How to Hire Employees

A business is only as good as the people it employs. Here are some steps to hiring an effective staff.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• File Folders
• Locking File Cabinets

1. Determine what jobs you need done and what skills are needed.
2. Write precise job descriptions, including duties and skill requirements.
3. Conduct salary surveys among similar businesses in comparable locations to determine how much to budget for salaries.
4. Advertise in appropriate media. Ask friends, family and associates for recommendations. If you need generalists, place employment ads in local newspapers. If you need specialists, consider advertising in trade publications or other specialized media, including job fairs and the Internet.
5. Consider using an employment service. An agency can help you write job descriptions, put together an employee manual, devise a benefits package, and screen applicants.
6. Interview carefully. Focus on the applicant's qualifications, track record, attitude and demeanor.
7. Bring others into the interview process. Ask the applicant to meet with several managers so that you can get others' impressions.
8. Check references and employment history. Many employers also ask that applicants agree to credit-history checks and drug screenings.
9. Put your offer in writing, spelling out the job description, hours, salary, benefits, vacation and sick time and other pertinent details.

Tips & Warnings

• Create an annual employee budget to know how much you can afford.
• Let current employees know about openings that might be of interest to them.
• Make sure the job description is accurate, so people will know what they are applying for.
• A job fair is a good way to meet prospective employees and talk face-to-face before the interview. Newspapers and trade groups often stage job fairs for industries such as services, high-tech or sales.
• Remember that asking questions about an applicant's race, age or disability is illegal.