The SME Leader's Guide to Skills-Based Recruitment

According to the UK Department for Business and Trade it estimates that 99.9% of the 5.6 million businesses in the UK are defined as SMEs.

Small and medium-sized businesses are now adapting to significant changes in recruitment. Skills-based hiring is changing how companies find talent, and while many SME Leaders understand its importance, they're often unsure where to start. The good news is that implementing this approach is both achievable and valuable for future growth.

Smaller organisations often think they can't compete with large companies, but this isn't true. Instead of trying to match big corporate salaries, focus on what makes your company special. Offer real flexibility in both working arrangements and career growth. Show candidates how they can make a direct impact - share stories of team members who have helped shape your company or grown their skills across different areas.

Being smaller can actually help with skills-based recruitment. Smaller companies can often make decisions faster, adjust roles to fit talented people, and offer varied work experience. Make sure to highlight these benefits when advertising roles.

Let's look at practical solutions that work for SMEs, considering typical resource and budget constraints. Today's digital tools offer affordable ways to improve your hiring process. A basic Applicant Tracking System can help manage candidates effectively, and many providers offer packages designed for smaller organisations. When needed, add skills assessment tools to evaluate candidates more systematically. Choose tools that can grow with your business rather than investing in complex systems from the start.

Keep skills assessment simple but effective. Create clear lists of must-have and nice-to-have skills for each role and use practical tests alongside interviews. For example, if you're hiring a project manager, give them a real project challenge to work through. Assessing soft skills can be straightforward, ie base you interviews on real situations your team has faced. Ask candidates how they would handle these scenarios, looking for signs of adaptability, problem-solving, and communication skills.

To manage applications efficiently, be clear about required skills in job postings. Include specific criteria that candidates can check themselves. This helps attract more suitable applications while reducing ones that don't fit.

Now that you have designed your process start with a trial run in one department. Track what works and what doesn't. Use this information to improve your approach and get support from your team and above all else include your staff in identifying important skills for their areas. Building internal talent is key for long-term success which shows your employees how they can develop their skills and progress. This doesn't need a big budget - use peer learning, mentoring, and online resources. Make skill development part of regular performance talks.

Time is tight for SME leaders so, here's a simple, easy to follow 12-week plan to get you thinking about what's needed:

Weeks 1-2:

Review current recruitment process

Identify roles for initial implementation

Gather input from team leaders on key skills gaps

Weeks 3-6:

Develop comprehensive skills matrices for priority roles

Map essential vs preferred skills

Create assessment criteria for each skill

Build practical tests and scenario-based questions

Gather feedback from successful recent hires and managers

Refine matrices based on feedback

Weeks 7-8:

Train hiring managers on:

Using the skills matrices

Conducting skills-based interviews

Running practical assessments

Removing bias from decision-making

Weeks 9-10:

Launch pilot programme with one key role

Document feedback and results

Make real-time adjustments as needed

Weeks 11-12:

Review pilot results

Refine process and matrices

Plan wider rollout

Create implementation schedule for other roles

Companies using skills-based recruitment often find better candidates who stay longer. They also build more diverse teams and find talent that traditional hiring might miss. Remember, you don't need to get everything perfect right away. Start with these steps and adjust them to fit your needs. Skills-based recruitment helps you build a stronger, more capable team for the future.

At The ORARA Group, we help SMEs and their Leaders make this change successfully by creating practical solutions that work within your resources and needs.

Want to explore how skills-based recruitment could work for your business? Let's talk about your needs and how to make these changes work for you.

#SkillsBasedRecruitment #SME #Hiring #FutureOfWork #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentStrategy Better Hiring Institute (BHI) APSCo World Economic Forum World Employment Confederation Department for Business and Trade Department for Science, Innovation and Technology