KEY POINTS:
Talk to any employers and they'll tell you that their biggest business constraint is trying to find and keep staff. With unemployment at a record low of 3.6 per cent, it's become a nightmare for some.
Big companies have an edge - with large human resources departments and recruitment budgets, they can throw more money and resources at recruiting and attracting staff.
It's something Michael Barnett, chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, has noticed - the most common inquiries to the chamber's 0800 CHAMBER helpline relate to employment.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Sarah Trotman, who started the Small Business Expo three years ago, says few of the thousands of small business people she speaks to have difficulties recruiting and retaining staff - and she reckons it's because switched-on businesspeople who are out to grow their company have an infectious enthusiasm that attracts staff.
So are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at a disadvantage, and what can those who are struggling with staff issues learn from those who have few problems?
First, the disadvantages. SMEs don't generally have large HR departments, if any, or big recruiting budgets. And they don't have well-known employment brands - candidates may never have heard of them.
But they have advantages - they're small, agile and New Zealand-owned, which are big attractions to many employees, says Julia Stones, Sheffield's team leader of recruitment solutions. "When you work with a smaller organisation there are greater career opportunities, very often the opportunity to learn new skills and very often the opportunity to be promoted more quickly and develop a diverse skill set."
And generally, pay is not the disadvantage it might at first seem.
Jarrod Moyle, Sheffield's manager of reward practice, says that although large companies pay very senior executives more, that's because their jobs are more complex. But as you move down the ranks, pay rates are more equal. "For example, a production worker with a large manufacturer might not be paid more than they would be in a smaller manufacturing operation."
So what can businesses struggling to attract and keep staff learn from those that aren't? Plenty and a lot of it relates to basic business processes.
One thing, says Barnett, is that many small-business owners don't sit down and work out their "terms of engagement". They don't analyse what they want from the position, or write a thorough job description, or communicate it clearly to candidates.
Stones cites a "lack of workplace planning". By this she means a failure, when formulating a business plan, to analyse what each stage means for staffing; where you're going to find those people, how you're going to attract them and how you're going to reward and keep them. If you know in advance who you're going to need and when, you're more likely to find them in time. Then, you need to find them. And that's where networking pays dividends.
"The key thing that I do in my business is just keep my network open," Trotman says. "Every time I meet someone I imagine what skills they might bring to my business and I just file that away." Then, when she needs someone with those skills, she knows where to start looking.
Stones says it's a matter of choosing where to promote your company to candidates. "Being a smaller organisation they might not have a mass-market employment brand. But they can develop a very good brand in their particular field and become well-known within their particular industry." Going to industry events, talking to your competitors' staff does work in the long term.
When looking for specialist staff with skills the business owner might not be fully understand - say, an accountant - it pays to use specialist recruitment agents, says Trotman. "They have a person vetted by an expert who understands what to look for when recruiting a good staff member, what to ask when checking references.
"It takes the headache out of recruiting staff and it gives them a sense of confidence."
So now you know where to find the right people, how do you attract them?
First, let's look at where SMEs have an advantage: whether you call it agility or flexibility, small companies can decide, on the spot, to change things, break the rules a little. Say yes to a candidate's request to work part-time or have an extra week's unpaid leave if that's what it takes to get the right person. There's no head office in Sydney to consult.
Many New Zealand SMEs are thinking outside the square already. An international survey by recruitment firm Robert Half found New Zealand companies were second only to Australian firms in being prepared to let older workers stay on part-time or on short-term contracts - and SMEs were the most willing. Stones says business owners "need to think about the employee value proposition What kinds of things are going to make this role in this company attractive to me as an individual? What buttons is it going to push for me to make me want to work here?"
Do you offer fast promotion to the right candidate? Advertise the fact. Do you offer a sense of personal involvement? Ditto. Will the boss take the staff out fishing twice a year? Whatever it is that will attract employees, shout it from the rooftops.
Auckland firm Actronic Technologies, with 80 staff, is one SME that has noticed it is getting more difficult to recruit the right staff.
"It is taking longer to get the roles filled, and we are getting a lot of 'tyre kickers' in the technical area - they're not seriously looking, just trying to work out if they're getting the best deal possible," says communications manager Melanie Lloyd. "Remuneration levels have skyrocketed for certain engineering disciplines, making it difficult for small to medium-size companies to keep up with larger companies."
But it takes active steps to find and keep the right people. Actronic hired a recruitment company to help to fill the more senior roles, so the process is efficient and takes up little company time. And it offers staff a flexible package that's hard to resist - flexible hours, hospital-care health insurance and study assistance. Once they're employed, they get an induction that aims to introduce them to everyone in the company (try that in a corporate), a leadership development programme, a policy that lets them spend up to 10 per cent of their time on innovation and a chief executive who knows everyone.
John Morawski, Actronic's chief operating officer, previously worked for a multinational corporation. He has noticed lots of advantages in working for an SME, such as the energetic atmosphere, the team spirit and the sense of "being part of the solution, not a piece of the puzzle".
Being flexible and committed to individual employees gives SME owners some real advantages to sell to candidates when recruiting - the trick is to get out there and actually sell them.
"There are some New Zealand companies that have been small and grown quite rapidly because they have realised the power of employment branding," says Stones. "The brand of being New Zealand-owned is actually very strong."
Hiring good people
* Print out a thorough, easily understood job description
* Map out who you will need, how many and when
* Network and keep a record of people whose skills you may need
* Specialist recruiting agents can find someone fast
* Go to industry events; talk to your rivals' staff
* Make concessions on work hours and benefits
* If you can offer specific attractions, make sure everyone hears about them
