The most comprehensive guide for successful hiring for women entrepreneurs (video included)
It is true when people say that small business owners never stop hiring. Depending on the type of business you run, recruiting and hiring is an ongoing activity which should become an integral part of daily operations. And this does not have to be expensive.
If you have done some ground work and implemented the process, a lot of the hiring can be done for free or by spending little amount.
The best way to approach hiring is via three main stages:
- Planning & Attracting Talent
- Hiring Talent
- Retaining Talent
The flowchart below shows the main steps involved in each stage:
Each stage is equally critical and it is essential for small business owners to approach the end to end process strategically.
In this blog, we will look at each of these stages in depth and see what’s involved in each stage.
I. Planning & Attracting Talent
While each stage is extremely important, this step lays a strong foundation for your hiring process.
Identifying your hiring needs:
Each business is different and each business’s needs are different. For the purposes of this blog, let’s assume you have a Nail Salon and are looking to hire a Nail Salon Manager and Nail Technicians. Whether it is an established business or a new business you are just starting off, you will need to determine how many employees do you need. There are many things to consider here, and a simple way of approaching this is by creating a list of activities or tasks that need to be performed and then assigning those activities to an appropriate role and the appropriate skill set needed. For example, let’s say for the scale of your Nail Salon operation, you anticipate following tasks on a daily basis by the following roles:
Make sure you check the roles and count of employees needed against the anticipated business need. Let’s say you determined that you will require 3 Nail Technicians, start by hiring for 2 and then quickly expand to the third one. Hiring gradually will also allow you to learn and get better with the hiring process with every new hire you make.
Determining pay rate and benefits:
This is big topic and you can refer to our blog about researching and analyzing the pay rate for your employees that is fair and also competitive in your market. A big determination here is also whether the position should be hourly pay or salary. One of the easiest and fastest ways to do this would be do some secret shopping and finding out what your competitors are offering their employees. An important consideration when creating the pay structure for your employees is listing out all of the benefits you plan to offer and how attractive does the the overall hiring package look. Check out our article on top affordable benefits that you can offer to your employees.
Creating a stellar job post:
Think of a good job post as the candidate’s first sneak peak into your small business. What is the impression you want to create in their minds when they see the job post or the flier or hear about your company’s job opening from someone? You should describe in few but clear words the culture of your company. Let’s say in your Nail Salon you strive to create a culture of flexibility and transparency, then let that come across in your job post. Next clearly state the position description and also highlight the benefits of why someone should come work for you. The other obvious but equally important things such as Job Requirements and Qualifications can follow. Check out blog which talks about the anatomy of a great Job Post.
Attracting talent via various channels:
Once the basic planning about employee roles, how many people need to be hired and their pay package is determined, the next big task is that of planning the strategy for attracting great talent. The most important thing here is to ensure your hiring needs are reaching the talent in the market. Some easy ways of doing this are:
Online Job Boards:
In the current day and age, online job boards have an inevitable role to play. Most employees go to the popular job boards such as Indeed, Zip Recruiter, Linked In, Monster, Career Plug, Simply Hired or many others to search for employment. Many of these allow Employers to create an account for free and post job requisitions for free. Check out our blog post which walks you step by step through setting up a job post on Indeed.
Social Media:
Post the job posts on your social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and also Pinterest. The more eyes that see the posting, the more chances of good talent coming your way.
Local newspapers:
Depending on the type of business and whether you are looking for local talent or online talent, local newspapers can be another great option to post a job ad. While most newspapers require you to pay to post the ad, you may find some which allow you to post it for free.
Word of mouth:
It is essential that your network is aware and knows you are hiring. It is also a good idea to reach out to your former employees to see if they would want to come back to work or if they have any referrals that they can direct your way. Another great option that worked for us always was to put up fliers at the local grocery stores, fast food joints and libraries. Of course, you will need to work with the establishment to make sure they approve your business’s job fliers being posted on heir noticeboards.
II. Hiring Talent
Show off company culture every step of the hiring process:
Company culture is such an important concept but is often overlooked by hiring managers. Think of this as you move through every step of the hiring process. Once you have ensured your job post has the required information and also highlights your company’s culture and has been posted via the various channels listed above, now actively start screening the candidates that start applying.
