When you start your own small business, you will probably run it as a one-man-show… until you can’t anymore. Many small business owners reach a point where they feel like they can’t handle it all on their own anymore and they need some help to lighten the load.
If this happens to you, it is a good sign! Needing extra hands means that your business is growing and expanding into something bigger that requires a team to take care of it. Congratulations!
That being said, the prospect of needing to hire employees can be pretty daunting for small business owners and first-time employers. Before you get started, here are four things to consider.
Understand Your Business Needs
First of all, don’t just jump right in and hire a personal assistant (or whichever role seems “fitting” for a small business). Take some time to really assess your business, where you are struggling, what you need to grow, and the type of staff you need to fill those gaps.
The extra help you need will depend heavily on the type of business you are running, where your own skills and expertise lie, and where there seem to be gaps in your systems. Perform an analysis and do some extra research online before you decide on the exact type of person or people you need and start writing out job descriptions and requirements.
Legal And Regulatory Considerations
When it comes to hiring staff, you’re bringing a lot of legal and regulatory factors to the board. This might sound overwhelming, but working with a good employment attorney will help make the process simple and manageable, as well as easy to understand. Get in touch with a good law firm like at HKM.com to help you connect with the ideal lawyer for you.
Making sure that you’re complying with any regulations in your area and industry is important, not just when it comes to staff, but your business overall.
Know Your Budget
Before you can even think about hiring on extra help, you need to know what you can afford to pay. Paying a fair wage is important, even when you are running a small business, so make sure you budget carefully for new staff and that you are aware of industry standards when it comes to salary, offering benefits, time off, etc.
There is no use in trying to hire roles that you simply can’t afford, so you might need to rethink your strategy if this is the case. Look into freelancers, contract work, internships, and other possibilities if you need to.
Recruitment And Interviewing Process
Finally, once you know who and what you are looking for, you will need to plan and design a recruitment process that will work for you. Even as a small business, you need to have set systems in place so that your processes run smoothly.
Decide on how you will source potential candidates, how you will review them, how the interview process will look, etc. Have the details in place before you start looking so that the whole process is efficient for both parties.
