Recruitment is, quite frankly, a total nightmare for the majority of companies. The time and financial effort that goes into finding the right candidate for the job is enough to give anyone heartburn. As a medium-sized business, at AxiCom we understand the specific challenges faced by smaller companies in the exhausting recruitment game.

Small to medium sized businesses recruit differently to larger organisations – no surprise there! With smaller budgets and less dedicated resources, they rely much more on bringing talent in rather than recruiting internally. This often follows an increase in demand or winning new business which means hiring more staff quickly in order to fill in the gaps so that customer service isn’t compromised.

Consequently, there is little time to really consider and get to know the candidates and a wrong hire can be costly not to mention time consuming. For smaller businesses, a weak link is much more noticeable and a strong link can make a huge difference. Ultimately, they are bigger fish in a smaller pond.

"Social media platforms have effectively opened up the talent pool to everyone"

Technology has played a huge role in changing how we recruit and attract talent. Society has become much more digitally and socially driven, and technology has muscled its way on to the recruitment scene.

Companies looking to hire must become adept at using online tools to attract candidates who are increasingly turning to social media platforms to climb the career ladder. SMBs need to be aware of some of the key technology trends that are currently taking the recruitment sector by force:

Social media – the realm of selfies, sharing and stalking – and, over the past few years, recruitment and talent acquisition. LinkedIn celebrated its 10th birthday in 2013, announcing a “community” of 225 million members; a number that has grown at a rate of two per second to reach the staggering number of more than 350 million users at the end of April this year.

Some companies are spending a fortune to tap into its membership as they look for the perfect candidate. According to a survey by Jobvite, 93 percent of recruiters use or plan to use social to support their recruiting efforts in 2015.

This statistic is very telling of the change that has happened in the world of recruitment and talent acquisition over the past few years, as companies move away from the standard one-page CV to engaging with potential candidates directly on social media platforms.

The advent of the web resulted in small to medium sized businesses moving away from print and towards online job sites find the next member of the team. Advertising a vacancy in print or online avoids expensive recruitment agency fees. But a lot of potentially time-pressured candidates prefer to let recruitment agencies do the leg work and find them a role. Sometimes it is faster and more effective to use the recruiter.

Social media platforms have effectively opened up the talent pool to everyone. There remains a role for advertising, and indeed for recruitment agents, but social media is helping to democratised the recruitment process.

This is great news for small to medium sized businesses. If you are willing to put some time aside to build up your social media connections, then you can skip the recruitment agents altogether and source talent directly.

The importance of brand and mobile access – it is important that SMEs look close to home when trying to recruit the best talent. Recruitment is a two-way street and is often as much about selling the company and the position to the candidate as it is about the candidate needing to impress the employer.

Recruits: It's really important that they love you back

It is also important that the candidate feels that he/she has had a good experience with the company – sluggish responsiveness and a lack of information are very off-putting for candidates. A company’s website is its shop window for customers and employees alike.

The first thing any self-respecting candidate will do is Google the company name and check out the website and the company will be judged and dismissed quickly if candidates are left uninspired. So if you haven’t looked at refreshing your website in a while, it’s worth considering if you want to attract the highest calibre of applicants and adjust accordingly.

The ever growing role that technology plays in our lives has impacted how we now access jobsites, apply for jobs and network. Candidates are now researching and applying for work in a mobile optimised format.

It is therefore crucial that you make your company as accessible as possible on mobile devices and again, this means making your website and social media presence fit for purpose.

Video conferencing - as well as changing how we connect on a social level, technology is also changing how interviews are carried out. Applicants no longer need to trek across the country to meet with a potential employer, when video conferencing is available. By removing the barrier of distance, the recruiter is effectively expanding the field of sourcing talent.

Using technology for recruitment isn’t rocket science, but it does require time, thought and investment – three things that come at a premium for small to medium sized businesses. But remember, a company is defined by its employees and a bit of effort now will help you to build and define your presence in the market moving forward.