Is your company ready to start hiring again now that the economy is recovering? If so, there are a few things small firms should know and do if they want to recruit top talent ahead of their competitors.
For starters, if you had to lay off 10 people during the recession, don't assume you need fill those same 10 positions, says Mary Karamanos, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Business Development Bank of Canada .
"The number of positions isn't what's important, it's coming up with a recruitment plan that identifies the skills, knowledge and experience your organization needs," says Karamanos. "You may find out that it's not really 10 you need. Maybe it's 15 working differently or eight working in areas that are more strategic to your business."
There are also many options that entrepreneurs have. For example, you may want to consider hiring certain employees as short-term contractors or even evaluate the impact of outsourcing certain functions, such as IT or accounting. The demand for part-time positions and flexible schedules is growing among parents of young children, people going to school part-time and retirees looking to work a few days each week.
"Businesses need to think outside the box because people are working differently. It's driven a lot by personal need and want, but it's good for companies as well. It really opens up the talent pool that's available," says Karamanos.
A good recruitment plan should assess the skills, capabilities and attitudes your company will need over both the short- and long-term, says Prof. Daniel Muzyka, Dean of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. Companies also shouldn't try to hire everyone they need at once.
"There's a sequence in which you need people," says Muzyka. "Be clear in your own mind about what sort of skills you really need first and what can wait."
No doubt, developing a sound recruitment plan takes both time and resources. With both in short supply some small business owners fall into the trap of hiring people too quickly, and based more on intuition than an objective assessment of a candidate's skills.
One small Ottawa company has adopted a very simple mantra for avoiding that trap: "hire slowly."
Stephen Shivkumar, President of Building Blocks Technologies, Inc., says recruitment is one of the most strategic things you do in business.
"Small companies, in particular, have to invest the time, otherwise you'll find yourself swimming upstream.
You have to hire the right person for the right job and provide that person with the right training," says Shivkumar, whose seven-year-old professional development company also works with full-time contractors and more than a dozen course instructors.
