How and when to hire your first employee
As a coach to business owners in different parts of the country, there are a few important points I recommend when hiring your first staff member.
First – Don’t wait too long
Many business owners wait until they feel they can afford to hire help, which for many is far too long. Don’t wait. If you hire the right person they should more than pay for themselves in a very short period of time. This can free you up to do the things that bring more money into the business.
Second – The first time you are hiring, don’t do it alone
Many business owners are great at the business they are in but are not good at knowing how to hire the right person for their business. Get help from an expert.
- Start by writing down the tasks you need the new hire to do. What should they be doing to help take your business to the next level? How many hours a week do you need them?
- Next contact a temporary employment agency. Tell them what you need and find out the following:
- What is the hourly rate for this employee?
- Of this amount, what hourly rate will the employee be receiving?
- Can you hire them as a “temp” for three months and then if they work out, become your employee at no additional cost to you?
- Finally, if #3 is yes, hire this agency to assist you. I believe this works best because:
- They will go through many resumes and send you only the ones that appear to be a good fit for what you need
- You know what is fair compensation for that position
- Since in the first 3 months they will not be your employee, if at any time you feel it is not working out, you just tell the agency and they will work on finding you someone else and you do not need to fire someone.
- You will not have to deal with payroll, tax reporting, employee benefits, or any of the required “payroll issues” until you know they are who you want and they become your employee.
- Since you know what the employee is earning through the service, once they become your employee you have “wiggle room” to increase their pay when appropriate, since you no longer have the employment services fee to pay.