Are you thinking about, or have you recently started your own business and need help in hiring employees? Running a business is more complex than you may think. You’ll need to be very selective during the hiring process because employing the right staff is crucial to the success of your venture.
Most small business owners learn from their mistakes. Very few people start a business knowing how to recruit staff. However, by following our guide, you can avoid the most common pitfalls so you make the best staff appointments.
Overview
Before you even begin advertising, you’ll need to do a lot of background work. For instance, you’ll need to find out the market-related salaries for the positions you are hiring for and make a list of the job expectations.
You’ll also need to know if psychometric testing, for instance, is standard procedure for your industry and what level of testing you aspire to.
Do you want a team player or someone who works better independently? All these are factors that you’ll have to take into consideration when choosing and hiring employees. You’ll need clarity in your mind before you start looking for talent.
You’ll also need to know about state and federal labor laws and an EIN (Employer Identification Number). We’ll make it easy by laying it out step-by-step for you.
Steps to take when hiring employees
Before posting your advertisement, you’ll need to do the following:
1. Analyze the Job Description
First, you’ll need to ascertain what skills and qualifications the position requires. You’ll perform a job analysis, collecting data about a job’s responsibilities. You should also have an idea of how long each duty should take.
Additionally, establish the KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) required to perform this job.
2. Create a Clear Job Expectation
It’s essential to understand the job’s prime functions and list all the duties the recruit will require. For this, you’ll need to define the new hire’s roles, obligations, and expectations for the new engagement. You don’t want someone saying they’re not prepared to do a task you need them to complete because it’s not in their job description.
Ensure the job description contains actionable details of what’s expected during the new hire’s first 30, 60, 90, and 365 days. You could also describe how a typical week or month in the position should play out.
Include the results expected from the new hire and why they are essential to your venture and your company’s values.
3. Outline a Compensation Plan
You’ll need to outline a “Total Compensation Plan” when hiring employees. This is the salary you offer, plus additional benefits like health benefits, union perks, employer-provided discounts, and schedules for raises.
Your compensation plan is integral to attracting the right candidate for the job. If you want suitably qualified individuals on board, you must make your offer attractive enough for them to take you seriously. An excellent compensation plan also motivates them to exceed goals and perform to the best of their ability.
If you want top talent, you need a competitive compensation plan.
4. Finding the Right Candidates
Recruiting has a lot in common with marketing in that your company promotes itself and employment opportunities to potential hires.
You need to sniff out your potential markets and target them specifically. For instance, if you’re looking for a writer, use a writer’s job board for advertising. Local colleges or universities are also great places for networking to find new talent.
One of the few positives about Covid is that it’s now possible for most employers to hire staff from anywhere in the world. Covid-19 opened up a whole new world of hiring employees such as remote workers, making it easier for employers to find the perfect person for the job. Recruiting now has a novel approach.
5. Screening Potential Employees
Identifying the minimum requirements and pre-employment screening are essential in rooting out unsuitable candidates. As the employer, you have the right to conduct one or more of the following screens:
- Criminal history screenings
- Public records screenings
- SSN (Social Security Number) tracing
- Verifications and credentials screenings
- Controlled substance screenings
- Pre-employment assessments
You should also check any references and look at the candidate’s profiles on social media platforms when hiring employees. If the potential hire passes all of your screening tests, you may decide to move forward with an interview.
6. Conducting Interviews
Try a different approach when hiring employees to avoid the common pitfalls of the interview.
Avoid the standard job interview
Instead of conducting the meeting in your office with the usual questions, take your candidate out to lunch, or run a tour around the business premises while asking questions. This will allow you to see how the potential hire reacts to and treats others.
Anyone can be on their best behavior in the office, but you are more likely to see their real personality in a different setting.
If they are respectful to everyone regardless of station, you know they’ll be good team players. If they are arrogant, dismissive of others, or inconsiderate, you will learn to avoid hiring them.
Of course, if you’re interviewing and hiring employees remotely, you won’t be able to do this.
Ask unusual questions
Candidates expect the usual questions like: Where do you see yourself in five years?’
Throw some curveballs, and ask questions like:
‘What qualities do you most admire in your parents?’ or
‘If you could be an animal, what would it be, and why?’
These answers can give you a lot of insight into an applicant’s personality and whether or not they’d be a good fit.
Questions like: ‘What is the biggest misperception people have about you?’ indicate the candidate’s self-awareness and honesty.
Checklist for hiring employees
To evaluate potential hires accurately, it’s a great idea to have a checklist.
- Does the candidate know what the job is about?
- Do they give clear, straight answers to straightforward questions?
- Do they have a track record of achievement?
- Are they aligned with your company’s values?
- Is your gut feeling good?
- Are you sold, or just settling for what you can get?
- Is the candidate confident or arrogant?
Your Approach to Differences
Consider the applicant’s social, cultural, educational, and professional background when hiring.
