Access to finance and concerns over cashflow may be priority issues for small businesses looking to grow, but recruiting talent is right up there with them, at a time when having the right people in place has never been more important.
Fees charged by recruitment agencies, based on a percentage of the new hire's salary, can run into thousands of pounds, while posting vacancies online can attract unmanageable volumes of largely unsuitable applications.
For many firms, the solution is to take an unconventional, almost DIY approach to finding the key people they need to take on some of the responsibility for running the business, and free the owner up to focus on growing it.
And that can be easier than you think, says Mike Carrighan, senior business growth manager at the Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub.
"Things like word-of-mouth referrals and small business networking opportunities can help to generate a number of possible candidates, and to avoid expensive advertising and recruitment agency costs. A focus of the skills required and the type of people you are looking for, in terms of values and cultural fit, can help to orientate the search. We all tend to work well with people who we like and trust, and turning to those people first, among your colleagues, suppliers, working partners, etc, could deliver results," he says.
Another very effective, low-cost recruitment resource is social media, where small businesses can share relevant vacancies for free on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and research candidates and approach them directly with job opportunities.
The opportunity for SMEs to save precious budget on recruitment costs is huge, says Adam Gordon, managing director of recruitment firm Social Media Search.
He says: "Think like a publisher. Think about where your audience, or candidate market, is and develop a presence there, to gain as many relevant connections or followers, as possible. With social media you can also engage with potential candidates in a much more conversational and transparent way than was previously possible. And make sure your social media presence encapsulates your employer brand, which you can do through style, imagery and tone of voice."
Once a number of suitable candidates have been identified, the selection process should focus on fit as much as skills and qualifications, and this could include logic and aptitude tests, phone interviews, and face-to-face meetings.
Entrepreneur Lara Morgan is the founder and former CEO of Pacific Direct, and founder of business growth specialist Company Shortcuts. She takes this a stage further and advocates bringing job candidates in to spend a day working in all areas of the business.
"That way you have a chance to observe their ability and aptitude for dealing with pressure and picking things up quickly, and you'll also get an immediate sense of whether there is a good cultural fit there, which is so important. It's a method that I have used several times, with success," she says.
Finding the right person is only half of the recruitment process; that person also has to want the job. What can small businesses offer that will whet the appetite of talented recruits who will be expected to hit the ground running? Without the financial resources to offer generous salaries and bonuses, small business can find alternatives that are surprisingly more of an incentive than cash.
Flexible working is easy to implement and is currently one of the biggest attractions for employees. A survey of senior managers and employees carried out last year by Vodafone UK found that flexible working is now considered more important to UK workers than financial benefits such as a stake in the business, perks, bonus schemes and pensions. Worklife balance, including flexible hours, (28% of respondents) is nearly as important today as basic salary (30% of respondents).
And ultimately, securing the hire may not be as challenging as small business owners might imagine. For many candidates, the one thing that can make a small growing company appear more attractive than a large one, is the opportunity to fast track their own career development. The prospect of having an immediate impact on a business by taking early responsibility for operations and decisions can have far greater appeal than spending two or three years on a management training programme with a blue chip organisation.
Content commissioned by Guardian Professional on behalf of FedEx Express
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