Most successful businesses eventually need to hire staff. For small, young companies, this can be a trial by fire. It’s easy to miss little things that can lead to big problems when you’re starting out. The weight of responsibility for employees is very high and has a lot of requirements. Making it easy to fall into legal problems or other issues. This post will take you through some of the things you need to consider before hiring staff.
Contracts
In most places, permanent work requires a contract for it to be legal. And even if it isn’t a legal requirement in your area, it’s a good idea to have them anyway. A contract between an employer and an employee shows an understanding. It also lays down strict rules that both you and the staff member must follow. This is helpful if anything ever comes to court. Being able to prove the agreement you had can only do you good.
You can use an online generator to build a contract for you, but this isn’t advised. It’s much better to fork out the dough, and have a professional write it up for you. Thankfully, this isn’t a hugely expensive option so that most companies can do it. This will give you a lot more freedom to stipulate policies, and also make sure that the contract is sound.
Health And Safety
Anywhere that your staff work has to be safe. If you’re employees are injured at work, and it’s your fault, you can get into a lot of trouble. Any potential safety risk must be eliminated, and observation should be ongoing. It is wise to train yourself and your staff to be responsible for health and safety. You’re probably required by law to have a first aider onsite.
Using something like Ellis Whittam’s Health and Safety Service, you can meet compliance needs for your area with ease. These companies will assess your business, as well as its staff and training. They will determine exactly what you need to do to get your staff safe and can help to maintain it through regular audits. If you start thinking about this before hiring anyone, you’ll always be ahead of problems.
Affordability
You have to ask yourself quite a serious question. With all of the fees that come with staff, can my new business afford them? It’s not a simple case of paying their wage; there are a lot of other costs. If your business requires at least one staff member at all times, then you’ll need to hire two incase one of them can’t make it to work. You also need to factor in the extra costs of power and water, for the new staff members. And, lastly, the recruitment costs.
It’s important to make sure that you’re earning enough every month over a long period, before hiring. If you have a couple of good months, and hire someone on the back of that, you risk having down months. This would make it impossible to pay the staff.
Recruitment Strategy
When it comes to recruitment, you have a couple of choices; either do it yourself or hire a company to do it for you. Both sides have their merits, although it is advised that you use a professional.
If you decide to do it alone, you’ll need to write up a detailed and accurate job description. Once you’ve got that sorted, put it on as many recruitment sites as you can find. Now, for the most part, it’s a matter of waiting. But, you can also do some searching of your own. Ask friends and family to reach out and help you find staff, and look on websites aimed at employers looking for staff. Social media like LinkedIn is great for finding specialized staff if that’s what you require.
Using a recruitment agency will cost you money. But, you’ll know in advance how much it will cost. Most companies like this will only charge you for successful leads; which, in your case, would be anyone who passed your interview.
Once you’re setup with an agency or you’ve got an advert online, you’ll need to prepare for interviews. You can do whatever you want with this, but it’s worth looking up some standard questions online. Be aware; it’s easy to hire someone, just because you like them. Make sure that they are a genuinely good fit for your company.
You should be at least a few steps closer to hiring your own staff, now. Just remember to do plenty of research and always comply with the law in your area. Professional guidance through these events is highly recommended, but you can also use technology to help you recruit the right person.