Evaluating someone by their behavior only makes sense if you come from the same cultural background. Different cultures respond in different ways. As a recruiter, you must guard against discrimination due to a lack of cultural knowledge.
It is not okay to reject an applicant because of cultural differences. Social differences can mean that the candidate has different ideas as to what’s polite than you do. You need to consider that and not let prejudice affect your hiring decision.
You don’t want to miss out on the best person for the job because of a difference in social standing.
Tips On Hiring Employees
There are certain qualities that a prospective employer should look for in a potential hire. Here are ten indicators of a good employment:
- Long-term potential – Staff turnover can be costly, given the investment in training new staff. Companies don’t want employees without the potential to be long-term hires.
- Passion and enthusiasm – A candidate’s passion and enthusiasm should shine through during the interview. Employees who love their jobs often stay at companies longer than those just after the money.
- Results-driven – You should look for commitment characteristics and longevity in an interviewee’s CV. Candidates with degrees or certifications indicate a love of learning and a passion for professional growth.
- Putting skills to action – Requesting a test task so the candidate can prove their abilities are acceptable. Self-motivated interviewees are active in company efforts and put in a little extra to succeed in the business.
- A good fit for the work culture – Assess the candidate’s KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) to perform the necessary duties and envision how they would fit into the company culture.
- Ambition – You want someone who goes above and beyond. Ambitious hires try to do their best and often use their initiative to improve their work quality and efficiency.
- Team player – In every company, there are times when staff members have to work together and cooperate. Hosting a group interview is acceptable to ascertain how well the interviewee interacts with others.
- Giving credit where it’s due – Honesty and integrity are essential character traits. Candidates who share credit by appreciating colleagues that helped them gain results will strengthen the group and individual morale.
- Responsiveness – It shows respect when a candidate is responsive during an interview. A polite person will stand out and will interact with colleagues and clients. You will get better business results if you hire courteous staff.
- Gut feeling – What is your gut telling you about this candidate? Don’t ignore your instincts. Don’t hire that candidate if you don’t feel right about something. It’s easier to carry on searching for talent than hire the wrong person.
Look Out for Common Pitfalls
There’s no way to avoid all hiring mistakes, but there are warning signs to watch for. We’ve highlighted some of these below.
- Turning up late – First impressions are everything, so if the interviewee arrives late, it can indicate that they have a problem with time management or aren’t committed to the job.
- Job hopping – If job hopping is ongoing throughout their work history, it can indicate problems with commitment. The odds are they will leave your company reasonably soon if this is their established pattern.
- Arrogance – Confidence is acceptable; arrogance is not. There’s a thin line between the two. Boasting and being sure of your abilities are not the same thing.
- A lack of knowledge about the company or role – If the candidate has not prepared for the interview, that shows a lack of care for the job.
- Failure in acknowledging weaknesses – Everybody has flaws, and failing to recognize them can indicate a lack of insight or honesty.
- Dodging questions – This could either mean that the candidate doesn’t have the right skills or hasn’t prepared for the interview. Either way, it’s a no-go.
- The candidate is a poor listener – Although nerves can be a factor, constant fidgeting or not paying attention to the interviewer can be a sign of boredom.
- They launch into questions about the salary – If money is the main factor, they may want to use this job as a stepping stone to a better-paying job.
- Applying for multiple roles in your company – Does this candidate want to work at your company, or are they desperate for any job? We suspect the latter.
- Bad-mouthing a past employer or colleague – You don’t want anyone who will cause conflict in your company. In addition, bad-mouthing previous employers or former colleagues is highly unprofessional.
You should also look out for bad references and a lack of enthusiasm in a candidate when interviewing.
Legal Safeguards & Vetting Employees
Before hiring an employee, you will need an EIN (Employer Identification Number), which the IRS will issue, and a state tax ID if your state requires it. An EIN is much like your Social Security number (SSN) but for tax purposes, and the IRS will issue it at no cost if you apply online.
You can use your EIN instead of your SSN for taxes if you’re a sole proprietor or partnership. Otherwise, you can form an LLP, LLC, or other legal entity. However, you can get the tax ID in your company name instead of your own.
Although you’re not legally required to form a legal entity to hire employees, it could be helpful. An LLC is the simplest entity you can create, either as a single owner or with partners, and it separates your assets and liabilities from those of your company.
This lets you separate your assets from the business, like your home or personal savings. The best way forward is to consult a legal advisor to determine the correct business structure for your circumstances.
Legal advice can also ensure you comply with your state’s requirements, like unemployment insurance, general liability and workers’ compensation. This will depend on what business you are running.
Final Thoughts
After going through our guide, you should have a much better understanding of how to go about the hiring process. It may have seemed overwhelming initially, but there’s no need to stress about it. Applying even a handful of the tips above can make all the difference.