Guide to Hiring Employees

 

A clear and thorough hiring process is critical to landing the right new employees.

• Your employee hiring process should be methodical and well thought out.
• The first step is preparing for the process by researching market hiring conditions and getting all of the proper paperwork in order.
• Once you start the process, you need to consider the exact role you are hiring for and how much you are willing to negotiate once you make an offer.
• This article is for businesses that are looking to hire new employees and want a complete guide on the steps of a successful hiring process. 

It probably won't come as a surprise to hear this, but businesses don't run too well without employees. That's why the employee hiring process is such a lengthy and detailed one. If you do it right, you'll find and hire high-quality candidates who stick around and represent your business the way you would.

As a small business owner, you might not know quite where to begin with hiring if you don't have experience in HR, as many small business owners don't. Keep reading for advice from experts on hiring employees.

Preparing your business for hiring employees

Whether it's your first hire or your thousandth, the process should be pretty smooth, and it will become more streamlined the more employees you hire. With any hire, you should take these steps to get your business ready for the new employee.

1. Do your research.

Rich Deosingh, district president for the Robert Half office in Midtown, New York, suggests researching the local market before even looking at open roles within your company.

"Research who is hiring, what the economic landscape is in your region, and review other job postings," he said. "It will give you an idea of things like salary and competition in the market – who else is looking for someone with these particular skill sets?"

Once you know that, you can tailor the rest of your hiring process to fit with what others are doing – or go in the other direction, trying your best to stand out so job candidates will be more intrigued by your company than others.

2. Get your paperwork in order.

In some cases, this paperwork could be one and done, where you create a template and just plug in the necessary information for each new hire. In other cases, it can be totally automated.

These are some of the forms that new-hire paperwork can include:

• W-4: This helps you figure out the correct amount of taxes to withhold from each paycheck.
  
  
• I-9: This verifies the employment eligibility of the new hire.
  
  
• Direct deposit form: This gives you an employee's banking information for easier and faster payment.
  
  
• Noncompete agreement: This will usually specify an amount of time that the employee is barred from working for, being a consultant for, and conducting other activities for a company that conducts similar business to yours.
  
  
• Employee handbook: An employee handbook usually lays out the company's mission, vision, policies, dress code, code of conduct, etc.
  
  
• Acknowledgment form: The new employee confirms that they have read and understood all the necessary documents.
  
  
• Consent to drug testing: Some companies require new hires to consent to drug testing prior to employment, and to random drug testing throughout the duration of employment.

Jennifer Walden, director of operations at WikiLawn, said that her company has added a home network security checklist, with a field for the employee to let the company know if they'll need new hardware to ensure a secure network.

"And we make sure new employees have login info ready to go, as well as contact information for anyone they'll be working with frequently," Walden said.

It seems like a lot of paperwork, and it is, but it's all necessary. The good news is that there are online resources available to make it easier for you or your hiring manager.

"Use an HRIS (human resources information system) like Gusto, ADP or Paycom that provides the HR back-end paperwork to the employee in a self-service mode," said Laura Handrick, HR professional at Choosing Therapy. "There's no reason a human should be shuffling paper these days. Online systems with e-signature streamline the paperwork for you, ensuring data is captured accurately, and saving everyone (including the new hire) time."

No matter what system you use, the key is having it all ready before you start the hiring process.

"All of these items should be prepared beforehand and easily accessible online," said Deosingh. "Communication before the first day is key – if you need the new hire to provide paperwork or identification, it should be noted ahead of time."