86% of SMEs spend up to 10 extra hours a week on hiring activities

Research commissioned by online recruitment marketplace Search Party finds that business decision makers within SMEs are spending up to ten hours a week on hiring related activities, on top of the demands of their own job role. For half of those questioned, at least five of these hours must be clocked up outside of regular office hours.

The research reveals the frustrations that arise when general business decision makers find themselves in the driving seat of the hiring process. Over a third (39%) of respondents believe that as a non-specialist, they do not have the right amount of time to dedicate to the recruitment process – 55% believe that this can lead to the wrong hire being made.

Limited visibility of the process is noted as a frustration for over a fifth of respondents (21%), whilst 41% say that they find it hard to find a quality candidate amidst a high volume of ‘average’ candidates. As a result of these issues, 23% of those questioned are frustrated that candidates very quickly don’t work out, meaning the hiring process needs to begin again.

However, it seems that an HR department is not always the solution to solve these issues. A quarter (25%) said that frustrations arise because the HR department doesn’t always have an in-depth grasp of the roles that they are hiring for.

In order to make the best hires, the process needs to be simplified so that business leads involved in recruitment have a full overview of the process. Once those involved in the hiring process have a clear view, they will be able to make educated decisions that result in quick, successful hires.

Ben Hutt, CEO of Search Party, comments: “Efficient and effective hiring lies at the heart of a business’s growth and success. For the 34% that didn’t expect to be involved in the recruitment process at all, this is clearly an unexpected, and perhaps unwelcome, task.

“The cost of working directly with a recruitment agency can often be prohibitive for SMEs, while the ‘post and hope’ approach of a job board can be a time intensive process that doesn’t get great results. The average time to hire via these traditional methods is 60+ days, which simply isn’t acceptable. To counteract the frustrations faced with hiring, smart businesses should look at smart and innovative ways to build their team, harnessing technology to help them hire faster and at less cost, without sacrificing quality.”