OUR BLOG

Tired of working long hours and never getting a day off? Then it’s probably time to bring in some help. Here are ten tips for hiring employees for your small business.

High Expectations: Do not expect to find someone who is the exact same as you.  Your motivation, habits, and ideas are uniquely yours.  You do want to hire someone who is in-line with you.  However, hiring an exact replica is unreasonable and could hold you back from moving forward even faster.

Know Your Expectations: Write down exactly what you expect from your new hire. Clearly communicate the skills, talents, and education that are needed to successful complete the job you have in mind.  List the goals you have for what the new hire and what your expectations are.  The more clear you are with your description the better chance you will have at finding a candidate that is a good fit for your organization.

Be Honest With Yourself: Are you more of a ‘hands-on’ or ‘hands-off’ type of manager?  Different employees have different needs.  Some of them enjoy a manager who gives them freedom to make decisions while others prefer managers who give step-by-step instructions.  Knowing the type of manager you are will help in determining the employee that can best work alongside you.

Give Yourself Time: It takes time to find the right person.  Giving yourself a close deadline could be detrimental.  Never hire a person just to meet a deadline. Plan to interview and train until you have met the person who is the right match.

Make Policies: Sick-leave, personal time-off, and paid or unpaid vacation time all need to be determined before hiring your new employee.  Decide what course of action needs to happen if your new employee cannot be at work.  Will you be able to jump in and cover?

Discipline: Unfortunately having a disciplinary action plan is a part of being a manager.  Before bringing on your first employee you need to have a written plan for the steps that will be taken.  Consider possible issues of both poor performance and chronic absenteeism. How many acceptable warnings will be considered before termination?  How will you communication your warnings and /or termination? This policy needs to be in place before you bring on your first team member.

Create a Fact Sheet:  Creating a one page fact sheet will provide applicants with all the information they need to know about the job. This sheet should cover your basic job description, expectations, and hiring process.

Training:  Make sure you have a written outline for your training process.  It should include all areas of the job that your new employee needs to complete.  Having a written guideline will help minimize frustrations between you and the employee in regards to the expectations for the position.