In a small team, one hire changes everything. Hear from 30 business leaders on how they hire, what’s getting in the way and the four behaviours they actually need.
What’s really holding hiring back in smaller businesses
In a small team, there’s nowhere to hide. The right hire can lift the whole business. The wrong one can cost you money, months of senior time and some of your best people.
Yet, post a job today and the applications pour in. Hundreds within days. Many polished by AI to match the advert word for word. Some employers admit to giving each CV just five to ten seconds.
Ask employers what they look for in a candidate and four behaviours keep coming up. They’re the 4 As, and they’re hard to spot on a CV. So what do employers rely on when a CV only tells part of the story?
The findings are informing the next phase of Reach, a fully funded programme in partnership with LSE that will test practical ways to spot these behaviours during hiring.
The 4 A's businesses are looking for
Adaptability
Accountability
Appetite to learn
Attitude
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100%
employers described at least one of the four behaviours unprompted. -
17/30
employers described three or all four of the identified behaviours. -
13/30
employers used the word “attitude” themselves during their interview.
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With SMEs, you’ve got nowhere to hide. This is 100 people or 200 people. If you don’t deliver, then you’re going to be out the door very quickly. Whereas I feel if you’re in a big corporate, if it’s not doing well, you can hide behind someone else.
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Where we’ve ever had issues and where things have gone badly, it’s people issues every single time. It’s not about products, it’s not about distribution, it’s not about anything like that, it’s about people.
Hiring for the 4 A’s starts here
Read what 30 business leaders said about getting hiring right.
