How do I attract top talent to my small firm?

(FSB Online) -- Dear FSB: What is the best strategy for hiring quality employees and retaining them? How do small businesses compete with bigger firms and become successful enough to grow larger?

- Katherine Putnam, Portland, Ore.

Dear Katherine: "Many small businesses believe they have to sell candidates on working for them," says Grant D. Robinson, president of People Values, a consulting company specializing in personnel management in Renton, Wash. "They do so by trying to show candidates that they are just like their large-business counterparts."

In doing so, he says, they neglect to mention their number one strength: the fact that they are not huge, bureaucratic corporations. "There are many employees fed up with being just another number, having far too many managers to report to, and not being able to have a direct influence on where the company is going and how it will get there," Robinson says. These problems are much less common at small firms, which makes them attractive to many creative, entrepreneurial thinkers.

Give some thought to the aspects of your company culture that make it special. "When recruiting, mention your uniqueness, your team atmosphere and the opportunities for an employee to have a major role in the growth of the business," says Robinson. You will find yourself with something to offer that trumps the salaries and benefits that big-name firms can afford to pay.

For more ideas on how smart leaders of small firms are creating the kind of workplaces that attract great employees, see our Best Bosses package.