What is SME recruitment?

The entire scope of these activities is referred to as the recruitment funnel, with each step narrowing the candidate pool until one is selected to hire.

Companies should aim to keep candidates engaged throughout each step by organizing candidates coming through the recruitment pipeline and keeping tabs on how many candidates are in each stage and for how long.

Who does the recruiting in a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME)?

Depending on company size, there might be one designated SME recruiting manager or various teams might collaborate. If there is a Human Resources department, typically, they are also involved to some degree in recruiting.

In an SME the HR or recruitment department is likely to be smaller than in a larger organization. So, getting help from a talent acquisition software with free high-reach features is extremely useful.

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How do SMEs recruit candidates?

Most SMEs recruit candidates by posting job advertisements on job boards and social media channels.

Nowadays, many companies also use recruiting software to multipost jobs, organise the recruitment pipeline, and automate tasks, making the SME recruitment process more effective and efficient. 

What is the recruiting process?

Every organization has a specific recruitment process for finding the right hire for the right role at the right time.

Although it may vary depending on a company’s size or vertical, the recruiting process generally follows a step-by-step approach to attract as many qualified candidates as possible to receive a maximum number of applications.

Generally, there are seven phases in the recruiting process, and recruiting teams can establish specific strategies that best deliver results for each step:

1. Identifying the hiring need

2. Preparing a job description

3. Attracting qualified candidates by posting job ads to job search sites

4. Filtering, screening, and shortlisting applicants

5. Interviewing selected candidates

6. Making a job offer

7. Onboarding new hires

Why are processes for recruitment in SMEs so important?

An effective recruiting process allows SMEs to strengthen their employer brand awareness, broaden networks, and build a large talent pool.

This is important, as there are lower budgets for recruitment in SMEs, meaning creating a strong talent pool can help save time and money when finding candidates for future roles.

How does recruiting software help SMEs build an effective recruiting process?

Recruiting software helps SMEs achieve effective recruiting by streamlining workflows associated with finding and hiring candidates. The data-driven tools provide SMEs with recruitment analytics to evaluate their recruiting process and confidently identify what strategies are or are not working.

Moreover, recruiting metrics help SMEs best invest and allocate recruiting budgets by providing a more accurate overview of which job advertising search sites and platforms deliver the best Return on Investment.

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What is recruiting analytics?

Recruiting analytics is a combination of data and predictive analysis that provides real-time information that helps speed up the hiring process.

By utilising recruiting analytics, companies can turn data into actionable insights. And facilitate more effective decision-making in terms of sourcing, selecting, and hiring.

In addition, recruitment reporting can help paint a clearer picture of how the recruitment process is spending its budget and determine its cost-effectiveness.

What are the most popular recruiting metrics for SMEs?

Recruiting metrics are measurable data points, such as time and money, that provide insight into the value and effectiveness of the recruiting process.

Conversion rates at different steps of the funnel can also be calculated based on recruiting metrics. Companies can establish recruiting KPIs and track specific metrics to understand how and where to optimise the recruiting process to reach recruiting goals.

Some of the most important recruiting metrics for SMEs are:

• Source of candidates: which job search sites and platforms are attracting candidates
• Source of hire: from which job boards are candidates hired 
• Number of applicants: how many qualified applicants apply to each job post
• Time to hire: how long does hiring take 
• Cost per hire: what costs are associated with hiring
• Quality of hire: how do new hires compare with previous hires 
• Applicant-to-hire ratio: how many interviews and applicants did it take to fill the role