In conjunction with our partners in this report – the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME); we surveyed 563 micro, small and medium businesses from across Ireland, in all industries. We asked about their potential for growth and the barriers to that growth. What are their challenges around hiring staff, if any? This report will detail those responses and our recommendations based on the findings

1. RESOURCING FOR
GROWTH
February, 2016
#resourcing4growth
SME Sector Recruitment Report

2. FTSE 250
SUPPORT SERVICES
LISTED COMPANY
33
COUNTRIES
20
AREAS OF
SPECIALISM
237
OFFICES
9,023
STAFF

3. Increased demand
What is the outlook for SMEs?
Employee options
Are SMEs equipped to compete?
Challenging times
Solutions for today
WHY WE PRODUCED SME REPORT

4. Hays in conjunction with ISME
surveyed 563 small and medium
businesses in Ireland

5. CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE
Do you feel more confident now
about your company’s stability and
potential for growth?

6. OBSTACLES TO BUSINESS GROWTH
What are the biggest obstacles to
your business’ growth?

7. HIRING NEW PEOPLE
How important is hiring
new people in your
overall business
strategy?

8. HR FUNCTION
Do you have an HR function?

9. TRAINING AND HIRING CAPABILITIES
Have you ever received training in
hiring new staff?
If you needed to hire someone right
away, how would you rate between
1 and 5, your company’s current
capabilities?

10. ADVERTISING AND SOURCES OF NEW EMPLOYEES

11. SMEs vs. MULTINATIONALS
As an SME, do you feel you can
compete with multinationals when
recruiting skilled staff?
Do SMEs receive fair coverage in
the media as employers of choice,
when compared to multinationals?

12. CONCLUSIONS
 Outlook is positive - hiring the right people is essential
 SMEs lack the resources to compete
 Low adoption of new technology
 Messaging is poor
 Lack of media coverage does not help

13. RECOMMENDATIONS
Create a free recruitment toolkit as a reference point for advice
on SME recruitment
Organise an Ireland roadshow giving workshops on key elements of recruitment
like ‘What to look for in a CV’ and ‘How to conduct an interview’
Encourage more take-up of seminars on employment law
Bring together SMEs as one voice and create a PR campaign around why an SME is
an employer of choice
Lobby for tax incentives for SMEs when hiring
Lobby for a better work visa system

14. Hays Dublin
Hays House
2 Dawson Street
Tel: 00 353 1 897 2481
Hays Galway
3a Commerce House
Flood Street
Tel: 00 353 91 533 418
Hays Limerick
2nd Floor, Riverpoint
Bishops Quay
Tel: 00 353 61 435 750
54 South Mall
Tel: 00 353 21 425 1020
CONTACT US
SPEAK TO THE EXPERTS
Visit our website:
hays.ie/SME-recruitment
Email: info@hays.ie