Hiring Tips for the Small Business Owner

One of the major challenges that come with running a small business is hiring people. Whether the business is a start up or had been operating for some time, a good recruitment system ensures that your business is in good hands. Having the right employees is a necessity – they take care of the business finances, they handle clients, and they manage the company’s goods and services.

Still, we see too many business owners hiring the wrong person or making a bad decision on the recruitment process. This bad decision is a cause of an ineffective hiring programme. Failure to market the job opening effectively, error in the screening process and mishandling of the interview can contribute to choosing the wrong person for the job.

If you had hired someone before, whatever the results, make sure to improve on that experience. To help you with your hiring process, consider the following guide:

Make a detailed description of the job you are going to fill. Make a clear description of the roles and responsibilities of the person who will fill that vacancy. This will also include the salary range for the position.
Make a clear description you are looking for. Along with a job description make a summary of the qualification of a person you are looking for – are you looking for worker based near your area? Are you looking for a worker with experience in the business? A person specification includes: work experience, skills, and attitude.
Advertise your vacancy. You have many options to do this – tri-media (TV, print and radio), an internal memo for internal applicants, an advert at the local job centre, and the use of the World Wide Web. There are many free job-posting sites on the Internet some of them have area-based focus. Many applicants now rely more in online job searches. The local universities or colleges are also a great channel to advertise your vacancy.
Sell your company. Make it worthwhile for applicants to apply with your company. There are other firms looking to hire the best people available in the labour market. Emphasize your strengths or think of a good job package. There are advantage in working with a small firm (the person gets hired right away, casual and less stressful working environment, and the opportunity to grow with the business). You can also consider offering a personalised incentive scheme such as if they help make the business grow they get a bonus.
Use your network. A manager’s best option for discovering workers usually is through his current connections. Ask for referrals from your friends, industry colleagues and advisers, such as your accountant, attorney, board members and organisation members. If one of your advisers or colleagues recommends somebody, they’ve done some of your employee screening work already. New businesses usually get their first workers this way.
Applicant selection. Preparing a pre-form application form and have candidates fill this up. This allows you to reduce the applicants based on criteria you are looking for. Candidates who do not possess the minimum requirement s should be set aside.
Conducting Interviews. Prepare a set of questions you will be asking during the interview. The questions should be not necessarily be related to the job but will help you assess the character and qualifications of the candidates. You may include another employee or a supervisor to help you with the interview process. Be sure to make a record of the candidate’s responses.
Short-listing candidates. Draw up a short list of candidates you consider fit for the position. Do backgrounds check on each individual and verify if the information they provided in their resumes and during interview are factual. If you are in a fix between two or more candidates try giving them a job –related test.
Selection. Select the individual you consider as the fittest for the post. It’s best to give greater priority to attitude over skill. Skill can be acquired on the job or through trainings while attitude is harder to change.
All contenders must know the results. Make an effort everyone what the results are. Look at this as a public relations opportunity for your business. This will encourage people to apply with the company in future hiring. Keep all files on the hiring process for future reference. Some of the rejected candidates might be good choice for future vacancies.
Formalising the offer. Make a formal job offer to the selected individual. Make a verbal offer first before presenting one in written form. The offer should spell out the terms of employment, salary details, healthcare, pension, etc.
Employee records and payroll. Set up a personnel dossier for the candidate, awaiting his/her acceptance of your offer. Make sure that the candidate is part of the payroll upon her assumption of the post.
Introduction and orientation. Make a simple welcome programme for the new employee to introduce him to the company. Arrange an orientation so that he/she gets to know the company better.