By Dorthea Kemp
A pressing small business issue has come to my attention, the need for the right talent.
Technology has made running a small business more efficient than ever, however technology is not what customers experience when interacting with your business. Whether reading content on your website or chatting with your customer service staff, customers react to the experiences they have with human talent. In the rush to be the fastest, the human talent factor is getting ignored. For small business this can be disastrous. Small business must compete on relationships and customer satisfaction. These things can only be supported with competent and engaged human talent.
Recruiting is a brutal career and the stakes are high for both recruiters and businesses. Most small to medium businesses either recruit informally or outsource recruiting. This can be costly in the short and long term. Time is a critical resource for a business owner and should not be spent meeting with persons who cannot make your project successful.
To successfully recruit talent for your business, it is important to know just what the end goal is, and what talent is needed to get there. Many small business owners don't have the foundation to efficiently screen candidates.
When your business needs a tech upgrade, consider researching job descriptions of on sites like salary.com or CareerBuilder. Make note of the skills listed in some of these positions and see if they are a good fit for what your business needs done. If you cannot afford the median rates for talent, offer some other bonus like working remotely, or hire someone with less experience understanding the project will take longer. Call some small businesses or freelancers to discuss your needs and see if the job can be outsourced locally. If your business needs more specialized help or someone long term, contact a reputable staffing agency specializing in technical staff. Discuss exactly what you need and your budget.
To get candidates that are a good fit, it is important to clearly define the job duties you want done to match up with the candidate skills. This way, you are not paying for skills that are 'hot' in the market, but not needed for your project. Be clear if you want to see samples or a portfolio, and review this before interviewing candidates. If a portfolio does not show some similar work to what you need done, pass on screening that person.
Flexibility on remote working and project timelines is key and can gather stronger candidates. You need not be skittish on remote work; collaboration tools make this a viable option for small business teams.
If you need help defining the role for your project, utilize your network. Utilize social media to ask for assistance and referrals. Recruiting is the backbone of your business. Don’t leave it to chance.
Dorthea Kemp is the Web/UI/UX designer at DKemp Designs, and the writer at Techsnoop Designs and Techsnoop's Helper. She creates awesome graphics and websites. She blogs on design and small business technology. In a previous life, Dorthea was an HR Recruiter.
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