4. Create a work culture that makes employees have a vested interest in your company
When you lack the resources and brand awareness to conduct a mass recruitment drive, you'll need to build on other offerings that will compel potential candidates to join your team. And one way to stand out from the rest is to create a culture that's unique to your organisation and resonates with potential candidates.
After all, big isn't always better - in larger companies, culture is often lost as the work environment becomes increasingly "corporate". For SMEs, its size becomes an advantage, as founders can work to instil a family-style team culture that has a stronger focus on personal growth and mentorship, open communication, remote working and flexible work hours and unique employee benefits - elements which are gaining in popularity among employees these days.
Carousell is an example of unique company culture.
The company has moved beyond providing the usual office perks, to establishing clear communication channels, providing room for growth, guidance from leaders and opportunities for team bonding. For example, the founders make it a point to spend time with the different teams by taking lunch together. And lunch time on Fridays are special; food is catered to the office, and the meal time is spent sharing company announcements, developments and informal interaction.
Ownership is a priority too - with larger companies, employees may have to content with creating minimal impact on the company's growth, as one out of a thousand engineers. But Carousell strives to create a sense of ownership for its staff by keeping team sizes fairly small. Take its engineering team as an example: while the app is currently serving millions of users, the entire team consists of just 23 staff members - giving each individual the opportunity for a varied job scope and steep learning curve.
“For SMEs, its size becomes an advantage, as founders can work to instill a family-style team culture that as a stronger focus on personal growth and mentorship, open communication, remote working and flexible work hours and unique employee benefits - elements which are gaining in popularity among employees these days.”
In the talent war acquisition, creative strategies will help SMEs gain advantages against giant MNCs.