Recruiting and Hiring for Your Business

Business owners who are considering hiring workers should first determine what kind of help they need and can afford. Once that determination is made, then the best means of recruiting and selecting among candidates while following legally proper guidelines can be chosen.

Hiring someone to work for you is one of the biggest decisions a small business owner can make. While the necessity to hire help is often an indication of the success and expansion of a business, it is nonetheless still a decision not to be made lightly. Hiring someone to work for you means an investment of time, money, training, and trust. Hiring correctly means that your business can move forward much faster than ever before. On the other hand, a wrong hiring decision can cause serious damage to your business and bring stress to your life.

Due to the importance of this decision, you should give consideration to the following factors as you determine whom, if anyone, to hire:

• Do you need an employee and what type? Before you go about finding someone to work for you in any capacity, be certain that you'll need the extra help for the foreseeable future. You may be able to meet your needs without going to the time and expense of hiring an employee or other worker by working with independent contractors, temporary help, leased employees, or family members.
• If you hire employees, what legal responsibilities will you be exposed to? Hiring the first employee is a big step — at a minimum you'll have to do payroll, withhold taxes, and supervise the person. In many cases you'll become subject to additional laws as you hire more people
• What do you need your employee to do? Once you've figured out which staffing solution works best for you, determine as exactly as possible what tasks you want done. Using job descriptions can be helpful.
• How will you publicize your job opening? Once you've determined what you need done and what type of worker you want, you will have to figure out how to advertise the position and the best way to attract qualified applicants.
• How do you gather information from applicants? Will you require that applicants complete applications, or will you accept resumes? Will you want to test applicants?
• Interviewing candidates. Once you've collected the pertinent information, you will have to prepare to interview, including understanding what to ask, and perhaps even more importantly, what not to ask.
• Will you conduct background checks and if so, what type? To protect your business and avoid negligent hiring claims, you should make sure to thoroughly check references, credentials, and depending on the position and the type of business you are in, conduct a background check involving driving records, credit or criminal history. Some business owners are legally required to do background checks on applicants.
• You've made a decision, and it's time to make the job offer. A step that is often neglected, there are better ways than others to offer your best candidate the position.