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Whether you’re a new or an established business, there are essential steps for hiring employees for laying a foundation for success.
Your decisions in hiring are among the most common challenges faced by small businesses. Hiring the wrong people will adversely affect your business future.
It’s important to effectively evaluate the people applying for your opening, and to avoid typical errors. Use a well-structured hiring process to land top talent to sustain and to grow your company.
Trust your instincts and enjoy the hiring process:
1. Decide why you want to hire a person.
It’s very important to analyze and cement your thinking. Put in writing why you need to hire for specific duties.
For example: Is it because you’re too busy to give stellar customer service? Or do you need expertise in a specific area, such as bookkeeping?
2. Determine the specific skills needed in a new hire to grow your company.
In most situations, it isn’t desirable to hire a mirror of yourself.
After determining the tasks you need accomplished, decide what skills and qualifications are needed to save you time and increase your profits.
3. Decide what you need.
Clarify whether to hire a part-time worker, a full-time employee, independent contractor, a personal assistant or a virtual assistant.
Do you have enough need for a full-time worker and are able to pay a salary and benefits?
If you decide on a full-time employee, create an accurate job description and note these obligations: Understand your state’s employment requirements. In addition to your costs for benefits, know you’ll have to pay the employee for the long-term, decide on how to train the person, and enhance their professional development and well-being.
If you don’t need a full-time person, evaluate your needs and what would be in your best interests.
Note: If you hire a part-time person they must be considered an employee to avoid issues with you state and federal authorities if the person uses your equipment or facilities.
On the other hand, some entrepreneurs decide on consultants, virtual assistants, free-lancers or independent contractors, such as graphic designers or search-engine optimization specialists.
4. Determine your budget.
Before hiring any employee, determine whether you’ll pay a salary or hourly rate.
Research your market’s pay ranges for similar positions. Include your pay in your posted job description.
Note: Don’t be afraid to attract over-qualified applicants. Some of my best personal assistants have been over-qualified people who helped my business grow profitably.
5. Determine the return on your investment.
Set performance goals. Know how the person will best help you by setting short-term and long-term benchmarks for your expectations.
Now that you have an overview of the best hiring process, here are specific steps to take:
1. Create a thorough job description.
Specify the job’s requirements, responsibilities and objectives. Avoid jargon and include your company’s overview and explain the benefits of working for you. Then decide on a job title.
2. Widely publicize your job opening.
Your campaign should include a posting on your web site, your social media including LinkedIn, and job boards. Tell your friends and associates.
In your job description, be sure to define your company culture and prioritize employee happiness.
Keep an open mind in seeking an applicant and remember the adage: “Birds of a feather flock together.” That’s how I found my first personal assistant to handle my books and other tasks in my home-based consulting firm. I was once so impressed with my dry cleaner, on a whim I explained to her what I needed and I asked if she had any hardworking friends or customers looking for work.
I got a major surprise. She recommended someone who on paper was under-qualified, as a retired Army tank maintenance person looking for a part-time gig. But I followed my instincts. The referred applicant turned out to be a perfect fit. My part-time employee was efficient, reliable and industrious. Plus, she provided significant added value. Not only did she accurately maintain my books and make collection calls, as a handy person she installed new blinds for windows and a new storm door.
3. Review resumes.
Quickly review the resumes looking for people with the skills you seek. Pay attention to the cover letters.
Create a short list of finalists and give preference to the applicants who offered skills that fit your job description.
4. Prepare for interviews.
Review rules of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), eeoc.gov. You don’t want to risk asking discriminatory questions such as in age, race, gender identity, birthplace, marital status or more.
Write a list of questions. You can assess skills by asking applicants to take a test or complete a problem-solving scenario.
Compare the results of all applicants.
5. Assess their soft skills to make sure you’d be comfortable with the successful candidate.
Assess how the persons respond to the pressure of a job interview. Anticipate how they’d appear to represent your company to your customers or clients. Determine whether they’d be long-term employees, and if they’d be good role models for your future employees.
6. Do a background check on your preferred applicant.
True, thorough background checks are difficult. Do your best.
Also, review the applicant’s social media. You’ll learn how the person deals with others socially and what the person’s priorities are.
Check with references and ask open-ended questions. You’ll either be pleased or alarmed by the answers.
7. Make an offer.
For some extraordinary candidates you can expect to prepare to negotiate or to move quickly.
Offer a stellar proposal with competitive benefits and compensation. Consider whether to give enticing perks such as paying for activities the person enjoys, local discounts in the community, flexibility, wellness programs or up-skilling opportunities.
8. Be thorough with paperwork.
Make sure you research all related paperwork necessities. Consider checking an online Human Resources Information System (HRIS) to create and store all the necessary paperwork.
Details include payroll taxes, direct deposit, employer identification number, workers’ compensation, Internal Revenue Service (irs) and Department of Labor (dol) requirements.
Finally, onboard correctly for the employee’s success.
Before the person’s first day on the job, set the person’s credentials and logins.
Give an enthusiastic welcome and orientation. Review with the person the responsibilities and allow enough time for the person to get settled, to answer the person’s questions and to make sure the person feels comfortable and supported.
From the Coach’s Corner, see these relevant topics:
Use PR Creativity to Fill Your Openings in Tight Job Market — No doubt, you’re learning technology for recruiting and screening is no longer adequate to successfully compete in the talent wars. To the rescue: public relations. Here’s how to leverage the media for recruiting applicants.
HR – Do you Partner with IT for Top Online Recruiting? — If you’re talented in recruiting the best talent, talented applicants will appreciate your talent. That underscores the need to partner with information technology in online recruiting.
Strategies for Better Job Descriptions to Attract Talent — To successfully compete against other employers for the best talent, many companies have found it necessary to update their job descriptions. Here’s how they do it.
Management: Are You Stressed over Unfilled Positions? — If you’re having difficulty in recruiting workers — you’re not alone — so you might have to put on a new set of glasses in how you view your recruiting process.
Recruiting an IT Professional? Here are the Right Skills to Recruit — Are you looking to add information technology personnel? You want to hire for a competitive edge, right? IT is a crucial position for you. The difference between failure and success requires reflection to hire for the right competencies.
“Hire for passion and intensity; there is training for everything.”
-Nolan Bushnell
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