A Letter to HR Professionals in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Thread Content

”\"A lack of talent, difficulty in recruiting, and inability to retain those who are hired\" – this is a problem faced by many small and medium-sized private enterprises. Companies are growing and expanding, and talent development and recruitment pose the biggest challenges for them. So, why can’t your company find employees? There are mainly the following reasons: 1. Low funds – salaries are unattractive. No matter how large a company is, if the salaries are too low, not many people will be willing to \"dedicate\" their youth to it ； No matter how small a company is, if its salaries are attractive, it won’t have trouble finding employees. High salaries represent absolute talent competitiveness. But many companies are unwilling to face the reality of their low salaries; they always complain about poor recruitment practices and wish they could hire talent worth 20,000 yuan for a salary of 2,000 yuan. Few bosses truly embrace the idea that lower wages often mean high labor costs (slowness in work, high turnover), while higher wages imply lower labor costs (higher productivity per employee, fewer employees needed). So how do you determine what salary level is needed for a position to be attractive? HR professionals can determine this based on the recruitment radius of a position (which in turn determines its salary range). If the recruitment scope for a particular position covers the entire province, then the salary should be set in line with the compensation standards for similar positions across the province. If one insists on using the standards of just the company next door as a reference, it is often a form of self-deception. Suggestion: If you have the money but refuse to give it, you need to think differently; if you don’t change your approach, they will replace you with another boss. 2. Reputability: In the talent market, it is ultimately the candidates who decide whether a company has a good reputation, prestige, and influence. If no one applies for the position, we need to consider our influence in the workplace. Of course, enhancing a company’s reputation and influence is a systematic process that requires gradual effort over time. But many companies don’t pay attention to this, always believing that their reputation will spread through word of mouth. IBM, known as the \"Blue Giant,\" enjoys undeniable fame and a strong influence in terms of talent acquisition. However, in recent years it has also faced pressures related to recruiting talent; as a result, it created the position of \"Strategic Recruitment Marketing Manager\" – a role dedicated to treating the company’s employer brand as a marketing asset, promoting it at renowned universities and industry conferences. Even big brands do this, so what’s more of small and medium-sized enterprises? Achieving things like increasing recognition or becoming a top employer is too far-fetched; so the better approach is to spend more on advertising when recruiting and increase visibility on various job platforms, which can at least yield short-term results. Of course, as HR professionals, it is also necessary to carefully examine the recruitment radius for each position, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of various recruitment platforms, in order to choose the most suitable platform on which to place advertisements. It’s by no means the case that the more platforms there are, the better. Suggestions: 1. The company should attach great importance to increasing its visibility, and systematically and deliberately make an appearance at universities, industry conferences, and exchange events ； 2. When recruiting, carefully choose the recruitment platforms; the advertising costs that need to be incurred should still be paid ； 3. If you want to bring in new employees through word of mouth from current staff, it’s better to first make an effort to keep those current employees satisfied so they’re reluctant to leave! 3. Lack of dreams: Today’s post-90s generation does not face any basic survival issues; they are more concerned about the opportunities for career development. They dare to think and act, and are full of dreams. In the workplace, they also care greatly about whether a company has a bright future and whether they have a chance to realize their dreams there. Therefore, offering candidates unrealistic promises during recruitment is a very important technique. “\"Painting pictures\" is of course not about empty promises or deception; rather, it involves using concise and compelling data, facts, evidence of competence, and logical analysis in job advertisements and during interviews, so as to convince candidates – especially those who are in high demand by the company – that the company is an ideal choice. Many companies are particularly proud of their low-key and down-to-earth approach, but in the increasingly fierce competition for talent, a low-key attitude may mean that you won’t be able to attract enough talent. No matter how great a company’s ambitions may be, they must be realized through people. Suggestions: 1. Carefully design job advertisements, using dreams to attract candidates (a key strategy for internet companies) ； 2. During recruitment interviews, convey clear and concise information to show candidates promising career prospects ； 3. Companies should from time to time highlight the bright prospects for development in their foreign-language communications, and this is definitely achievable! 4. Too many tasks: There are fewer and fewer jobs that don’t require overtime these days, but the newer generation of employees places a great deal of importance on work-life balance and is unwilling to work themselves to the bone; this is the core of the conflict. When many companies claim that \"overtime is part of the culture,\" have they ever considered whether it’s really necessary to work such long hours? If employees expect overtime to be an inevitable obligation, then what motivation is there to improve work efficiency? When a two-day weekend is entirely possible, why go ahead and have Sunday and Friday as religious days? The worst thing is that many companies require employees to work five and a half days a week; that half day can ruin an employee’s entire day. What kind of trick is this? ! Suggestions: 1. Keep up with the times and arrange as few overtime hours for employees as possible; voluntary overtime by employees reflects their dedication ； 2. Never promote an overtime culture; instead, emphasize a culture of efficiency during recruitment. In addition, when carrying out recruitment, HR also needs to understand what aspects employees are concerned about when joining the company Then address these aspects to meet the requirements. According to research, outstanding talents are most concerned about the following 7 aspects: 1. What is the company’s corporate culture like? How is the operation and development of a company? What is the level of humanistic moral qualities? What is the employee turnover rate? In short, corporate culture is the core key factor. 2. What specific tasks will be performed after joining the company, and what are the responsibilities and rights (clear job responsibilities)? 3. What are the requirements for employees (performance evaluation)? 4. How is the salary distributed? Salaries should be based on scientific principles and standards, while also providing incentives and motivation. 5. What is the career planning within a company, and what are the future prospects? What are the standards for promotion, and what are the standards for demotion? 6. Can one get support if they are not competent for the job? Is there a comprehensive training system? 7. Does the company have its own standards for hiring staff and a comprehensive recruitment system? The difficulty companies face in recruiting staff lies primarily with the people themselves. This person is not a job seeker; they are a manager in a company. For this manager, besides HR, the most important person is the boss. After all, an HR professional is also just someone who earns a salary to live on; if a company really can’t find employees, the HR professional might consider changing jobs as well. But the boss can’t do that; the company is yours, and even if you decide to close it down, you can’t just give up that easily.