What is the Process of taking on new Employees?
Recruiting your initial staff member is a vital move for any small business proprietor, thus it's essential to ensure all aspects are handled correctly. This process also involves several legal and pragmatic factors, which we will delve into in this piece.
Your first employee will have a big impact on your company's future success, as well as its culture and values. It's important to hire the right person the first time for a small business because mistakes can be costly. Make sure you choose wisely to avoid errors and financial setbacks.
But how precisely do you outline the duties and work obligations of your initial employee? How can you determine which abilities you should be searching for? And how can you evaluate them impartially and without prejudice?
In this piece, we'll discuss all these topics - and beyond. In this section, you'll discover everything necessary regarding:
- What is involved with taking on a new employee
- When to recruit your initial staff member
- The ideal structure of your recruitment procedure and hiring process
- Determining the most crucial skills to acquire
- Methods for assessing and contrasting applicants
- Expenses associated with employing a staff member (apart from wages)
When is the right time to recruit your first employee?
If you've been running your business alone for a while, you're likely used to handling many tasks. But, you can't be an expert in everything. Eventually, you'll have to begin assigning some of your tasks to another person for the purpose of:
- Expand your enterprise without confining yourself to only what you can do.
- Steer clear of exhausting yourself and reaching burnout
- Obtain professional assistance for particular tasks
- Allocate sufficient time and effort to begin contemplating expansion
Hiring a freelancer can be helpful for a short period of time. However, in the long run, you may need to find someone who is fully committed to your business success. This individual should be capable of collaborating with you on a full-time basis.
Nonetheless, how can you ascertain the appropriate time to hire an individual?
Here are some unmistakable indications that your business will gain from employing your first employee:
- You possess a distinct vision for your business expansion but you just lack the bandwidth to investigate the various growth prospects you're observing.
- You're beginning to reject assignments that would typically be an excellent match.
- Your ability to deliver the previous level of customer service has diminished - and your clients are beginning to observe this.
- You're lagging in administrative tasks or accounting and it's continually causing you stress.
- The financial condition of your business is steady and you have a clear understanding of your future quarters' revenue sources and potential variations you may anticipate.
- You might benefit from the assistance of an individual possessing a unique skill set that contrasts with your own.
- You observe that your business's expansion is plateauing, but not due to a decrease in market demand.
If you see these signs, it may be time to hire your first employee or independent contractor. This will allow you to concentrate on the tasks that you are genuinely enthusiastic about and that make a significant impact.
Factors to contemplate prior to recruiting your initial employee
Before initiating the recruitment process, there are several factors you need to take into account.
- Necessities and prerequisites: What chores do you require assistance with and do they align with a single position? For a fruitful recruitment, you must understand their precise responsibilities - and not merely anticipate one individual to handle your financial records, oversee your social media platforms, and manage customer service.
- Organizational Culture and Principles: As a solo entrepreneur, your company culture is inherently intertwined with your personal ethos, hence you might not have consciously considered or defined it. However, prior to bringing on your first employee, it's crucial to articulate your organizational culture and principles to ensure you draw in suitable talent.
- Funding: Can you financially support the addition of a new team member, and if so, what's the financial plan you can set aside for this initial recruitment? Your enterprise should produce sufficient income to handle the new employee's wages, perks, taxes, and other related expenses, while maintaining profitability.
- Contractual Arrangement: Are you seeking a full-time collaborator, or is a part-time associate more suitable initially? Does it make sense to engage a freelancer, or do you require someone who is completely committed to your enterprise?
Guide to recruiting your initial staff member: A detailed walkthrough
Hiring your first employee may seem overwhelming, but with the right tools and process, it can be made easier. Here is our detailed, step-by-step manual on how to make your initial recruitment:
1. Specify the responsibilities, compensation, and perks
Before hiring your first employee, it is important to clearly define their role. This includes outlining the specific responsibilities they will have. It is also important to consider that they may need to take on multiple tasks. This will provide you with clear understanding and is also crucial in drawing the appropriate talent.
