Dive Brief:

• Smaller organizations aren't as interested as their lager competitors in using technology to improve their candidate experience, according to a report by background screening firm HireRight.
• Only 45% of "micro" companies and 53% of small companies researched by HireRight utilize social networking to recruit, compared to 73% of large businesses. Similarly, only 25% of micro businesses and 50% of small businesses rely on their corporate website to recruit and attract candidates compared to 80% of their large counterparts.
• The research holds similarly for mobile-optimized recruitment: only 15% of micro companies are utilizing a mobile-friendly application and screening process. When it comes to screening, 36% of micro companies and 31% of small companies said that ensuring a good background check experience is not a priority — nearly triple the 13% of large companies who indicated so to HireRight.

Dive Insight:

Small businesses already face outsized recruitment challenges compared to those of their large counterparts. Wages alone can make it more difficult to be competitive in a market rife with skill shortages. For many younger workers, other factors weigh more heavily than a bigger paycheck, and the right company culture can give small- and medium-sized businesses an upper hand, but those workplace elements require the right kind of messaging and branding to deliver results.

Regardless of employee population size, employers can improve recruitment efforts by making an effort to personalize the candidate experience. Much of this work can be done on a human level — being timely with callbacks, facilitating contact with company leaders, etc. — but increasingly, technology has delivered new ways for recruiters to connect with candidates in a human way. Webchats, virtual job fairs, company videos and other mediums provide new ways to form connections without necessarily breaking the bank.

With unemployment at record lows across almost every category of worker and turnover a relative high in the U.S., small business may struggle to achieve or maintain head count. A recent TD AmeriTrade survey suggests job searches are now easier than they were five years ago given the number of open jobs. Small businesses may need to get creative with benefits, pay and work experience in order to avoid missing out on talent.