The Different Types of Recruitment Methods

Like most entrepreneurs, you started your small business as a one-man show. As it grows, though, you’ll quickly realize that you can’t run the show on your own. You need to bring people on board and build a team.

However, hiring the right people is easier said than done. Making a wrong or unsuitable hire will cost your business anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000, on average.

With the stakes so high, you need to get hiring right.

Continue reading to learn more about the different types of recruitment and how to choose the right one for your business.

The Different Types of Recruitment

To start us off, let’s look into the various recruitment methods you can choose from.

Direct Advertising

When you think of hiring your first employee, this is indeed what comes to mind.

Direct advertising is the traditional way of doing things. You place an ad on a local magazine or stick it to a window on your store and wait for applications to start streaming in.

If you’ve embraced the digital age, you will place the ad on the jobs section of your website, and probably post it on social media and external job sites as well.

The success of direct advertising depends on how widely your ad is seen. The more applications you get, the better your chances of finding the right talent.

Recruitment Agencies

The times it takes to hire an employee, from the job ad to onboarding, varies depending on several factors, including your industry, hiring method, and hiring experience. However, don’t expect to post an ad on a Monday and hire by Friday of the same week. It can take several days, often a couple of weeks, to find the right person.

You likely don’t have the time or experience to hire a competent employee as a small business owner. Conducting interviews, for instance, takes your concentration off the core operations of the business.

This is where recruitment agencies come in.

Just outsource the task to an agency and, at a fee, you’ll get a suitable employee within a relatively short time.

In addition to helping you fill your open positions, some recruitment agencies can advise you on the best recruiting strategies when you want to do the job in-house.

Talent Pool

When you try out the direct advertising method, you’ll receive a couple of applications.

Once you identify the applicant who stands out from the rest, don’t discard the other applications. There were probably other applicants who caught your eye, and you would have hired them if only you had more open positions.

Use such applications to build a talent pool. Every time you run a direct job ad, put more applicants into the pool.

After some time, you’ll find that you no longer needed to use a recruitment agency or make a direct job posting when you want to hire. Just dive into your pool and pick out a talent, reach out to them to see if they’re available and carry on from there.

Internship Programs

When your business is well-established, launching an internship program becomes an ideal way to recruit fresh talent. Students and recent graduates will have an opportunity to intern at your company, upon which you can absorb those who best meet your requirements.

It’s also possible to strike a partnership with colleges in your community so that they can promote your internship program. This way, you’ll always have a pipeline of the best fresh talent coming to your company.

Employee Referrals

Sometimes the people who know your next hire are your current employees.

Through an employee referral program, you’ll empower your employees to alert their friends or formers colleagues when a job opening arises in your company. Ensure the program has a reward element, such that if a referral turns out to be the perfect hire, the employee who referred the hire gets a reward.

How to Choose the Best Recruitment Method for Your Business

So, how do you determine which recruitment method to use? It depends on several variables, including:

The State of Your Business

Is your business is setting out to hire its first employee, or you have already built a team?

If you’re entering the labor market for the first time, you definitely cannot use a method like employee referrals. Neither can you tap into a talent pool because you have none? In this case, your choice is limited to direct advertising or using a recruitment agency.

Your Budget

Direct advertising is the least expensive method (direct costs) of hiring an employee. Nobody will charge you to post an ad on your website on social media, for instance.

If you’re operating on a shoestring budget and would love to incur as little as possible when hiring, direct advertising will come in handy. A recruitment agency will charge you a fee, and some programs, like internships, have indirect costs.

How Quickly You Want to Hire

Sometimes you want to hire a new employee as soon as practically possible. Other times you’re in no rush. Either way, how quickly you want to bring a new worker on board will play a big role in your choice of a recruitment method.

When time isn’t on your side, a recruitment agency is your best bet. These services have large talent pools and technologies that sieve through the database and find a job seeker who matches your requirements in seconds.

The next fastest method is tapping into your talent pool – if you have one.

Direct advertising is time-consuming. You really don’t know how long it will take for the right applicant to submit their application. Employee referrals can also take time too.

Recruit the Right People, the Right Way

Recruitment is a crucial function in any company. The quality of your employees can make or break your business. With this guide, you now know the different types of recruitment methods and how to choose the right one for your business.

Keep tabs on our blog for more small business tips and insights.