Optimizing Candidate Sourcing: 11 Strategies for SMB Success (Part 1)

In the competitive landscape of talent acquisition, we’ve gathered twenty-one unique strategies from CEOs, Founders, and HR professionals to help your SMB attract top candidates.

From partnering with specialized recruiters to providing relocation assistance packages, discover how these leaders tailor their recruitment efforts to bring in the best talent.

• Partner with Specialized Recruiters
• Utilize Passive Sourcing Methods
• Showcase Authentic Employer Brand
• Highlight SMB Advantages in Messaging
• Leverage Employee Referral Programs
• Conduct 360-Degree Recruitment Sessions
• Invest in Long-Term Employer Branding
• Promote Career Growth Internally
• Offer Remote Work Opportunities
• Recruit Freelancers for Projects
• Emphasize Work-Life Balance

Partner with Specialized Recruiters

One effective strategy we’ve used to source candidates is partnering with recruiters who specialize in tech and SaaS. These recruiters have a deep understanding of the specific skills and qualities required in our industry, and they maintain extensive networks of highly qualified professionals. By leveraging their expertise, we’ve been able to attract top talent that not only fits our technical needs but also aligns with our company culture.

To tailor this strategy and ensure we attract the best candidates, we work closely with our recruiters to clearly define our job requirements and ideal candidate profiles. We provide detailed insights into our company values, work environment, and the unique opportunities we offer. This collaboration ensures that the recruiters can effectively communicate our brand to potential candidates, making our roles more appealing to top-tier talent.

We also stay engaged throughout the recruitment process, offering feedback and maintaining open communication to refine our approach continuously. This partnership has significantly enhanced our ability to attract and retain high-caliber employees, driving our growth and success in the competitive tech and SaaS landscape.

Blake Smith, Marketing Manager, ClockOn Australia

Utilize Passive Sourcing Methods

Passive recruitment is a fantastic sourcing method, if you have the time to wait for the ‘right’ fit of staff who align with your processes and the output required from your team. Passive sourcing means that you’re essentially reaching a talent ‘pool’ that otherwise might not apply directly for a job, so it’s often worth the patience that the process definitely requires to find the right person or people!

Wendy Makinson, HR Manager, Joloda Hydraroll

Showcase Authentic Employer Brand

Unlike enterprise companies, SMBs have a leg up when it comes to building a much more authentic, cheeky, fun, and frankly human employer brand. It’s all about highlighting your culture, the amazing people on your team, and what it’s really like to work with you. Use social media like TikTok and Instagram Reels to showcase behind-the-scenes content, team events, and everyday work life. This helps you stand out from the big players and engage with potential candidates on a more personal level.

While enterprise companies tend to be very buttoned-up, SMBs can create a more intimate, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere. Share stories, celebrate successes, and show the human side of your business. This approach not only attracts top talent but also makes them excited about joining a company where they feel they can make a difference. After all, people care deeply about who they are working for and why. By being genuine and engaging, you can build a strong, appealing employer brand that draws in the best candidates.

Vivian Chen, Founder & CEO, Rise

Highlight SMB Advantages in Messaging

When sourcing passive candidates for our SMB clients, we successfully attract top talent by focusing our outreach messaging on the many strengths SMBs have over larger companies.

Small-to-medium-sized businesses often outshine large bureaucratic companies in terms of career growth opportunities, the ability to have a more significant impact, more visibility from upper management, and many other advantages. Our outreach messaging is short, with the main focus being three to four bullet points that specifically highlight the benefits of joining a smaller organization.

Mike Basso, Founder & CEO, salestalent.com

Leverage Employee Referral Programs

It might not be anything groundbreaking, but in my experience, the most consistently effective method to source high-quality candidates is leveraging the power of employee referrals. This isn’t always the method that will bring you the highest number of applicants, but in terms of the percentage of applicants who meet your qualifications and are likely to not only get the job but stay in it long-term, referrals are the winner.

What I find especially great about referrals is that they’re far more likely to be a fit both in terms of skills/knowledge/experience and when it comes to culture fit and personality. This is because the employees who are making the referrals understand your culture already, to a much deeper level than you can achieve by describing the culture in a job posting. Because of this, they’re able to do some initial selection, only referring those individuals in their network that they see matching the role on all points.

Employees also already have a vested interest in referring people who will excel. For one thing, they know they’ll have to work with this person if they’re hired, so they won’t refer someone who will make their life more difficult by failing at their job. Employees also recognize that their reputation is somewhat at stake when they refer a friend or network contact.

