Despite the collective strength and importance of small to medium sized businesses in Australia, it seems they can face serious stumbling blocks when it comes to attracting, hiring and retaining staff.
A report released by Indeed highlights that 48% of SMBs say recruiting is a challenge and 40% believe it is harder to recruit today than it was five years ago.
Additionally, the report has also revealed that sometimes small businesses are not recognising and advertising their unique appeal to job seekers. In fact, 69% of job seekers in Australia believe it is hard to know what an advertised job will actually be like in an SMB.
However it isn’t all bleak – with a majority of job seekers believing that in a small to medium size business, their job application is more likely to be seen by the right people (73%). 58% of job seekers also believe that they have a greater chance of landing a role at an SMB compared to a larger organisation.
Indeed’s Head of Career Insights, Jay Munro, says: “As small businesses continue to grow and expand, it is important that they understand job seeker behaviour and opinions as it is essential to attract the talent they need to remain competitive. SMBs have the cutting edge over large businesses as they have a very unique appeal to job seekers.”
Indeed’s hiring handbook is a free tool for all businesses and is aimed at reducing the gap in recruitment knowledge for SMBs. It covers everything from identifying when to make a new hire, to writing an effective job ad, identifying hard skills and soft skills, extending the offer of employment and onboarding new employees.
