Honesty nabs talent

File photo / NZ Herald

Finding the right staff is critical for small businesses.

No matter what size your business, it is critical to have the right talent. Some may say its even more critical in a small business, and definitely more noticeable.

The impact of one bad apple in a team of 10 is felt more greatly than in a team of 1000.

It's all about the right fit. Companies more often part ways with employees because of their inability to fit into the workplace culture than because of a lack of technical skill.

A well-defined job description is a starting point to find the right person for the role but defining the behaviour you want in your organisation is more important.

It is essential to be honest about your organisation, warts and all. If you want to attract people who are driven but know that "change" is a dirty word in your organisation then don't dress it up.

But if you want to move your organisation to embrace change then explain this and the process you are working through so the candidate can make an informed decision.

Let them know the challenges they will face - a no-surprises approach is best.

Be clear about how you measure success and what you want achieved in the first six months and then longer term.

Ensure you have a robust recruitment process in place where you have multiple checks and ensure you and the candidate have enough information to make an informed decision.

An interview is not a chat and a reference check is not an off-the-record discussion.

There is a reason people are trained and skilled in recruiting as the cost of getting it wrong is far greater than that of advertising the role.

A personalised and responsive approach to customers is often a selling point for small and medium businesses compared with larger organisations, but making that a reality is all about the talent you attract and retain in your business.

Many small companies don't often see their ability to attract the best talent, believing that larger organisations have more to offer. While this may be true at times, you need to identify and articulate what your business can offer employees.

Smaller businesses often give staff a chance to get involved in the decision-making process.

If people want to have a genuine impact on an organisation, a small or medium enterprise will often provide more opportunities to do this.

Small operations can also have success in attracting and retaining top talent by offering greater working flexibility to staff.

Flexibility doesn't mean people come and go as they please, but it does mean establishing some frameworks for how this can work and understanding what's important to your team and knowing what are the critical times for your business.

Enrol new staff in the vision of your business and keep open, honest dialogue with them. Your team are your biggest shareholders; they are investing in their future with you.

If they know exactly what's happening - the good the bad and the ugly - they will make informed decisions which will deliver better outcomes.

It is far easier to have greater levels of communication in a small business than it is sharing a message with hundreds of people across multiple locations and hoping the message doesn't alter as it passes through layers of people.

Remember one size doesn't fit all.

As a small organisation you can respond to customer needs more quickly and tailor your solutions.

There is no reason you cannot apply the same approach to responding to your team and coming up with solutions out of the box to create an environment where people simply want to be.

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Jacqui Barratt is director of recruitment agency Salt. Visit www.jobswithsalt.com.