Everything You Need to Know About Taking on Staff

what to know taking on staff

Becoming an employer is a huge commitment that many business owners will put off through outsourcing or working alongside freelance contractors and self-employed specialists. But as your business expands, there will come a time that it proves more beneficial for you to curate an in-house team than to continue passing off work to third parties. But this decision isn’t to be taken lightly. There are a few things that you need to know before beginning the complex process of taking on a staff base of your own. Here are some essential steps to take before signing any employee contracts to ensure that you are not only capable of putting a brilliant team together, but also to make sure your workers continue to perform to their utmost as time goes on. 

How Many Staff Are Necessary? 

You will know when you need to take on staff, as you will be struggling with your workload and just about making deadlines. As soon as you find that demand for your products or services begins to outweigh your means of production, start looking at bringing in some help. If you are stubborn and wait for too long, you will start to fall behind on deadlines or sacrifice product or service quality in order to deliver on time. This will reflect badly on your brand, discouraging customers from returning and potentially resulting in negative reviews and few recommendations. While many employers will attempt to find a Jack of all trades to complete as many tasks as possible, it is important to bear in mind how the saying ends: Jack of all trades, master of none. 

You want the work that your staff carry out to be of the utmost quality. So rather than skimping out and weighing a huge workload on one individual who couldn’t possibly deliver perfection on all fronts, take on multiple staff members to focus on different areas and specialisms. You can always start small and expand further as necessary. 

Advertising Positions 

Once you have settled on how many staff you need and the roles that they need to fulfill, it’s time to start advertising your vacancy. There are various ways to do this. If you have a brick and mortar store, you can simply put up an advert for the vacancy in your store front. Alternatively, you can advertise online on job sites or make use of a recruitment agency who will have numerous potential candidates already on file in their extensive records. As time goes by and your number of employees grows, you can also start to recruit internally, offering higher paid positions to individuals already within the company before taking them to the public. This increases staff loyalty, as potential progression in the company will encourage staff to stay on for longer periods of time. It also frees up the lower paid position for new members of staff who can then be trained in the company’s basics before progressing themselves.

Screening Applicants 

Competition in the job market today is tough, as ideal positions are scarce and increasing numbers of people are finding themselves achieving qualifications while jobs aren’t being freed up as regularly, as the standard age of retirement decreases. This will mean that many young people will or unemployed individuals will clasp at straws and apply for any position that is remotely linked to their interests and areas of specialism. So it is important that you don’t accept the first candidate to hand their resume over. Choosing the right individual for the job can be a drawn out process, but it will be worth the investment of your time in the end, as you will eventually find the perfect person for the role. First things first, you will want to meet your applicants. If you have had an influx of resumes, scour through them and pick your favorites out. Invite these individuals to an interview, so you can check that they are as impressive in person as they are on paper. Remember that it is simple for someone to get a more experienced individual to write their behalf, but much harder for someone to fake their way through a face-to-face interview. When you believe that you’ve found a potential candidate who may perfectly fill the position, you can make use of employment screening. This will involve a background check and can even incorporate drugs screening. This will ensure that you have a full picture of the person you may be taking on to represent your company and brand. 

Implementing Effective Training 

Before setting anyone off to work, it’s important that you ensure that they are not being thrown into the deep end. You should offer complete training for anyone taking on a new position, whether they have previous experience or not. This will ensure that they are familiar with your company’s protocol, ethics, practices and what is expected of them within their role. This will ensure that they know what they are supposed to be doing at all times. If they are comfortable at the workplace and in their position, they are bound to be more productive and hardworking. Also offer training to existing staff members, as this will ensure that they are up to date with the latest sales techniques that you want them to use and have a good working knowledge of the marketplace that they are catering to. 

Enforce Team Building Activities 

Team building activities may make people feel awkward at first, but employees will gradually open up and engage with one another through them. This helps to build a strong team who can count on one another, aiding each other when problems arise and sharing creativity and effective workplace techniques with one another. The stronger your team, the more impressive the standard of work that they produce will be. 

Conclusion

By following these steps you will accrue loyal, hardworking members of staff who you can rely on. Remember, these individuals will be the backbone of your business, engaging with customers and rooting your company’s reputation as brilliant in its field.



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I hope you enjoyed this article about being a proficient boss and planning appropriately to take on new employees.

Interested in more articles about employee management?

Read My Posts:

- Managing Employees In High Risk Industries 

- The Importance Of The Human Resources Department

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