Screen Candidates:
Not everyone will be a fit, and everyone’s time is limited and valuable. The better job you do screening candidates via their resumes, the more fit talent you will invite into the interview process. Some important things to look for are the quality of resume. Has the candidate taken the time to list their work experience and their skill set in the resume or cover letter? Look at their employment history to determine how much experience they have. Not every business requires highly experienced employees. Ask yourself if you are missing out on great talent because you are looking for certain number of years of experience. Determine which of their skills would be a good match for your hiring needs.
Once you have screened the candidates, it is time to either invite them for interview or reject their application.
Interviewing:
It is essential your interview process is well thought through. How many rounds of interviews will you do, when will you interview the candidates, what are some good questions to ask in an interview and when will you inform the candidates the outcome of the interview are all things you should have planned ahead.
It is always a good idea to have a list of questions you would like to ask the candidates for a certain role. You can then modify that base list of questions based on the candidate’s experience and the flow of the conversation during the interview.
While every small business’s specific needs and skill set required for each role are different, there are some common set of soft skills that are always good to interview for. These are common skills that will help you hire reliable people with strong interpersonal skills. Here’s is interview questionnaire you could use as a starting point for your interviews.
Strive to make the candidate’s interview experience a good one. Simple things can go a long way. Make the candidate feel special and welcomed as soon as they enter your business premises or log into the video call or phone. Make them comfortable and offer them refreshments such as water or coffee. If it is an in-person interview, walk them through the business premises so they can see how your business operates and the culture of the company.
Making an offer:
Prior to making an offer, ensure they have completed any required prerequisites such as background checks and drug tests. Once all the requirements are satisfactorily met, make the offer to the candidate and wait for them to accept it.
There you go!
Congratulations on your successful hire!
III. Retaining Talent
The next stage in the employee hiring journey is the onboarding stage and then continuing through the course of their employment. Plan time for a thorough orientation for the new hire.
Introductions and Walkthrough:
Introduce your new hire to employees in the company and make them feel part of the team. Walk them through the office to show them the facility, the break area and the rest rooms.
Essential paperwork:
One of the most important activities on the start day of the new hire to complete all the paperwork. The key ones are listed below:
I-9 form: This verifies employee is authorized to work in the US.
W-4: This form informs you of the taxes that will need to be withheld when you run payroll.
Direct Deposit Information: If your business does direct deposit, which it so highly recommended, this form allows employee to provide their bank information so their pay can be deposited directly into their bank accounts.
Employee Handbook: This is an essential document which lists out the company’s mission, policies and code of conduct amongst other things. It is recommended that employees sign an acknowledgement form acknowledging that they have received the employee handbook and reviewed it.
Consent for background and drug tests: If your business requires this as a pre-requisite for employment, it is a good idea to obtain the employee’s consent for these tests in writing.
Review Policies and Handbook
Review in Employee Handbook in detail with the new hire to ensure they understand the company policies and code of conduct clearly. Going over details such as the following helps set appropriate expectations for the new hire.
- Office hours and Timekeeping
- Attendance Policy
- Code of conduct and customer service expectations
- Non-disclosure and client privacy
- Uniform policy (if applicable)
Review Job Expectations:
Walk the employee through the key responsibilities of the job and the essential performance metrics based on which their performance will be measured.
Training Plan:
Discuss the training plan with the employee and ensure they have access to all the required resources to complete their training successfully.
Now you have the main stages for hiring, you can adapt these to create your overall hiring framework customized to your organization and business needs. Don’t forget to check out the Hiring Checklist in the Resources section of our site. You can download it for free!
Last but not the least, here’s a helpful tip! Ensure that the first day is a memorable one for the employee. A welcome sign, a small gift or a team lunch are all gestures that can go a long way in establishing a strong foundation for the new hire at your small business.
We will end this blog by reiterating that successful business owners have the mindset that they are never completely done with hiring. They are always in a hiring mode. This is key to recruiting and hiring great talent with little budget.
