How To Attract Big Talent To Your Small Firm
It can make small employers feel like throwing in the towel, believing there is not a chance of competing with big business for top talent. But, this would be wrong, despite the title, big companies don’t own top talent and small companies can win the war for top talent as long as they play to their own strengths. And you can find some tips on how to do this below.
1. Build a compelling brand story that shows your firm’s potential
The top talent and most ambitious candidates will want to be inspired and to be joining a company that is going places and that has great vision and massive potential. Everyone wants to join the next Facebook or Google or whatever the equivalent is in their sector. Therefore, your compelling brand story must depict your small business as being the next big thing in your field or specialism, or as having limitless or big potential. It will ideally contain some or all of the following: a clear vision, ambitious headcount/revenue growth plan, new product release schedule, potential flotation/take over target etc.
If you present yourself as a business that is plodding on without a vision, you are likely to attract plodders with little ambition. In order to attract the top talent and draw them away from big business you need to present an ambitious exciting potential future, which they can buy into and where they can visualize themselves succeeding and growing.
2. Debunk the myth that it’s a greater risk joining a small business
The spate of failed start ups, the dot com crash, the recent global economic crisis, emerging economies and new disruptive technologies has meant the business world has become increasingly volatile. Both small and big business are susceptible and at risk from stiff competition and from failure. Large companies that led the way 20 years ago no longer exist and small companies that did not exist 20 years, now lead the way. Even if a large business does not fail, specific product lines or territories do fail, which could lead to redundancies. Where appropriate, make sure to communicate to candidates that small business may come with risk but large business comes with risk too.
3. Engage workers on a flexible basis
To make sure you have full access to the top talent, avoid focusing exclusively on hiring full time, permanent employees. Be open to hiring contingent workers on a freelance, part time and flexible basis and this will make you especially attractive to the marketplace—and give you access to more top talent. Although self employed workers can be more expensive, their pay is almost exclusively performance related, making them self managing.
4. Engage with large employers who may be laying off staff
Always be aware of when large employers in your industry or area are laying off staff, as big employers usually run outplacement programs and are actively looking for companies to hire their laid of employees. This is a great way to perhaps hire some big company trained talent at a knock down price.
5. Reflect all the benefits of working in a small business in your employer brand messages
Some of the key benefits of working in a small business over a larger business is that in smaller businesses you can have greater autonomy and independence, more exposure to senior management and clients, more varied work, and greater flexibility. It can also be much more satisfying as generally you get to: work much more closely with the end product, see the fruits of your labor, and your contribution to the end product is often proportionally larger and more noticeable.