Your business is off the ground and now you’re ready to hire your very first employee. Now you’ve had some success and its time to consider hiring your first employee. Like any business decision, successful ones take planning, assessment and implementation, hiring is no different.

Here are some tips to help you hire your first employee:

KNOW WHAT YOU NEED.

Write out what you expect this person to do, what skills they will need to do the job, and what success will look like.

While it might be tempting to hire candidates with big-business credentials, but they’re often not a good fit. In a small company, there often are no set jobs and everyone may do a bit of everything.

Create a compelling job description outlining key skills, hours of work, desired behaviours and experience necessary to be able to be successful. If the new employee is working with more than 1 person, make sure there is agreement on roles and responsibilities.

LOCATION, TOOLS, AND SALARY.

Where will they work (home/office)? Do you have the tools you need for them to start and then be successful? What is their salary/hourly rate? Benefits? Vacation? Sick days?

EFFECTIVE RECRUITING LEADS TO BUSINESS SUCCESS.

Where will you find your new employee?

Use your network to help. Ask for referrals. Use caution hiring family and friends; remember that all employment relationships come to an end at some time.

Recruiting and hiring is an important part of your relationship with the public. You should keep your desired image in mind in the way you advertise for positions, and remember that all potential recruits might also be customers. In other words, promote your company. Call applicants back, keep them informed during the process and treat them with respect.

WHY YOU?

Why should someone want to work with your business? What’s your recruiting ‘elevator’ speech? Identify and be able to show the benefits of working with your business over somewhere else.

FULL TIME, PART TIME OR CONTRACT WORK?

Employee or independent contractor? What options exist for you and the employee?

UNDERSTAND EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION.

The BC Employment Standards Act, Workers Compensation Act, and Human Right Act all outline minimum requirements you must provide and abide by in the workplace. If you are still unclear contact us at HRfx and we will clarify.

GET HELP.

Have someone else assist you with the interviews. Employment agencies and Head Hunters can help from entry level to senior positions.

WRITE IT DOWN.

Write down the job description, your interview questions and your letter of offer. This helps create consistency, a more structured recruiting process, and helps eliminate errors.

MAKE SURE THE PERSON IS A “FIT”.

Although some people focus on whether or not they “connect” with a candidate, it’s imperative to remember this person is here to do the job you outlined in your description, and ultimately help build your business. You are not seeking a new best friend. Stay objective.

HELLO WEDNESDAY.

Plan mid-week starts for new employees. It gives you time to prepare for their arrival versus a Monday morning start, and more importantly, it gives the new employee a bit of a break and chance to refresh after having information overload for the first few days. You will find the new employee will be more productive sooner having a couple of days off during their first week at work.

PAYROLL.

Make sure you are set up to pay the individual and submit payroll related taxes. You will need a registered Business Number (BN) with a payroll deductions account before the employee starts work.

Be careful if you plan to hire people on a contract basis to avoid the hassle (and cost) of managing employees. CRA may consider you to be an employer even if you have a written contract that identifies a worker as an independent contractor.

You must get the new employee’s social insurance number (SIN) and have them complete a Form TD1, Personal Tax Credit Return.

NOW THAT YOU HIRED SOMEONE, IT’S YOUR JOB TO MAKE THEM SUCCESSFUL.

Orientate them to your business, give them training, tools and opportunity to be successful. Provide feedback on a regular basis. Their success depends on you. While sometimes it’s just easier to do it yourself, but with an employee, you need to delegate tasks to allow you to continue to grow the business.

DON’T FORGET…HAVE FUN WITH IT!

For more ideas like these and assistance with your Onboarding contact us at HRfx.