There are many keys to success in running a small business, such as good accounting, proper market research, but none may be as important as hiring the right workers. Good employees can be a crucial component of a successful business. But finding and hiring good workers can be among the most challenging aspects of running a small and growing business. Here are some tips for finding and hiring the right employees.
Laws governing hiring
A number of state and federal laws govern the various processes of soliciting workers, including advertising, interviewing and hiring. If you do not follow the rules, you may find yourself as a defendant over your hiring or non-hiring practices. Or you may end up being stuck with a costly and unproductive employee that you will have trouble firing.
Finding the best employees
Finding god employees is crucial to most businesses. The quality of your wooers can be the difference between success and failure, especially early on in your business’ life.
Similarly, bad employees can cost a business an incredible amount of time, wasted resources and money. So it pays to take the time at the beginning to find the best candidates for the job.
What are some of the best ways to find great candidates?
Pay current workers a bounty reward (usually $250 to $1,000) for recruiting candidates to the organization
Contract with employment agencies that supply permanent employees for a fee
Turn to headhunters or executive search firms for executive level employees (for a significant sum)
Promote your own employees from within to fill an open position
Hire employees from temporary employment agencies with the possibility of hiring the employee on a permanent basis (expect to pay a fee to the temporary employment agency if you do hire permanently)
Advertise in the classified sections of local newspapers or trade magazines
Using the Internet to your advantage
Nowadays, prospective employers and employees rely mainly on the internet to identify employment candidates and available jobs
You can use the web to find good employee prospects in several ways:
Post positions on your company web site: think about putting your open positions on your web site. That way, prospective workers can also search your site and find out more about your company
Post positions on job related web sites: The web contains multitudes of sites that display job postings, want ads, and resumes of prospective employees. Some of the more popular choices include: Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com and Craigslist[1]
Remember, your business will only go as far as the workers who carry it on their backs. So spending the time to find good employees can be the key to your success.
[1] Richard D. Harroch, Small Business Kit for Dummies, (Wiley 2nd Edition)(2004).
