A Complete Guide to Recruitment for Small Business Owners

Employees are one of the most valuable assets for any type of business, but they are especially important for small businesses. Small business owners will know that employee salaries make up one of the largest outgoing expenditures. Your employees will be one of the biggest and potentially most rewarding investments you ever make, which means that recruiting the right staff matters. This guide is here to help small business owners learn all they need to know about recruitment.

When to Hire a New Employee

The first question that small business owners need to ask themselves when recruiting is 'is it the right time to hire a new employee?'. Having an extra salary on your books can make a real difference to the amount of working capital you have at hand, so it is vital that you only hire when you need to. The list of points below has been designed to help small business owners more easily identify whether or not they need a new employee. You will likely need to hire an employee if:

• Your employees often have to work long hours or overtime
• Work is frequently late or delayed
• You have experienced high and sustained levels of sales
• You are in need of skills or experience your current team does not possess
• Your employees cannot deal with the current workload
• You have to outsource work

If you found that you are experiencing any of the issues that have been outlined above, then it is likely that your business will benefit from hiring a new employee.

How to Advertise for a New Employee

Once you have decided that your business will benefit from hiring a new employee, you can begin the search. The first consideration you will need to make is what type of position you will be listing, namely how many hours you will need an employee to work. The type of listing you might consider for your job posting include:

• A Full-Time Employee

A full-time employee is regarded as anyone who works above 30 hours a week. Full-time employees are usually paid a monthly salary.

• A Part-Time Employee

A part-time staff member will work for 30 hours or less, and the hours they work can be flexible.

• Freelance Workers

Freelance workers are even more flexible than a part-time employee, however, they will likely work for other companies too, so their availability might be more limited.

• An Intern

Internships are offered to people who are looking to gain experience in a certain industry. An intern will have a short-term contract, usually only for a matter of weeks or months. An intern can either be paid or unpaid.

Once you have decided what type of contract you will offer, it is time to begin writing a job listing.

Writing a Job Listing

The first place to start when writing a job listing is with the job title. Next, you should write a small paragraph describing the purpose of the position. After that, you can move onto writing a succinct bullet-pointed list describing the main responsibilities of the role.

Once you have outlined what the job will entail, you will need to provide the prospective candidate with a short description of the type of person that you are looking for. You will want to describe the type of qualifications, experiences, and interests a successful candidate will need.

Listing a Vacancy

Once you have completed a job description, it is time to list your vacancy. There are many places that you can list your vacancy, such as:

• Online job boards
• Local newspapers
• Social media
• With word of mouth
• With a recruitment agency
• On LinkedIn

Managing Your Applicants

One of the reasons that recruitment is so resource-intensive is because managing applicants can be very time-consuming. Using Application Tracking Software can help you to more effectively and efficiently manage your applications. This software helps you to deal with every part of the recruitment process, from screening your potential employees to onboarding a new hire.

Finding the Right Hire

When you have a list of candidates, all with the same qualifications, it can be difficult to pick the right prospect. Small business owners looking to hire new employees need not only focus on a prospect's qualifications and experience but how they will fit into your company. Do they share your company vision? Will they suit your working culture? These are all questions that you should be asking yourself. It is also useful to consider the engagement levels of all potential new employees to ensure that they will be happy and productive in their new position.