Hiring the right employees for your small business

If you are a small business owner who is looking to hire employees there are certain factors that you need to consider before doing so. If you are hiring an employee that means that your business is moving on to new and exciting phase and is becoming larger and more profitable so hiring the right employees is crucial for continued growth.

Here is what you need to know about how to hire the right employees for your small business-

• Do not begin hiring to quickly. You want to be sure that you need more employees (or an employee if you are very new). Remember that many small, service-oriented companies can get by perfectly well on the efforts of the owner alone. The bottom line is that if your business plan does not call for growth, and you are perfectly content with your business the way it is, there may be no need to hire your first employee or employees.
  
• Change the way you think-Many owners of small businesses can not effectively delegate responsibility, because they think of the company as their baby. Keep in mind that if you want to grow, you have to understand that you will not be able to enjoy complete control over the business in the same way that you used to. You will need to reorient your thinking to embrace the prospect of outside help.
  
• Define a compensation strategy before beginning the hiring process-You will need to look closely at your cash flow to decide whether you can pay a regular, full-time employee on an ongoing basis. If you feel that you will be unable to sustain the needed cash flow for a full-time employee you may need to consider temporary, part-time or contract help.
  
• Clearly define the job role by writing a job description-You should define specific and limited tasks and responsibilities for the position before the process of hiring begins. You will also need to be realistic in your assessment of what a new employee can or should do. Remember that your employee will not feel the same sense of ownership that you do.
  

• Advertise the position-You will want to make sure that you post your help wanted ad in the right location. You will want to be able to attract the right kind of candidate that will fit with your company, personality and working style as well as someone with the qualifications that you need.
  
• Always follow the law-You need to be sure to take this opportunity to file all the forms required by the IRS as well as federal and local government.
  
• Do not overlook the process of interviewing-You will want to get in touch with your prospects and invite them to interview. This is one of the most important stages in hiring your first employee. Remember that this is the first time that you are having an interactive conversation with a potential worker.
  

There are three sub-stages of an interview:

1. The phone interview-Before arranging a sit-down meeting you can spend 10 to 30 minutes speaking with the interviewee. Remember that your goal is not to make a decision, but to eliminate the possibility that you have no chemistry with the prospect and to ensure that your potential hire is still interested.
   
2. The sit-down interview-After the interviewee has passed the phone test, it is now time to meet face-to-face. This is your chance to evaluate the prospect's professionalism in dress, communication style and preparedness. In addition it is also the job seekers chance to discuss previous experience and qualifications for the job in-depth. After the interview, you should always check references to determine how well the person did at previous jobs and the reasons for leaving those positions.
   
3. The follow-up interview-You can use this as time to run a background check and then ask for another interview with a different focus or both.

Once you have completed these steps and found the right employee for your small business make that offer and get that right employee working for you!