It’s time to grow your team, but the small business hiring process makes you nervous. We get it. The people you bring onboard can determine whether your company thrives or folds, so making the right choices is critical. But don’t worry too much. We’ll share 12 hiring tips so you can build the all-star roster you need to succeed.
If you are ready to grow your team, start hiring on ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter has a resume database that allows you to search for employees that would be a great fit. You can get started with ZipRecruiter for free!
12 Hiring Tips For Small Business Owners
Look Internally
Your current employees know your business the best, so it can sometimes make sense to promote one of them into the role you need to fill. But, of course, when you do, you’ll need to hire someone to take over their position!
Perfect Your Job Ad
Your job ad invites professionals to apply for your open role. You can increase your odds of enticing the most qualified candidates to apply by giving your ad a descriptive title and spelling out the responsibilities and requirements of the position. You should also explain any potentially challenging situations upfront, like long work hours, odd schedules, rapid growth, etc.
For more tips, check out our guide to writing a job description.
Cast A Strategic Net
Before you post your open position or host another career fair, determine your job recruiting strategies. First, think about where your ideal candidates are (or will be). Then, consider listing your role on a specialty job board, like iHireAccounting (for accountants), or attending an industry-specific conference to recruit talent in person.
If you are interested in hiring a remote employee, check out our guide on how to hire remote employees for your small business.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to put your job advertisement on your company’s career page and social media channels!
Launch A Referral Program
If you can’t promote from within, you should recruit from within. Chances are, one of your existing employees knows someone who could be a fit for your vacancy. So, ask your team for referrals and give the referrer a bonus whenever you hire someone they recommended.
Have A Process
You need a well-defined hiring process to grow your team. Otherwise, small business hiring could become chaotic.
Start by deciding how many steps you want to include. For example, your hiring process could consist of reviewing resumes, completing phone screens, conducting in-person interviews, and making an offer. Your pool of candidates will shrink during each round until you’ve identified your top choice.
Related: Effective Employee Retention Strategies
Highlight The Perks
What would you say if we asked you why someone would want to work for your company? Maybe your team works remotely, or you offer a generous contribution to employee retirement accounts. Whatever the case is, be sure to highlight those perks in your job posting and during conversations with candidates.
Showcase Your Firm’s Culture
Sure, you want to hire someone with the necessary skills to complete the work. But, you also want to build a team that aligns with your company’s culture. You can do this by sharing your firm’s mission and vision and by showing your brand’s personality. Showing your brand’s personality can include cracking a joke in your job ad, asking fun questions during the phone screen, or wearing casual clothing to the interview.
Commit To Your Ideal
When you wrote your job ad, you envisioned your ideal candidate. Don’t stray from that vision — even if the hiring process seems to be dragging on forever. You’re better off having to re-post the role after interviewing mediocre candidates than hiring the wrong person and repeating the process in a few months.
Consider Contract-To-Hire
If you want to be sure you’re hiring the right person, consider opting for a contract-to-hire arrangement through an agency or bringing them on as a freelancer first. Then, once you’ve seen their work and interactions with the rest of the team, you can decide if you want to make them a full-time employee.
For more information, check out our guide on how to hire freelancers.
Keep Communicating
Remember when that candidate failed to show up for their interview and didn’t even call? We bet it was frustrating and felt like a complete waste of your time. Well, that’s how your applicants and candidates feel when they get ghosted by companies. So please keep them in the loop as much as possible about where they stand.
ABH: Always Be Hiring
Finding “the one” and wrapping up a lengthy hiring process feels great. But, the truth is, you can’t get complacent. You must always keep an eye out for talent to fill upcoming vacancies and support your company’s growth.
Related: How To Hire Your First Employee
Onboard, Onboard, Onboard
Once you’ve officially hired your ideal candidate, you need to ensure they can hit the ground running. That means your onboarding program must be on point. Elements of an effective program include: new hire forms (think W4, I-9, direct deposit, etc.), an employee handbook, benefits information, a list of key contacts, a training schedule, and a mentor.
4 Places To Find Employees As A Small Business Owner
The internet is full of places where you can find employees. Here are four you should consider:
ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter is a leading job board where you can search through a database of registered users, post your job advertisements, and communicate with candidates. Plans start at $299 per month and are customized based on your company’s needs. If you’re not sure about making that big of an investment, ZipRecruiter offers a free trial so you can assess if the service is right for you.
For more information, read our ZipRecruiter review.
Indeed
Indeed is another popular job board that lets you view resumes, list jobs, message applicants, and assess candidates. The website allows you to post your open roles for free. However, you can also boost the ads to get better results.
The price you pay per application gets determined by your location, the job title, and the number of available job seekers in the area. You can set a budget to keep your recruiting expenses in check. Plus, if you reject an application within 48 hours, you won’t get charged for it.
For more information, read our Indeed review.
LinkedIn is a career-oriented social media platform, making it an ideal place to recruit. You can list your job, search through and connect with users, and post interesting updates about your company.
While you can post your job for free, you may get better results by boosting your listing. Pricing is based on the role you’re trying to fill, and you can set a budget to avoid overspending.
For more information, read our LinkedIn review.
Craigslist
Craigslist is a digital classifieds website covering the United States, Canada, and other countries. You can review resumes other users have posted or list your open role. Depending on your location, you’ll pay $10-$75 to put your job ad on the website. Craigslist is an economical and easy-to-use option that can help a busy entrepreneur trying to preserve cash flow.
For more information, read our Craigslist review.
6 Of The Best Tools For Small Business Hiring
Building your team can be much easier if you implement some of the best tools for small business hiring. Here are several you should consider (many are free or low-cost!):
- Google Docs: Google Docs is excellent for creating, saving, and sharing job ad copy and interview notes.
- Google Sheets: Google Sheets is useful for comparing candidates side-by-side.
- Google Forms: A Google Form can get used as your job application.
- Google Drive: Google Drive can get used as a shared filing system for everything related to recruiting — including new hire documents.
- Calendly (or another scheduling application): Calendly can help you schedule interviews with your most qualified applicants.
- BreezyHR (or another applicant tracking system): BreezyHR can help you post your job ad across multiple recruiting websites, assess applicants, manage candidates, onboard new hires, and more.
Of course, there are alternatives to everything listed above, so you should think carefully about your needs and how you want your hiring process to flow. Then, you can assemble the right suite of tools for your business.
The Bottom Line
After reading this article, small business hiring shouldn’t feel as daunting. If you follow the tips we shared, you’ll be able to hire employees successfully. That way, you can shift your focus back to growing your business as soon as possible.
We encourage you to check out ZipRecruiter the next time you have to add someone to your team. Happy recruiting!
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