Tech giants make huge staff cuts. BrightHR’s Alistair Brown explains how small businesses can attract talent in the current market.
Global companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google’s parent company Alphabet have made thousands of staff cuts as this year’s financial worries have started closing in.
Overconfidence in hiring and in Big Tech’s ability to withstand hard times means leaders are backpedalling.
Though the survival of the tech industry is pretty guaranteed, sadly the declining economy plus an earlier boom in hiring means a lot of fresh job loss. But what it also means is a brand-new availability of tech experts to support small businesses and start-ups.
If small and medium business owners act quickly, they could gain the competitive advantage bigger companies have and hire better candidates with greater skills.
So, the million-dollar question is, how do you attract talent in a candidate-heavy market?
Act fast on great talent
Striking while the talent iron is hot so to speak is necessary in this job market. It might seem like there’s a huge influx of options, but your hiring process will need to be rapid if you want to hire the best people.
Don’t let good talent slip through your fingers with slow and inefficient recruitment processes. Be aware that every candidate you speak to will likely have other offers on the table.
If your recruitment admin is streamlined, you’re guaranteed more time to focus on finding your team’s perfect fit.
Think about the value you can give
Thinking about the value your employee will get when they join your company and designing your hiring strategy around this will get you more job applications.
And don’t just think about the value, broadcast it. Focus on your employee value proposition (EVP) and share it with potential candidates.
Examples of an EVP includes things like wellbeing support and development and growth opportunities. Investing in systems that offer your team upskilling opportunities can work wonders for winning top talent in a competitive field.
Have a clear hiring strategy
Check out your competition. Is there something they offer their employees that you don’t? If so, fix it.
Something as simple as clean, informative, error-free job adverts can help you stay a cut above the rest. And they don’t need to be high maintenance or cost you a fortune.
Even though it’s important to act fast when you have a strong candidate, don’t hire too much too quickly. As we’ve seen with the recent Big Tech layoffs, it’s important to hire within your means but keep talent interested in you for the future.
Invest in applicant management software to compliantly save good candidates so you can revisit them when the time is right.
Alastair Brown is the chief technical officer at BrightHR. A version of this article was previously published on the BrightHR blog.
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