Tina McKenna, Smart Hire Solutions, on Why Small Business Owners Should Stop Doing Their Own Hiring (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 954)
In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray welcomes Tina McKenna, owner of Smart Hire Solutions, a recruiting firm serving small and mid-size businesses across metro Atlanta and nationwide.
Tina got her start in marketing, and the shift to recruiting happened organically during COVID. Clients who maintained their marketing spending found themselves overwhelmed with work but short on staff to handle it. Tina began writing job ads, screening candidates, and interviewing applicants on their behalf, and the model stuck. She now handles the entire hiring process for business owners who lack the time and bandwidth to do it themselves, including sourcing candidates who are not actively looking, conducting video screenings, and delivering only vetted, qualified finalists to the client.
Tina walks John through the common pain points business owners face when they try to hire on their own: crafting job descriptions that attract the right applicants, managing the flood of unqualified resumes, responding to candidates fast enough to compete, and dealing with no-shows after clearing the calendar for an interview. She also describes Smart Hire Solutions’ “Smart Start” session, a deep-dive onboarding conversation that gives her team what they need to write better ads, ask sharper screening questions, and represent the client’s culture accurately to candidates.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is produced by John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, and is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- Small business owners who try to hire on their own often find it becomes a part-time or even full-time job, pulling them away from the work that actually drives revenue.
- Simply posting a job and waiting is usually ineffective. Qualified candidates are often not actively looking, and finding them requires active sourcing and outreach on job boards every day.
- Smart Hire Solutions uses a “Smart Start” onboarding session to understand a client’s business, culture, and leadership style before writing any job ad, which leads to better screening conversations and more accurate candidate matches.
- Many qualified candidates are not actively applying for jobs and will not respond to a posting alone. Reaching them requires daily outreach, and that level of attention is something most business owners simply cannot sustain on top of running their business.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:20 John Ray introduces the show and guest Tina McKenna
01:49 How Smart Hire Solutions helps small and mid-size business owners
02:01 Why hiring is time-consuming and complicated for business owners
04:24 Tina’s background in marketing and how COVID shifted her focus to recruiting
05:44 Why qualified candidates are often not actively looking
07:02 What business owners get wrong when hiring on their own
08:20 Managing the volume of applicants and screening for qualified candidates
10:11 Sourcing passive candidates and the daily outreach process
11:41 Video screening process and how Smart Hire Solutions vets candidates
13:30 The problem of no-shows and wasted interview time
14:58 Home services companies and the unique hiring challenges they face
16:38 What “smart hire” really means and how the name captures the firm’s approach
18:36 The Smart Start session: onboarding a new client
20:12 How the engagement works from first call through candidate delivery
23:27 Signs that a business owner needs to call Smart Hire Solutions
25:21 Success stories, including a multi-year relationship with NG Windows North Georgia
26:41 Contact information for Smart Hire Solutions
Tina McKenna, Owner
Tina McKenna is the owner of Smart Hire Solutions and a recruiting expert who helps small and mid-size business owners fix broken hiring processes and avoid costly bad hires, without the big agency fees. Her team takes the sourcing, screening, and vetting off clients’ plates so they can focus on interviewing only vetted, qualified candidates.
Smart Hire Solutions
Smart Hire Solutions is a recruiting partner that helps small and mid-sized businesses hire more effectively without the traditional agency fees. For business owners and hiring managers who don’t have time to sift through unqualified applicants or properly vet candidates, Smart Hire Solutions handles the entire process, from sourcing and screening to thorough vetting, so clients only spend time interviewing qualified, right-fit candidates.
Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio
Renasant Bank has humble roots, having started in 1904 as a $100,000 bank located in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown into one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, boasting over $26 billion in assets and more than 280 offices offering banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from the commitment of each banker to invest in the communities they serve, which in turn helps them better understand the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, their banking professionals understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | YouTube
Beyond Computer Solutions supports North Fulton Business Radio
Whether you’re a law firm, medical practice, or manufacturer, there’s one headline you don’t want to make: “Local Business Pays Thousands in Ransom After Cyberattack.” That’s where Beyond Computer Solutions comes in. They help organizations like yours stay out of the news and in business with managed IT and cybersecurity services designed for industries where compliance and reputation matter most.
Whether they serve as your complete IT department or simply support your internal team, they are well-versed in HIPAA, secure document access, written security policies, and other essential aspects that ensure your safety and well-being. Best of all, it starts with a complimentary security assessment.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube
About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
With over 900 episodes and having featured over 1,400 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show invites a diverse range of business, non-profit, and community leaders to share their significant contributions to their respective markets, communities, and professions. There is no discrimination based on company size, and there is never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates businesses by sharing positive stories that traditional media ignore. Some media lean left. Some media lean right. We lean business.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. John and the team at North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, produce the show, which is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
The studio is located at 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
You can find the entire archive of shows by following this link. The show is accessible on all major podcast apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the author of the five-star-rated book The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices, praised by readers for its practical insights on raising confidence, value, and prices.
