{"id":329382,"date":"2025-10-24T15:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/329382\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T15:00:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:00:16","slug":"hiring-top-talent-remains-a-struggle-for-small-businesses-in-a-tight-job-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/329382\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiring top talent remains a struggle for small businesses in a tight job market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Karl Bechmann (left) and Schuyler Mota (right), co-founders of Toronto marketing agency CRUEL, have spent years refining their hiring process, which involves finding people already connected to the company\u2019s mission.David Pike<\/p>\n

On a Saturday afternoon in late September, hundreds of young people piled into the parking lot outside the office of CRUEL Inc., in downtown Toronto. <\/p>\n

The marketing agency was hosting a block party, not a job fair. But for co-founders Schuyler Mota and Karl Bechmann, hosting parties and attracting talent have become two sides of the same coin. \u201cPeople get to see who we are,\u201d Mr. Mota says of the clients, partners and other members of their tight-knit community who show up. \u201cThen they ask if we\u2019re hiring.\u201d <\/p>\n

He says a recent posting for an accounting role came up \u201cmultiple times\u201d that day. <\/p>\n

Mr. Bechmann says it took years to crack the code on recruitment. In a small business, every team member shapes both the work and the culture \u2013 making each hire critical. \u201cWe tried damn near everything,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Even the most impressive resume proved a poor predictor of success in an events-driven industry, where intangibles \u2013 the ability to execute under pressure, to troubleshoot in real-time \u2013 can matter more than hard skills. The solution, Mr. Mota says, was to find people already connected to the company\u2019s mission, often through the community it has spent more than a decade building. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very much a feeling,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

CRUEL\u2019s experience reflects a broader shift. Over the past year, the labour market has tilted in favour of employers. But for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), it has not necessarily made hiring any easier. <\/p>\n

Widespread adoption of generative AI tools have reshaped both sides of the hiring equation. ChatGPT, for example, has made it easier than ever to apply for a job by facilitating the fast creation of resumes and cover letters customized for individual job postings, flooding employers with applications. <\/p>\n

Employers, in turn, might use their own AI tools to help manage the volume of applicants, which also has limitations \u2013 especially when they are not effectively deployed. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what the market is like,\u201d says Sandy Scholes, chief people officer at Jane App. \u201cIt\u2019s always tough to find top talent.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jane screens an average of 2,000 applications a week for every open role. The company has incorporated AI tools, but the approach has not replaced human judgement. \u201cI think [AI] has made us more clear about what exactly we\u2019re looking for,\u201d Ms. Scholes says. <\/p>\n

Over the past year, 25 per cent of new hires came through referrals. Ms. Scholes says \u201ca lot\u201d of time is spent identifying people who align with Jane App\u2019s service-based mission of \u201chelping the helpers,\u201d facilitating the administrative side of business for health and wellness practitioners. <\/p>\n

Job seekers often turn to small companies when they\u2019re looking to make a more substantial business impact, so it\u2019s critical for hiring managers to be upfront about both the opportunities and the realities. <\/p>\n

At Jane, employees are given equity in the business and the flexibility to work remotely. \u201cWhen you come into Jane, you get an opportunity to solve a lot of problems and work really hard,\u201d says Ms. Scholes. \u201cI think it\u2019s important to paint a clear picture so people know exactly what they\u2019re coming into.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smaller companies also have to compete with larger firms that, on average, still pay more. \u201cThe norm is pay grows with size,\u201d says Brendon Bedard, a senior economist at Indeed.<\/p>\n

But compensation only tells part of the story. According to an Indeed survey of job seekers, pay ranks at the top of their priority lists, but factors such as career alignment, growth opportunities and workplace culture are also important. \u201cEmployers have to put in effort so both existing and prospective staff feel good about that value proposition,\u201d says Mr. Bedard. <\/p>\n

For smaller businesses, especially those with limited budgets, that means defining who they are, then using that definition as an advantage at every touchpoint during the hiring process.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who want to work at a large company have different goals than those who work in a smaller shop,\u201d says Clare Raspopow, CEO of Silverorange, a PEI-based web and app development agency. <\/p>\n

Silverorange\u2019s website features a blog offering glimpses into work life and a detailed hiring page that walks candidates through the process. Executives often recruit talent through their community ties. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same thing as being honest when you\u2019re on a date,\u201d says Ms. Raspopow. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to build something that will last.\u201d <\/p>\n

Nora Jenkins Townson, founder of HR consultancy Bright + Early, says she\u2019s seeing companies move away from generalized recruiting approaches to develop more targeted strategies. <\/p>\n

She says small businesses may be tempted to approach hiring \u201ccasually,\u201d but encourages taking cues from bigger firms to design roles and hiring processes for maximum impact \u2014 for instance, by creating thoughtful screening questions to help the right candidates self-select in. \u201cHaving to go back to the recruiting drawing board is very expensive,\u201d she says, \u201cand has a big impact on culture and the work that\u2019s getting done.\u201d<\/p>\n

While larger organizations may feel safer to candidates navigating economic uncertainty, small businesses can offer less bureaucracy, more flexibility and the chance to level up your career. <\/p>\n

Ms. Jenkins Townson urges small businesses to put their stamp on the hiring process by leaning into what makes them different: defining culture, articulating values, and being transparent about expectations, compensation and career progression. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s worth taking the time to do that,\u201d she says. \u201cThe folks that are an incredible fit are going to find a spark with what you\u2019re saying.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Karl Bechmann (left) and Schuyler Mota (right), co-founders of Toronto marketing agency CRUEL,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":329383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[31731,64,163734,6982,163736,7414,163735,70065,420,19617,148638,9207,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-329382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-adveditorial","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-creative-hiring","11":"tag-employer","12":"tag-employers-market","13":"tag-hiring","14":"tag-hiring-solutions","15":"tag-hr","16":"tag-jobs","17":"tag-noastack","18":"tag-ordid3844959281te","19":"tag-small-business","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115429744682500994","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}