Compose a comprehensive job description, outlining the key duties and daily responsibilities that your first employee will be expected to handle. Be realistic with your requirements and don't try to combine the tasks of three different roles into one. One person can only do so much and employee retention is essential.
Next, examine your budget and the typical wages for this position in your region. Determine the salary based on this and take into account benefits like health coverage, pension schemes, and vacation time.
2. Handle the legal considerations of employing a staff member
Subsequently, you need to address the legal obligations associated with employing a staff member. You need to follow several steps, including:
- Get an income tax number of the Employee
- Register your employee for the required taxes ie. PAYE, UIF, SDL, COIDA etc
- Ensure you understand how to verify the work eligibility of employees.
- Acquire insurance for workers' compensation, among others
- Bo the necessary background checks before you hire new employees
These differ depending on the state, so ensure you verify the regulations relevant to your region.
3. Publish a job advertisement and inform your connections that you're recruiting.
It's time to announce to the world that you're recruiting. Advertise on job platforms like LinkedIn, Monster, and Indeed, and remember to solicit recommendations from your professional contacts as well.
4. Assess abilities using a skills evaluation.
At this point, you should have gotten several applications. Skill evaluations are the most effective method to impartially assess your applicants' abilities, preventing unconscious prejudices from infiltrating your selection procedure.
Using TestGorilla, you have the ability to create an evaluation comprising of five skills tests and require all applicants to complete it. This method allows you to swiftly assess their proficiency, understanding, and interpersonal skills, thereby helping you pinpoint your top talent.
5. Conduct interviews with the top candidates
After pinpointing your top-tier candidates, the next step is to call them in for an interview. This will allow you to delve deeper into their background and comprehend the worth they can contribute to your organization.
During this stage of the recruitment process, it is advisable to conduct structured interviews (similar to Google's approach), where identical questions are asked to all candidates in the same sequence. This allows you to concentrate on each individual's abilities and compare responses, instead of depending on your personal biases or instincts.
6. Select the appropriate individual for the position and present a proposal.
At this point, you should have ample data on all your leading applicants, which will empower you to make an informed recruitment choice.
Propose an offer to the most suitable candidate and go over all the specifics, including the pay scale, commencement date, working hours, perks, among other things. Once a new hire paperwork is signed then the employee onboarding process can begin and the start date will be known for the payroll system.
7. Establish the payroll system and handle the administrative tasks.
Once you make a hire, you need to:
- Establish your salary system and pay runs
- Notify your state registry about the employment ie SARS and Department of Labour
- Ensure you're keeping precise records of your employees by using hr software
Employee files contain information such as the full name of your employee, postal address, date of commencement, hours of operation and weekly work hours, income, dates of payment, among others. It is essential these documents are filed in compliance with legislation and to ensure effective onboarding.
After the good onboarding process is complete then the training program should be decided on as well as a 90 day period in which hand overs and coaching can take place. The initial period of employment is vital to set the tone for the future. Make sure when you make that job offer that the candidate is the right choice for the role.
Essential Hard Skills to Seek in Your Initial Employee
The necessary technical skills will vary based on your business sector and the exact position of your initial staff member.
Here are a few instances of specific skills to consider, depending on the position you're recruiting for:
- Administrative Assistant: When recruiting an administrative assistant, they should possess exceptional skills in managing schedules and emails, and be adept at using Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office Suite.
- Customer Support Agent: Proficiency in customer assistance is crucial for your initial customer support agent; familiarity with customer relationship management (CRM) tools, like HubSpot CRM or Salesforce CRM, could be beneficial.
- Sales Representative: Seek a sales representative who is well-versed in CRM software and possesses a comprehensive knowledge of various sales models. Depending on your sector, you should also evaluate their proficiency in B2C or B2B sales techniques.
