When trying to grow your business and take it to the next level, one important thing to consider expanding is your staff. You may have settled on the right amount of people working for you to begin with. But, once you expand your business, the overall workload will increase in more ways than one. 
The right person today may not be the right person in your next growth phase. It goes without saying that you want to hire quality employees to move your business forward.
Being able to find the right people and knowing where to find them will help you move your business in the best direction, rather than staying where you were before. There are a number of things to consider before you begin hiring. These are crucial, but if you can plan for situations may arise, you will have less to worry about later on. Your primary goal in this process is to hire quality employee that will help you take your business to its next level.
Be Aware of Local and National Employment Laws
Having a basic knowledge of what you can and can’t do with your business and how to treat your staff is extremely important. You need to know any laws that involve financial issues (i.e. taxes, basic wages and hours etc.). Just as important is knowledge of employee safety issues (i.e. workplace safety, harassment and discrimination laws, etc.)
If you know how to protect yourself and your employees, you will eliminate a lot of issues that can arise in these areas when starting and growing a business. Although problems with new staff are often inevitable, knowing how to protect yourself and the firm when these issues arise is very important. For advice pertaining to your rights as an employer, there are plenty of people you can contact that will be able to tell you what you need to know. For instance, any government run ‘fair work’ organisations, or local organisations that know the ins and outs of starting a business. Your attorney or CPA are also good sources of information.
What to Look for in a Quality Employee
The key to hiring quality employees for any job takes preparation. First, ask yourself what you are looking for from your employees and how they will suit the role you are looking to fill. Finding people that have the right skill level for the job is the easiest part of hiring. Finding employees who will match your company’s ethos and work ethic is a bit more difficult. Have a clear job description ready when you start interviewing candidates. If you can find someone who matches most of your ideal requirements for the role, then usually you will find that this person will be the right fit for your business.
Know Where to Look for Quality Employees
Knowing where to begin looking for good job candidates when hiring new employees will help you find the right person for the position much quicker. Most people begin their search by looking close to home, and hiring within their own company, but sometimes this isn’t an option, and you need to cast your net a bit wider. Online ‘employment’ websites help people search for the kind of jobs they are interested in have become more and more popular since the boom of the Internet.
The days of looking for jobs in local newspaper ads are long gone. Online job sites attract millions of younger generation job seekers and are a great place to start looking for potential employees. You can advertise your job openings on these websites and reach a wide audience of job seekers. Then, you pick and choose who you want to hire, based on their profiles and the replies that they send to your ad.
Online Sites for Star Employee Searches
Websites like Gumtree Jobs, are a great place to begin if you are looking for new employees in Australia or the UK. Their draw is the wider audience of people who already use the site for buying and selling their goods and services. Indeed.com, Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com are all popular on-line sites for those seeking jobs here in the United States. Simply list the details for the job position you want to fill and the type of person you are looking to hire. Then, just sit back and let the applications roll in.
Social Media Searches for New Staff
Using social media to get the word out about job openings at your company is another resource to find people looking for jobs. Sites like your company Facebook Page is a place to advertise your new positions by allowing followers to apply for the jobs available. LinkedIn is also another great social media site to use. As a business-focused platform, they have more of a benefit for finding jobs and showcasing employment profiles. A large number of recruiters are active members on LinkedIn. You can advertise your jobs or search for potential employees that may work well in the new role.
Full-time or Part-time Hires?
There are many benefits to hiring full-time or part-time staff when running a business. The important thing is to identify early on which type of worker will benefit your firm the most. Having a few people that are full-time workers, will help you create a sense of stability in your business.
Full time work allows those employees to grow quicker through their position, based on accumulating more on-the-job experience overall. However, part-time workers can also benefit your business because you can pick and choose when you need certain staff and for how long. Part-time workers can enjoy the flexibility of their positions, by working a few days a week or when required, rather than working all day, every day. These options can benefit part-timers, but can also benefit you financially, because you can save on wages and often, benefits.
Introduce New Staff to Your Workplace
Introducing your new staff to the business, once hired is extremely important. There are a number of reasons on-boarding new staff is critical to their and your success. Starting off on the right foot and having a boss or colleague who can teach you everything you need to know about your new position is crucial to the success of a new employee.
Provide Basic Training to Your New Hires
If not equipped with the skills, tools and knowledge necessary to start a new position, it is extremely hard for new hires to hit the ground running. They may feel lost when it comes to knowing exactly what to do and what comes next to keep going in the new role. Taking the time to go through the specifics of the new job and teaching new employees anything that they may not know will benefit you as the business owner in the long run.
Allocate the necessary time to introduce new employees to the workplace and help them form an understanding of their position within your firm and duties tied to it. The benefit is you will spend less time later on retraining people on things that they should already know. It will also boost productivity, because new employee will be able to commence work sooner and more efficiently.
Monitor new employees
Being on top of your staff is crucial to employers in any business, so knowing how to effectively monitor staff is essential. When it comes to dealing with new employees, get to know them and how they work. The control this provides for your firm is very important. It lets you be ready to cater to their needs, as well as understand how to effectively manage them in their position.
Taking time to talk to your employees one-on-one is always a good idea, especially when they start a new role. This provides the opportunity for you to see where they are within their transition, and understand what they want to achieve in their role with your company. If you can identify any issues that may arise from new staff members early on, it will be easier to deal with down the road. Make time to talk to your staff about their concerns is always a good idea.
Finding someone that is the perfect fit for your business will always be a challenge. Prepare in advance and pace yourself for the best outcome with your recruitment campaign. Know your rights as an employer, and identify and document exactly what you want from your employees. These few, but important, steps in your hiring process will minimise any issues that may arise. The more prepared you are, the easier your hiring process will become for filling future positions.
Jade Anderson is an experienced In-house Editor at Upskilled. With a background in online marketing, Jade runs some successful websites of her own. Her passion for the education industry and content is displayed through the quality of work she offers.