I’ve found an incentive system can be an effective way to promote more employee referrals. A cash bonus is often an effective and simple incentive, though you can also use PTO days or other perks for this. I like to use a system where the referring employee will earn the incentive after the person they refer is not only hired but has been with the company for a specified length of time (I usually make this six months). This way, employees are encouraged to not just refer a lot of people, but specifically to refer those individuals who have a strong chance of being hired and excelling in the job long-term.

Matt Erhard, Managing Partner, Summit Search Group

Conduct 360-Degree Recruitment Sessions

One effective strategy our SMB employs to source candidates is through our 360-degree recruitment sessions. These sessions provide an opportunity for candidates to engage not only with our team but also directly with our clients and partner organizations. By offering this view, candidates gain insights into our company culture, work environment, and the broader impact of our operations. This transparency fosters more enthusiasm and a deeper understanding among candidates, leading to a higher likelihood of them choosing to work with us.

To tailor this strategy for attracting top talent, we emphasize clear communication and highlight our organizational values and mission during these sessions. With the sessions, the candidates can see that we practice what we preach. Personalization is key, as we customize interactions to align with candidates’ career aspirations and interests. By integrating feedback and continually refining our approach, we ensure that our recruitment process is not only inclusive but also compelling for candidates seeking meaningful alignment with our company’s vision and values.

Stijn van der Vat, CEO & Founder, Deepler

Invest in Long-Term Employer Branding

While there are numerous effective strategies for sourcing candidates, an increasingly effective and often overlooked element is the power of employer branding. The clients we work with who have a long-term talent acquisition strategy are becoming a magnet for great, highly motivated candidates who are genuinely interested in their brand. While this is a longer-term strategy, over time it makes sourcing candidates both cost-effective and highly targeted towards the best talent in the market.

Additionally, retention rates of candidates sourced through effective employer branding are often improved as they are emotionally invested in the brand and are already well-versed with the environment and company culture.

Chris Percival, Founder & Managing Director, CJPI

Promote Career Growth Internally

We promote from within whenever possible, encouraging our employees to apply for open positions and advance their careers within the company. This internal mobility program is highlighted in our recruitment materials, showcasing success stories of employees who have moved up the ranks.

By emphasizing our commitment to career development and internal promotions, we attract ambitious candidates who are looking for long-term growth opportunities. This approach not only retains top talent but also demonstrates our investment in our employees’ futures.

Our transparent promotion process and support for continuous learning make us an attractive employer for high-potential candidates. This strategy fosters a culture of loyalty and motivation, driving overall company success.

Shawn Plummer, CEO, The Annuity Expert

Offer Remote Work Opportunities

One powerful strategy we’ve used at GoPromotional to source top talent is offering remote work opportunities. This approach significantly broadens our candidate pool, allowing us to tap into skilled professionals across the UK and beyond. With the flexibility to work from anywhere, we’ve seen an increase in applications from individuals who may not have considered us if a physical presence in our office was required.

We customize this plan by offering flexible work arrangements and providing extensive tools and resources to our distributed workforce members. The use of project management software, video conferencing facilities, and messaging platforms ensures that communication between employees proceeds seamlessly, such that projects are completed through collaboration with each other successfully. Remote staff should feel like part of the team no less than those who work out of an office building; hence, regular virtual team meetings as well as social events sustain strong team dynamics within companies.

Another important element is clarity in communication, as it helps remote employees integrate themselves right from the start by ensuring that they understand how we do things. New hires appreciate openness, which facilitates quick adaptation regardless of their location.

Jessica Bane, Director of Business Operations, GoPromotional

Recruit Freelancers for Projects

We use a strategy where we recruit freelancers by first hiring them for specific projects. This gives us the chance to assess their performance and fit. If everything works out well, we then offer them full-time opportunities.

Recently, we hired a developer on a freelance basis to work on a specific module of our eLearning platform. During this project, we evaluated his technical expertise, communication skills, and ability to meet deadlines. Since this individual excelled in all these areas, we discussed the possibility of him joining our team full-time. Initially, this person was not interested. It took offering a generous salary package, highlighting growth opportunities, and offering him work-from-home days.

This strategy has helped us recruit multiple talented individuals who are great assets for our team.

Farhan Siraj, Chief Executive Officer, OSHA Outreach Courses

Emphasize Work-Life Balance

As an SMB, you need to understand what your advantage is over the larger firms.

Running a bookkeeping company, there are many Big 4 firms that will attract top talent based on brand name and salary alone. However, the trade-off is that work-life balance suffers, and there’s quite a lot of politics involved in getting promoted.

We make sure to put that at the forefront of our interviews, and while we don’t always win out, many long-term and qualified individuals are content, preferring us over the big companies.

Taryn Pumphrey, President, Ledger Lift