230,328 Boston area companies fit the description of being a small business, according to the US Census Bureau.  A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners found that after inflation, the most critical problem facing these businesses is the inability to recruit and retain quality employees.

Right now, says the Federal Reserve,  unfilled jobs remain near an all-time with 1.7 openings per unemployed person.  As a result, only one person is being hired per every four job openings.  To put this dismal hire-to-opening ratio in perspective, ten years ago, there was one hire per every job opening.

Compounding the recruitment woes of Boston's small business owners is the very stubborn quit rate.  According to the Federal Reserve, for every ten hires made, seven current employees quit. 

Although the labor crunch affects Boston business owners of every size, nearly half of all job vacancies are at companies with fewer than 50 employees.

So what is the best way for local small business owners to attract qualified candidates to fill open jobs?  Most metrics indicate that advertising on Boston radio may be the optimal choice.

"Advertising on Boston radio has helped to build our company's name and reputation," says Paul Kunze. "Without radio advertising, no one would know who we are."

Mr. Kunze is the Vice President/Director of Sales and Marketing for IntraSystems, a Braintree, MA. The company provides computing-infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions to mid-market and enterprise-sized companies.

The company was founded by Mr. Kunze in 1996 along with his childhood friend, Jim Hanrahan, who serves as President of IntraSystems.

"The majority of our customers are in the healthcare and financial industries," says Mr. Kunze. State and local governments are also a big part of our business."

"We work with our clients on assessment, design, product deployment, support, maintenance, and education. Few other companies can provide this depth of service."

"Our first customers came from cold-calls I was making from Jim's living room. It paid off, though, the first year we brought in $600,000 in sales."

In an attempt to accelerate growth, IntraSystems began advertising on Boston radio in 2002.