James Mendes
Managing Director,
Asia Pacific Alexander Mann Solutions

TRADITIONALLY, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been on the back foot when it comes to attracting talent. SMEs are competing with much larger businesses for the best candidates who have far greater resources to commit to the recruitment process and often a more high profile brand as well.

But this is not to say that SMEs will always come off second best. They have their own unique recruitment advantages and can also benefit from the best practice exhibited by large organisations throughout the region.

There are many aspects of a large company's recruitment process that SMEs can adapt to suit their business and still make themselves attractive when recruiting.

Buy vs Grow

When a large organisation needs a new employee with an unusual skillset, it has both the time and resources to find and acquire this unique employee. Sign-on bonuses and special salary packages for example, can be used to attract and retain uniquely skilled people.

For SMEs, they simply don't have the pulling power to entice these types of candidates. In this circumstance, it's best to take a long-term approach to the employee relationship, and look to select the best candidate with a broad skillset who has growth and learning potential and the ability to learn new skills.

Everyone needs a plan

Larger enterprises will have a well-documented recruitment process, clearly showing hand-offs between recruitment staff and hiring managers, and mapping all touchpoints with the candidates throughout the recruitment process.

In the case of SMEs, the recruiter, hiring manager and touchpoints will often be the same person. But if this person leaves the company, or is absent when the next hire is made for example, the recruitment process will be inconsistent. This is both a source of risk and a source of potential problems in the future.

SMEs should ensure they have a well-documented hiring process that is easy to follow for any potential employees who may step in the recruitment role for a short period.

Recruiting in bulk

A method by which large organisations save money is consolidating volumes of recruitment together in a recruitment drive - that is, recruiting a group of people at one time. This generates a number of efficiencies and consistencies, and helps build candidate 'pools' - contact groups of pre-qualified potential candidates. Unfortunately, SMEs can't leverage the same efficiencies or cost savings from this form of recruitment, but it is still a worthwhile option to consider during cyclical hiring (for instance, during busy times of the year) where a group of employees can be hired at the same time, rather than recruiting them one by one over an extended period of time, which also adds to time spent on individual training.

What's the real cost?

There is a significant hidden cost to recruitment - manager's time. The average manager taking on all the recruitment tasks will spend upwards of 12 hours for each role.

Multiply the amount of time spent by the revenue they generate each hour, and factor in lost opportunities and this is the hidden cost of recruitment.

SMEs can offset this somewhat by implementing a structured recruitment process, documenting the steps in the process effectively, and automating as many parts of the process as they can. Additionally, time-consuming parts of the process such as resume screening and reference checking can be passed to another suitable team member, allowing the manager to focus on managing the business.

Keeping costs down

Recruitment agencies can be very expensive - fees for the successful placement of a candidate can run as high as three to six months of that person's salary. Large organisations work around this by negotiating special rates with preferred supplier panels, and leveraging direct recruitment (using their own brand and reputation to attract potential candidates).

Even if an SME is not of a size or profile to attract the top-tier candidates on the market, using a direct approach can save a lot of money. Advertising the job online through job boards, in newspapers, the company's website, or using word-of-mouth and references from trusted customers and suppliers can help keep the cost of recruitment down.

Do what the 'big boys' can't

There is an area in which SMEs can compete with larger firms - 'alternative' recruitment strategies. These can be productive and effective for smaller organisations. SMEs can run a small-scale recruitment marketing campaign in a way that a larger organisation cannot - posting job ads as posters and noticeboards, using social media, word of mouth, leveraging personal networks and referral groups, and making direct approaches to talent are all strategies that smaller organisations see far more success with.

Then there are the added benefits that SMEs can offer over larger organisations. These need to be made known to potential candidates. A smaller business can offer candidates not just a career but a personal offering, with greater autonomy and a more appealing company culture. SMEs also provide an opportunity to climb the career ladder quite quickly as an employee will generally gain exposure to a broad range of functions and responsibilities in a short period of time.