Large or small, just about every business needs a strong team to succeed. Building that team can be more of a challenge for small business leaders, though, who lack the brand recognition, resources, and budget that a larger organization can devote to talent acquisition.
According to the 2021 Labor Market Challenges survey from the National Federation of Independent Businesses:
- 29% of small business owners said labor quality was their top business problem, a record high across the 48 years the survey has been conducted
- 48% of small business owners had unfilled job openings, more than double the historical average
- 56% of business owners reported few or no qualified applicants for their positions—a whopping 93% of those who are actively trying to hire
The bottom line is, qualified workers are hard to find in the current labor market. How can small businesses compete with larger companies to hire the talent they need for their business? Here are three tactics that can help.
1. Offer flexibility and freedom.
The expansion of remote and hybrid workplace models represents an opportunity for small business owners. Many workers would prefer not to report to an office every day from 9-5—and the truth is, most businesses don’t need them to, so long as they complete the work they’ve promised. The option to work from home or set their own schedule, even if it’s just a few days a week, can be a big draw for candidates.
Granted, not every job can be performed remotely. That isn’t the only way to offer flexibility, however, and even small businesses in industries like retail, food service, and construction can provide their team members some freedom over when and where they work. This can include options like:
- Offering the choice of a 4- or 5-day workweek
- Giving top performers the perk of choosing their shifts
- Implementing variable shift start and end times
- Providing PTO in industries that don’t normally get it, or expanding and improving your PTO policy to make it easier for employees to actually use the paid time they receive
2. Actively promote your unique strengths as part of your employer brand.
While a small business may not be able to out-compete large companies in areas like compensation or benefits, there are other advantages to being part of a smaller team.
Culture and values are primary considerations for many job seekers today, and are areas where small businesses often out-do their larger counterparts. If your workplace has a close-knit team and family environment, for example, or is active in the local community, these are things that will entice many candidates to join your team.
A small business can also often offer more learning and growth opportunities for its team members. Advertising that you promote from within, offer upskilling or other skill-building opportunities, or provide mentorship and leadership opportunities shows potential employees that you invest in team members’ futures.
Whatever your unique advantage, you should make it easy for candidates to learn about it by:
- Including this information in your job postings
- Sharing employee testimonials about your workplace and culture on your website and social media channels
- Having an active presence on employer review sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, and encouraging current team members to leave reviews on these sites
3. Focus on candidate qualifications that actually matter.
Choosing candidates who have the right skills for the role is hiring 101. Many of the traditional standards for what makes a candidate qualified aren’t necessarily the best indications of their suitability, however, and you can end up eliminating potentially strong applicants by blindly following this conventional wisdom.
Degree requirements are the most common example of this. According to data from the advocacy group Opportunity At Work, nearly 70% of new jobs require a Bachelor’s degree. However, roughly 50% of workers lack this credential—more than 70 million potential employees who are skilled through alternative routes, like military service, on-the-job training, or certificate and bootcamp programs.
Employment gaps are another example. Taking time off from the workplace is frequently seen as a red flag by employers, who often reject candidates with gaps on their resume without considering the circumstances or the skills they bring to the table.
The truth is, if an applicant has the right skills and personality for the role, it doesn’t matter how or when they acquired those skills. Adjusting your qualifications to focus on competency can help you attract these often-overlooked segments of the workforce, giving you access to a talent pool that’s eager to prove themselves to an employer who will give them that opportunity.
