Taking on New Staff: The Basics

If you’re running a successful business, chances are, you’re looking at growing and expanding. The bigger your company is, the more demand it can fulfill and, ultimately, the more money you can make. But bringing on staff isn’t always the easiest of tasks. There are countless areas of focus in this process that will require your attention before you’re able to advertise a position and find the right person to fill the seat. Here’s some information that will help to guide this journey.

What Position Are You Looking to Fill?

Start this journey out by deciding what position you need to fill. What is is that your company is lacking that you need to be provided in order to thrive? Are you in need of a full time product photographer to take images of new ranges? Do you need an email campaigns manager to work on your mailing list? Are you seeking a customer support agent who can respond to customer queries and complaints? Whatever it is, make sure that you’re clear on the job title and then focus on the job role. What are you going to be expecting from this individual? What tasks will they need to complete? Knowing what you’re actually looking for will make the entire process a lot simpler. All too many businesses hire someone, not really knowing what they’re looking for, only to find that they’ve got someone on board who isn’t going to actually complete the tasks that need to be completed. It’s much easier to hire right the first time around than to hire wrong, make staff redundant and re-recruit for the position you actually need.

Who Are You Looking For?

Of course, it’s all good and well knowing what role you need to fill, but you also need to know what kind of individual you want to fill this role. Different people bring different things to the table and you need to make sure you know what you’re prioritising. What education or qualifications are you looking for from the right candidate? How many years of experience are you planning on them having? Do you want a seasoned professional (who will cost more in salary and benefits) or are you happy to take on a new starter (who will be lower cost but may require training up)? Personality, attitude and character play a big role in how well someone will serve your business too. Do you want someone serious, confident and driven who will push results? Do you want someone lighthearted and enjoyable to be around who will make your workplace a nicer place to spend time in? Think carefully about your ideal candidate before taking any further steps. This will help to make the recruitment process a lot more streamlined.

Recruiting

The recruitment process can take some time. It also takes a lot of time and effort. This is why many companies decide to outsource this process to a recruitment agency. These agencies tend to have a lot of candidates on their books already and can reach out to find the right ones to fill your roles. Provide a job description and a salary bracket. This will reduce wasted time spent interviewing people who are already earning more than you’re able to offer. You can then interview potential candidates and whittle down your options until you find the right person for the job.

Contracts

Of course, you’re going to have to come up with a contract for the new recruit. Most businesses will use their HR department or a legal professional to do this. Alternatively, you can try it yourself by using templates specific to the role you’re recruiting for, such as a software developer employment contract template. Just make sure to check and double check the entire contract to ensure that all of the details are correct and applicable to your agreement. Then ensure that both parties sign and date the contract accordingly.

Onboarding and Training

It’s all good and well hiring someone, but you can’t just drop them into your company and expect them to start working at full capacity from the get go. Instead, you’re going to have to go through an onboarding and training process that will familiarise them with your company, its processes, your expectations of them and how to use and work anything that they are unfamiliar with. Introductions to other team members they are going to be working with are important too.

Sure, this is a more simplified run through of the process of taking on new staff, but it should help you to get the process started sooner rather than later!