Josh TolanA remarkable 77 percent of rapidly growing companies plan to increase their staff by 25 percent in the coming year, according to research for a recent report done by our team here at Spark Hire. With such a high rate of growth anticipated, companies must be strategizing around large hiring budgets, right?
Not necessarily.
Actually, only 16 percent of rapidly growing companies said they’re increasing hiring due to the lower taxes they expect to pay this year. Even without new money, companies are finding ways to create a competitive and dynamic hiring strategy.
We spoke to a few experts who are attracting and hiring the best talent for their teams without breaking the bank. Here’s what they had to say:
1. Show off opportunities that make a difference.
Most of our hiring strategy efforts are focused on recruiting young people. The most important thing that small businesses have to offer millennials is that every employee has the potential to make a difference.
When you are in a small company, your efforts and accomplishments have an excellent chance of being recognized. You are never more than a couple levels away from the decision-maker.
Additionally, the flexibility that we can offer as a small company is practically undefeatable. We currently have 30 people working remotely and have a policy of working from home on Fridays.
We’ve also tried to make our structures more flexible so that every employee has direct contact with senior management. Even I, personally, have participated in many interviews to show our candidates the growth opportunities that our company offers.
Sophie Miles, CEO of QuotesAdvisor.com
2. Provoke greatness.
Recruiting people simply means, “You gave me a job.” Getting people into the job only fills the position until something better, closer to home, and more challenging comes along. The goal should be provoking greatness!
Provoking greatness requires a culture of passionate employees who are eager to go the extra mile and radiate a sense of joy (not indifference) in their job. So, one rapidly-growing, Baltimore-based company put a stop to all talent acquisition, brought the executive team and, ultimately, the whole company together to get clear on their collective vision and values.
They identified the kind of person who fits best into the culture and then asked the entire team to refer that kind of people. Each time a new hire was made, the person who made the referral got a cash bonus, along with bragging rights.
Misti Burmeister, Author and Chief Provoker
3. Offer out-of-the-box perks.
A unique perk we offer to all of our current or future employees is a music room. Playing an instrument has been scientifically proven to engage practically every area of the brain at once, especially the visual, auditory, and motor cortices.
The brain is a muscle and learning and playing music is like a full body workout. It strengthens those brain functions, allowing us to apply that strength to other activities — like productivity.
This has helped us hire talent that is above our pay scale. It’s something fun that is not offered in larger corporations we are competing against.
Gene Caballero, Co-Founder and CEO of GreenPal
How do you build an efficient hiring strategy without breaking the bank? Let us know!
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Spark Hire
