Mid-Size & Startup Recruitment Processes that Work
March 30 2020
Every business is unique. As a result, every business needs a unique recruiting process that works to meet their talent needs. When it comes to small and mid-sized businesses, hiring is essential to continued growth, which makes a solid mid-sized business or startup recruitment strategy an absolute necessity. Designing and implementing a recruitment funnel that works for your company is one of the most important steps a business owner can take to ensure a steady influx of qualified talent. Here’s how small business owners can recruit smarter, not harder.
1. Map Your Growth
The first step in creating a streamlined startup recruitment process is knowing what roles you’ll need to recruit for. Evaluate your business’s growth, strengths, and weak points to decide the direction in which to take your recruiting. Create a roadmap for your company to follow as your business continues to grow. Does your company need salespeople, tech gurus, or marketing experts? What experience level will you be looking for, and what kind of salary can you afford to offer?
Deciding these factors before you begin recruiting will save your business valuable time and resources. Creating an outline for your future growth helps ensure you’ll never be caught off-guard by your own hiring needs.
2. Get the Word Out
You’ve figured out your budget, you’ve determined the roles you need to fill, and you have an idea of what you’re looking for in a candidate. Now it’s time to let the world know you’re on the hunt for new employees. Small business owners can do this in a variety of ways. Almost half of SMBs utilize referrals from current or former employees to find new talent. Consult your workforce and consider offering incentives for quality referrals. Chances are, they’ll know someone who fits the bill.
To widen your potential talent pool, small and midsized businesses should utilize a variety of candidate sourcing methods: posting on online job boards, partnering with local schools, joining professional groups, and more. Find the mix of talent sources that works best for your business. Recruiting isn’t just a numbers game; you want to choose your resources carefully to ensure both the quantity and quality of your applicants.
3. Automation = Organization
Whether you have an HR department, you have non-HR employees covering HR roles, or you’re doing all the legwork yourself, automation is key for any mid-sized business or startup recruitment process. Using spreadsheets, emails, and multiple programs can quickly clog your hiring funnel with unqualified candidates, lost contact details, and missed opportunities. Consider implementing a simple applicant tracking system (or ATS) to streamline your recruitment process. An ATS comes with a variety of benefits: it keeps all your applicant data in one centralized location, allows you to post on hundreds of job sites at once, and enables you to identify qualified candidates quickly.
Businesses spend a total of twenty-five hours per week searching for, contacting, vetting, and interviewing candidates. Automation tools like applicant tracking systems can cut that time significantly by enabling you to review and contact candidates from within the ATS itself. TalentASAP, InfoMart’s proprietary applicant tracking system, even integrates directly with our background screening services. This creates one streamlined recruitment process from the first job ad you post all the way to your candidate’s pre-employment background check.
4. Build Your Employer Brand
Today’s mid-sized and startup recruitment strategy isn’t just about finding the perfect candidate. With thousands of companies competing for talent at any given time, you need to make it clear why people should want to work for you instead of your competitors. This requires building up your brand not just as a business, but as an employer. Some simple ways to do this could be a “careers” page on your website, which will highlight open roles and the benefits of working for your growing business.
Creating a positive candidate experience is a key component of building a positive employer brand. Today’s applicants prefer companies that appreciate the value of their time and effort. A simplified application process will net you more candidates than a lengthy one, and transparent communication is highly valued in a potential employer.
According to Glassdoor, 62% of candidates say their perception of a company improves after seeing an employer respond to a review. And, like businesses, candidates dislike being “ghosted”—if they didn’t get the position, a polite rejection is always preferable to radio silence. Creating a positive employer brand is a crucial final step in any recruitment process. By establishing your business as a quality employer, you’ll inevitably attract quality employees.
Startup recruitment can be costly and time-consuming. But by building a positive reputation, utilizing diverse sourcing methods and automation tools such as applicant tracking systems, and planning for your future growth, your SMB will have everything it needs to recruit smarter, not harder.
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About Tammy Cohen
Tammy Cohen, an industry pioneer and expert in identity and employment screening, founded InfoMart 30 years ago. Deemed the “Queen of Screen,” she’s been a force behind industry-leading innovations. She was most recently the first-to-market with a fully compliant sanctions search, as well as a suite of identity services that modernizes talent onboarding. Tammy revolutionized the screening industry when she stepped into the field, developing the first client-facing application and a due diligence criminal search that has since become standard for all background screening companies. Cohen has received national awards and honors for her business and civic involvement, including Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top 25 Women-Owned Firms in Atlanta, Enterprising Women Magazine’s Enterprising Women of the Year award, the YWCA of Northwest Georgia’s Kathryn Woods Racial Justice Award, and a commendation in the 152nd Congressional Record.
About InfoMart
InfoMart has been revolutionizing the global background and identity screening industry for 30 years, providing businesses the information they need to make informed hiring decisions. They develop innovative technology that modernizes talent onboarding, including a first-to-market biometric identity authentication application and a verified sanctions search. The WBENC-certified company is a founding member of the Professional Background Screening Association, and they have achieved PBSA accreditation in recognition of their consistent business practices and commitment to compliance with the FCRA. The company is dedicated to customer service, speed, and accuracy, and it has been recognized for its success, workplace culture, and corporate citizenship with over 45 industry awards. To Get the Whole Story on InfoMart, please visit www.InfoMart-USA.com, follow @InfoMartUSA, or call (770) 984-2727.