The race to recruit

Times have been hard. Ever since the financial crash and the ensuing recession, many companies have been struggling to turn the same profits and enjoy the same commercial success as they may have done before. However, the tide is turning, with many starting to see light at the end of the downturn tunnel.

This is evidenced by the fact that many firms now feel in a position to expand their workforces.

People are recruiting
Back in April, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC’s) monthly JobsOutlook survey of 600 employers reported that recruitment was looking good, with almost two-thirds of respondents claiming they planned to boost their workforces over the subsequent three months.

Fast forward to May and that figure had increased four per cent, revealing an upturn in the number of firms looking to take on new staff. As REC chief executive Kevin Green commented at the time: “Employer confidence does seem to be on the rise.”

Another four weeks on in June and Mr Green confirmed that 400,000 more people are now in jobs than this time a year ago, illustrating that while it has been - and continues to be - a struggle recovering from the recession, recruitment is happening. People are taking on staff.

Nevertheless, results from the organization also showed that the availability of candidates to fill permanent job vacancies in May in fact declined ever so slightly - evidence of the skills shortage splashed across the media at the moment.

According to the figures, there seems to be an increasing lack of people with all of the necessary credentials for certain professions.

How to stay ahead
The CBI/Pearson Education and Skills survey published recently revealed that businesses fear the skills shortage will hamper growth, as they are unable to get their hands on the candidates they seek.

It goes without saying that in order to stay ahead, therefore, companies need to ensure that they are securing the skilled candidates that are out there - and, moreover, that those skilled applicants are not taking up positions in rival firms.

Not only is recruiting important in order to keep a workforce fresh, motivated and at the top of its game, but for an industry like sales where a delicate balance of personal and professional attributes is absolutely paramount, companies need to make sure they are getting their hands on the right candidates - the number of which the figures would suggest could be dwindling.

Mr Green recently confirmed: “Employers are struggling to find the skilled candidates they need in sales, marketing and business development to prepare for the upturn in the UK economy, while the majority of the unemployed do not have the skills for the jobs that are available.”

Using an agency like Aaron Wallis to recruit sales staff could be the solution for firms who find they are struggling to seek out the right individuals to fill vacancies, but who do not want to find themselves falling behind rivals in the so-called race for recruitment.

Such an agency will take care of the process by, for example, formulating bespoke interview questions, carrying out psychometric profiling of candidates and consolidating the online presence of a firm in terms of advertising the position appropriately - all of which will help to entice the right candidates.

Going Guerilla

If you want your business to succeed you need to market and advertise it. Everybody knows this. It’s why so much time and effort are poured into email marketing, blogging, the buying of sidebar, banner and Google ads and SEO. If you’re committed to your marketing and advertising plans you might even put together a direct mail campaign or cold calling campaign. If you’re creative and really want to put a unique stamp on your company, you’ll go guerilla.

Guerilla marketing is a “subversive” (if we use that term loosely) form of marketing that uses creativity, subtlety and relies heavily upon the impact of things found and seen in passing to create an impression. The basic idea of guerilla marketing is to put your business in front of people where they already are instead of creating a space and hoping they show up.

One of the most common practices in marketing (both traditional and guerilla) is the use of the custom printed T-shirt. Creating custom t-shirts is a great way to raise brand awareness. With traditional marketing, you can sell them via your website for some extra income. You can also print them up to give away as promotional items.

With guerilla marketing, you print up a few shirts with your logo and URL on them and then you (and others if you can find volunteers or talk employees to helping you out) actually wear them out in public. Wear them when you go to the bank, the store, to the movies—whatever. You don’t have to approach anybody or talk to anybody unless you want to. The simple act of wearing the shirt is enough to pique curiosity (especially if the shirt is designed well) and make people want to check you out. Your company must be great if someone is willing to wear its name on their back in public, right?

Pens, pencils and notepads are another traditional form of marketing that you can use in “subversive” or “guerilla” ways. With regular marketing you’d have promotional pens printed up and given out at networking events or fairs. As a guerilla marketer, you have those pens printed up and then simply leave them in strategic places—preferably places where people need pens: bank counters, grocery stores, restaurants, the library, etc. Someone uses the pen you’ve left behind, absentmindedly tosses it into a bag and then later pulls it out and thinks “hmmm. What’s this?” and visits your site.

Another good example of guerilla marketing is doing fun and creative things with your business cards. In addition to putting them up on bulletin boards and on those grocery mart walls for local businesses, what else can you do? Leaving them at bus and train stops is good. You can also stick them in the pages of books at the library. Doodling on the backs of them and leaving them behind at outdoor seating areas is also popular. Buy the mass produced (and discounted) cards for your guerilla purposes.

Other great guerilla marketing techniques include putting your catch phrase up in odd places. In Portland, one company got permission to spray paint, graffiti-style, and their catch phrases on the front of businesses, utility poles, etc. One business had fun printing up yard signs and placing them during political seasons. Businesses leaving messages on public sidewalks in sidewalk chalk is another great way to attract attention.

There are lots of great ways to get creative and go guerilla with your marketing. Really, the only things holding you back are your own personal levels of shame and your budget. Beyond that, the sky’s the limit!

Opening Up an Offline Location

As someone who is well versed in online business, it’s easy to assume that going offline is going to be easy. The truth is that running your own business offline is an entirely different animal than running your business through the web. Here are some of the things you need to consider and figure out.

Where Will Your Business Be Located?
If you are a creative type, you can probably join an existing studio and run your business out of your own corner of it. For professionals in the business world, office parks are best. If you’re going to be opening a shop of some sort, you’ll need to find a storefront where your market is most likely to shop.

Do not sign the first lease on the first space you see. Take some time to shop around and learn how to evaluate commercial and business spaces. Remember—your lease is not the only expense to consider here. What will your utility costs be like? Are you going to have to pay for space in the parking lot for your customers?

How Will Your Customers Pay You?
If your shop is going to be small you can probably continue processing your customers’ payments online. Square makes it easy to set up a smart phone or tablet computer to be an ad hoc register. Other companies, like Inuit offer similar processing but also help you setup equipment for printing receipts. This option helps you eliminate merchant processing fees, credit card terminals and a bunch of other bulky stuff.

If you expect your business to be busy, though, you’ll want a traditional register system (and you’ll want to have a few of them in the store). This way you can ring up several people simultaneously and cut down on your customers’ wait time.

If you are expecting your business to be really busy (a grocery shop, for example), you might want to invest in a couple of self checkout terminals. You can set up an employee to monitor them for loss prevention and people can check out at their own rates. This is particularly helpful for customers who prefer to do their own bagging or who might only have one thing who don’t want to wait in line behind someone who has twelve.

When You’re Gone
With an online business you can set it up to run automatically even in your absence. When you have an offline business, this isn’t so easy. You’ll need to have someone to cover for you in your absence. At the very least you’ll want an assistant (or assistant manager if you’re running a retail operation). You cannot simply close up shop for a sick day or week of vacation. Your lease might demand that you be open during certain hours on certain days.

Hiring employees is a challenge—even if you’ve had plenty of HR experience. First, make sure you’ve got their salary or wages already in place before you hire them. Next, make sure you only hire as many people as you can already afford to pay for a year. Then, follow the rules of HR to find the best candidates and check out their backgrounds and references.

Above all else, don’t forget to have fun! It’s scary, but you’re undertaking an adventure that could completely change your life for the better!