- Marketing specialist: Proficiency in marketing analytics, product marketing administration, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising are all crucial for a comprehensive marketing professional.
- Graphic Designer: Seek an individual skilled in graphic design tools, like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. If you require assistance in website creation, find someone with a strong grasp of UX/UI design and frontend web development.
The Soft Skills of Your Initial Employee
The prosperity of your enterprise hinges on the capacity of your initial employee to establish strategic business alliances and effectively manage their workload and time. They must also be adept at resolving issues and maximizing every circumstance, even when resources and time are sometimes scarce.
Here are some of the most crucial soft skills you should consider:
Communication
The initial employee you hire should possess outstanding communication skills to establish enduring connections with your customers and associates.
They must understand how to modify their communication approach based on various individuals and circumstances, interpret non-verbal signals, employ professional business manners, articulate their thoughts clearly and efficiently to convey their message, and pay close attention to the input of others.
Time management
In a small enterprise, efficient time management is crucial - there's always a plethora of tasks and everything appears to be pressing, hence the need for an individual who is adept at ranking their duties, adeptly handling their timetable, and making precise predictions of the duration each task will require.
Business judgment
Irrespective of the particular position you employ them for, your initial employee should possess a keen sense for identifying growth prospects and understand how to leverage each circumstance for your company's advantage. They also must understand how to assess risk and implement suitable strategies to protect your business from it.
Problem solving
Small enterprises frequently have restricted resources to tackle various obstacles, hence the individual you employ should be an outstanding troubleshooter and a quick decision-maker. Seek a person who's forward-thinking and unafraid to experiment with innovative strategies to overcome hurdles.
Evaluating the Abilities of Your Initial Employee
An unbiased and objective skills assessment process is the most effective method to assess your candidates' abilities. Pre-employment skills testing is perfect for this, as it allows for a swift and precise evaluation of everyone's skills and knowledge, free from any prejudice.
- All individuals undergo identical examinations, providing an equitable opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.
- The platform automatically evaluates exams, eliminating room for subjective interpretation or personal biases.
- You have the ability to evaluate applicants based on concrete evidence instead of relying on details from their CVs.
TestGorilla provides over 300 skill tests that you can utilize to assess any ability, from cognitive skills to job-specific technical expertise and everything in between. You have the option to amalgamate up to five skill tests into a single skill assessment for a comprehensive appraisal of all applicants.
Locating Your Initial Employee
Here are several methods you can employ to find potential candidates when recruiting your initial staff member:
- Leverage employment websites: Publish a job listing on sites such as LinkedIn, Careers24 etc.
- Engage with dormant applicants: You can utilize LinkedIn's search feature to identify suitable candidates in your vicinity and directly communicate with them.
- Leverage your connections: Inform your business and social circles that you're in the process of hiring your first employee; recommendations are a fantastic method to discover talented individuals ready to embrace a fresh opportunity.
- Attend sector-specific gatherings: Visit local networking occasions like seminars or workshops to establish connections with professionals in your industry who may be keen on assisting you in expanding your business.
The expenses associated with recruiting a worker
The compensation you offer will be determined by the position, the expertise required from your inaugural staff member, your business sector, and the living expenses in your region, assuming you're recruiting locally.
However, the remuneration of your staff isn't the sole expense you should take into account. You must also incorporate the costs of:
- Work-related taxes
- Benefits for the worker
- Charges for job advertisements
- Expenses for hiring and documentation
- Costs for managing payroll
- Expenses for induction and training
Ensure you meticulously compute all aspects prior to initiating your hiring procedure.
Adopt a skills-centric strategy for recruitment and foster a thriving enterprise
A highly effective method to establish a prosperous, expandable enterprise is to adopt a competence-based hiring strategy - and to incorporate this tactic from the outset, during the recruitment of your initial employee.
These steps will ensure you find and attract the best talent during your process of hiring. It will aid in ensuring you make a decision with confidence when selecting a candidate for a role.
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