Ten crucial steps for hiring quality employees
Even if you are happy running your small business by yourself, there will come a time when you need to hire employees to help manage the load.
As your business expands and enjoys success in your industry, you might find that you have too much to do, which can affect the quality of your service and upset previously loyal clients and customers.
You cannot hire anyone off the street, though. You must find someone who will share your vision and do everything to help your company thrive. To achieve this, you need to find high-quality employees. So, how can a small business achieve this?
Define your needs
Before doing anything, you need to work out your needs for an employee.
Some businesses will need their employee to take on a range of roles, whereas others may need someone who can handle a small amount of extra work or a specific department, such as marketing or accounting.
By defining your needs, you can start searching for someone with the right qualifications. Alternatively, you may feel better offering an opportunity for a younger employee looking to gain valuable career experience.
The more well defined your needs, the easier it will be to narrow down expectations and requirements, making it easier to identify the perfect person for the job.
A clearly defined job description
Writing a job description is never easy, but there has been significant discussion about terrible job descriptions. Too many of these postings are vague, whether purposely or not, which can put potential candidates off applying.
Your job description should outline the precise role and responsibilities as well as expectations and - if necessary - qualifications and education requirements. Furthermore, highlight the salary and whether this is yearly or hourly.
Posting the job advert on a range of popular job platforms, including Indeed and Monster, will also broaden your scope of applicants to garner more interest. For smaller local businesses, posting adverts in your shop can also be effective.
Freelance or permanent?
Although many businesses may prefer to have an employee in-house at all times, this is not always necessary depending on what you need from the hire.
Your retail business may be capable of handling daily customers, but there could be other elements, such as marketing, that require assistance.
In cases like this, it may be better to hire freelance employees to carry out the work for you. This means you don’t need to pay them consistently, even when they are not doing any work.
You can make use of their service as and when you need it and get the results you want. However, some businesses will require shop assistants, servers, or even managers to take over your responsibilities.
Understand your ideal employee
Your interview process will introduce you to a range of potential employees with specific talents that could benefit your business.
However, their talents on paper may not translate well to real-life situations, so it’s worth understanding what you want from an ideal employee.
This goes back to what you need from your hire. If you want to grow as a business, an experienced retail employee can help.
If you need an extra pair of hands to handle weekend demand, qualifications and experience are not always as vital. Instead, a bubbly personality and a can-do attitude can be more effective in promoting business growth.
Background checks
After deciding who you want to employ following interviews, it is always worth carrying out a background check to make sure they have not tried to hide anything from you. There is a range of UK background check services available, and many are done within days of making a request.
These checks give you the chance to find out about any criminal activity, but even discovering this does not mean you shouldn’t hire them.
You may want to give someone a second chance, but at least you know about their history. In most cases, background checks will come up completely clean, and for many businesses, it is nothing more than a formality.
An excellent onboarding process
So what is onboarding? Onboarding is the process where you bring your employee into the business and give them a chance to get to know the business and feel comfortable. This process can be beneficial for you and your employee as well as any other employees you have already.
While not technically a workday, you can take the time to introduce the new hire to other people and show them the ropes. You can outline a typical day or go into further detail that you were unable to during the interview.
Although this has not always been the norm for businesses, especially smaller businesses that don’t have the time or resources, it has become more popular, and many employers consider it an essential part of the hiring process.
Prepare for their first day
You should put things in place to prepare yourself and your business for your employees’ first day. This involves covering the essentials, such as providing a uniform (if necessary) and setting up computer accounts that will allow them to log on to your systems immediately.
You don’t want to waste time during the first few hours of their workday by organising everything you could have done the day before, so this allows them to hit the ground running and give them a taste of what their role will entail.
On the job training
Although onboarding and pre-start preparation are useful, you will never be able to offer the full training experience, so on-the-job training may be essential.
You can teach your employee how to use the payment systems and make orders, but there could be returns or even awkward customers who throw spanners into the works.
Rather than get frustrated, treat this as a learning experience. The sooner your employee is exposed to different (and even complicated) tasks, the more confident they will feel, and they should be able to work without asking for your assistance eventually.
Pay and benefits
The modern employee expects livable pay and attractive benefits. Therefore, understanding the most desirable employee benefits and establishing a respectful pay rate will avoid common problems and increase the chances of your employee being happy at their new job.
Different industries dictate different benefits. Retail employees won’t be able to enjoy remote working opportunities, but they could take advantage of in-store discounts and even flexible hours within reason.
Many businesses currently offer the employees’ birthday off, too. You can establish these benefits and expectations early on so that they know where they stand.
However, before you grant your new hire the pay and benefits of the job, you want to ensure that you have made the right choice for your company.
This is where a probation period is helpful. A probation period gives the employee and employer time to ensure that both parties are perfect for each other. This may mean new employees would not have access to various benefits until a given period. Communicate this policy to your new hires to ensure clarity from the beginning.
Growth opportunities
Professional growth is something employees look for when searching for a job. They want to know they are not getting into a dead-end career with little chance of progression, so consider how you can provide growth opportunities.
Such opportunities could come from training for manager positions or an expectation that they will head a store if you want to open your business in another location.
Even minor professions, such as vital experience in a new industry, can be attractive, but you shouldn't rely on this solely. If you can give them an idea of what they could become working for you, the chances of finding quality employees will increase.
Hired
The hiring process can be tricky. You don’t want to hire someone who is not right for your company, but you may not realise this until it is too late.
By considering these crucial steps, you can identify a quality employee you can trust to carry out their responsibilities and help your company grow.
