Lelemba Phiri, a gender-lens investor and founder of Africa Trust Group, believes that the tide is turning for South African SMEs.
Phiri said, traditionally, it has been hard for SMEs to offer competitive salaries, especially for lean start-ups. However, there is a substantial increase in funding opportunities.
“The government has launched a variety of SME funding instruments, but there’s also broader investor interest and funding innovations that are coming to the fore. This can empower SMEs and start-ups to compete on remuneration and attract high calibre talent,” said Phiri.
According to Phiri, there is the global rise of fractional work, a model of employment whereby employees work part-time for several different employers during the week.
Phiri said there is a trend that is ideally suited to start-ups and SMEs and can open access to amazing talent.
“You may need a top-level CFO input on your growth strategy, but that kind of salary is not possible in your start-up phase. However, there are now CFOs with those skills changing to fractional work, and you can get that input you need right now without paying a monthly salary.”
Chief executive of Job Crystal Sasha Knott said SMEs need to realise that they can compete with the big employee brands if they are smart and agile when it comes to their recruitment process.
Job Crystals’ top five tips for SMEs to recruit more effectively:
1. Know what you need the role to do specifically for your business. Resist the urge to try and find and place ‘Jacks-of-all-trades’. Write a clear and specific job description.
2. Use AI to help you search, source and screen candidates - this relieves you of the biggest chunk spent on recruiting.
3. Interview your shortlist virtually first as this is a great time saver for you and the candidates.
4. Always ensure that you do background checks before making an offer in writing to any candidate - these could be references and/or criminal checks.
5. Be clear in your mind, and then write down what success looks like for this role. When you are interviewing, articulate this exactly to your potential candidates.
BUSINESS REPORT IOL