, you can conduct market research on a variety of websites to give you a range in your area.
An important to note*
Ontario passed a legislation called the Pay Transparency Act in 2018. Even though it has yet to be put into force, many employers have started implementing it in their HR processes.
Some of the provisions include:
1. A clear statement of the offered salary or salary range in all publicly advertised job postings.
2. The prohibition of asking a candidate about their past salary/compensation packages.
3. The declaration that employees who discuss or disclose their compensation will not be negatively affected.
4. The requirement that employers with 100 or more employees track and report any compensation gaps due to gender or other characteristics such as race.
5. The stipulation that employers must then post their pay transparency reports online or in a publicly defined space within the workplace.
Ontario will be the first province in Canada to put this act into force. We will most likely see other provinces passing similar acts to enhance pay transparency and pay equity, so we encourage employers to start adapting it into their hiring process now.
3- Reach Out to Your Employees
Current employee referrals are also a great way to recruit the right people. If you have successful and happy employees they can recommend friends and acquaintances that they feel might be a good fit as well. Why not talk to the people you already hired? Existing employees are a great resource! Your employees already have a good understanding of the work that needs to be done, the skills required to do the job and the type of employees that the company is looking to hire. They know your company culture well enough to refer a candidate that could be suitable for your team. We recommend employers to implement an incentive program to increase employee participation for those that successfully complete the hiring process.
4- Source Passive Candidates
This is more than just posting the job on Indeed or Glassdoor. It is applying the same networking skills we tell job seekers to employ in order for you, the employer, to find the talents in your industry.
Reach out and make connections with people on LinkedIn to find talents that aren't necessarily actively looking for a job but may be open to new opportunities. Tell them about your company as well as the role you are looking to fill and encourage them to apply. Looking for a digital marketing specialist or a social media strategist? Go to the places where your candidates will be the most active.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 71% of those surveyed said that social media recruiting was effective for non-management positions and 67% found it effective to fill management positions. A study conducted on the power of social media recruitment found that 73% of job seekers between the ages of 18-34 found their last position via social media. Positions that are harder to fill and are competitive may require you to do some active sourcing, and LinkedIn is a great tool for that.
5- Conduct Skills Assessment Tests
It can become overwhelming to receive so many applications, going through hundreds of resumes and still not being able to find the right candidate for your company and the position you are hiring. One of the effective ways of determining whether the candidate is a good fit for the role or not is conducting skills and personality assessments. This will not only help you save time, it will also allow you to avoid making bad hiring decisions.
Every time a company goes through a hiring process and trains a new employee, it costs time and money. According to SHRM, the average cost to hire an employee is approximately $4,000, with around 6 weeks to fill a position. By implementing an effective recruitment strategy that will allow you to assess candidates’ personalities as well as their ability to do the work, you are reducing the risks of hiring the wrong person.
There are different types of tests and skill areas to assess. It will really depend on your industry and where your company needs to see improvement. Some tests might include a hard skills assessment, a work sample test, a personality test or a combination of tests. Hard skills tests measure a candidate’s specific skills, for example their typing skill or ability to use photoshop. A work sample test would include scenarios or work situations a candidate may encounter. They may also include testing the tasks an employee will be expected to perform should they get the position. Before choosing tests, employers should decide the types of skills they want in an employee and the best way to test them. Try conducting some research to see what assessments other companies in your industry use to gauge the skill set their candidates have.
It is important to have the right recruitment strategy to be able to attract top talents and speed up the hiring process. We want you to hire people that will help the company grow and will be a positive influence on your company’s culture.
Contact us for further information on how you can build a strong employer brand to attract talents and find the best employee for your team.
Let us know if you have any questions, we are here to support!
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