When you first start out in business, chances are you’ll run everything yourself. Few small business owners have the funds when they first start out to bring in professional help. But as you begin to make sales and generate profits, it may be time to start considering taking on a few staff.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know about the process.
Different Types of Staff
If you’ve decided that it’s time to take on staff, it’s important to be aware that there are a number of different types of staff out there. Here are a few for you to take into consideration.
1. Employees
The first and most common type of staff member to take on is an employee. When you hire someone as an employee, they’ll become a relatively permanent person within your company.
You will need to take responsibility for them and offer them a number of perks, but this is more than worth it when you have someone who will dedicate all of their working hours to your company and your company only.
When you hire an employee, you will need to provide them with contracted hours and contracted pay.
They will also gain a number of legal rights.
You need to ensure that you’re at least paying them the minimum wage set by your government.
You also need to ensure they have fair working hours, paid annual leave, an entitlement to sick pay at some point down the line and other basic employment rights.
Of course, when you take on an employee, you’re going to want to make sure that you take on the right person for the job first time round.
This involves finding someone qualified and competent in their field as well as ensuring they are a good fit for your team.
Someone can be the most qualified and competent individual in the world, but if they stir up problems and clash with you or existing team members, things are going to get pretty difficult pretty quickly.
2. Contractors
Employees are great for jobs that you know you’re going to need ongoing support with and that you will constantly need covered. But if you find that you have some short term work or projects that you need help with, you might be better off hiring a contractor instead.
Contractors are professionals who will come into your workplace and act in a similar way to an employee, but they will be aware that they are there to complete a set job and will only be around until that job is finished and wrapped up. Then they will leave to complete projects for other companies they may have agreements with.
You don’t have to take on too much responsibility for contractors. They don’t need paid annual leave or other perks.
You also don’t have to provide them with ongoing work.
Of course, contractors tend to charge more for their services than people doing the same job in an employed position. This is due to the lack of stability or perks that they receive.
3. Freelancers
Freelancers are relatively similar to contractors in levels of responsibility. But these individuals will generally complete one off projects that can be completed pretty quickly.
Say you need a website created, a blog post for a landmark event within the company written up, or a logo designed, but you don’t need constant work on your webpage, a permanent writer, or a permanent graphic designer.
A freelancer can complete these one-off projects, they will invoice and then that job is ticked off your list!
Advertising Positions Effectively
Once you know what kind of staff member you’re looking for, it’s time to start advertising the available positions. This will let people who are searching for work see the potential opportunity and apply.
There are a number of ways to go about advertising, but perhaps the most effective is to advertise on a job site. People check these daily and can apply directly to you. They tend to be free or cheap to use, which is an extra perk too.
If you don’t have the free time to sift through applications and determine who will best suit the role, you can save yourself time and effort by using a recruitment agency instead. Recruitment agencies often have plenty of potential staff members already on their books, or will be able to recruit quickly with their experience and expertise. Of course, you’ll have to pay for this service, but it can see you land a great staff member quickly with minimal fuss.
Conducting Interviews
When the resumes start piling in or the recruitment agency gets in touch to say they have some potential candidates, you’re going to have to start conducting interviews. This gives you a chance to meet the people who are interested in working for you and determine whether they’re right for the role.
Practice interview technique for interviewing managers and any other roles you’re looking to fill. This will help you to find out as much as possible about the individual.
Making Offers and Rejections
Once you’ve managed to interview all of your potential candidates, it’s time to start whittling down your options and you’re going to eventually have to decide who you’re taking on. Once you know, it’s time to offer them the position. This is pretty straightforward.
You simply need to get in touch offering them the position, detailing your offer (salary, working hours, perks, etc) and wait for their response. Generally, they will accept. If not, you can then offer the role to your next favourite candidate.
Remember to notify people who have been unsuccessful in their application too. You don’t want to leave them waiting around for a response and not knowing whether to accept other offers they may have been given in anticipation.
Be sincere with your communication and thank them for their time.
Of course, the process of recruiting new staff is bound to be complex and may take a little time. But when you find the right help, your investment will be more than worth it.
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Is it time for your small business to start taking on staff? What type of staff member will you take on and how will you recruit them?
