Staffing your small business successfully

Most likely when you first start out running a small business you are not going to need to worry about staffing your small business. But like some small business owners you might have a larger plan in mind that will eventually lead to you having to staff your small business. Staffing a small business is not something that can be done on the spur of the moment or even quickly if you want it to be successful. Here are some tips to help you staff your small business successfully.

Tip one:
While many people will tell you that it is a good idea not to hire family members, this can actually be an untapped resource, especially if your family members share the same work ethic as you. This can also hold true for relatives of your employees as well. But keep in mind that sometimes problems can arise when it comes to hiring relatives or friends, so be careful when you are hiring them. When hiring family members you might want to give them higher standards to make sure that they are qualified for the job, don't just give them a job because they are family.

Tip two:
When you have decided that you are going to need to hire additional staff members you are going to need to consider all of the costs of hiring extra staff members to make the staffing successful. By considering all of the costs involved in hiring staff members you are making sure that your company can afford to hire the additional staff members, without going out of business. Some costs to consider when hiring additional staff members are: payroll taxes, benefits (if any are given to employees), salary, workers' compensation insurance, advertising for help wanted, office supplies, etc.

Tip three:
One of the most important things that you are going to need to do to staff your business successfully is to define the job parameters. To do this you are going to need to state exactly what the job duties are, what kinds of skills the employees are going to need, how much experience or education is required for the job, and anything else that is important for the employee to have in order to fill the job position. You will also need to include how many hours are going to be required for the position, whether it is full or part time or if it is seasonal or temporary, and you will also need to include what days they will need to work and if you have set hours.

Tip four:
Now that you know what you are looking for you are going to have to conduct interviews with the potential employees. Most of these potential employees will hand in a resume that looks wonderful and it is up to you to find the right employees from the huge pile of resumes. Here are some tips for successful interviewing.
- To weed out unqualified employees do brief phone interviews before setting up personal interviews
- Stick to questions that are related to the job you are hiring for
- Have a list of questions that you will ask each candidate that will help you to obtain information about their skills, abilities, and past work experiences
- Take notes for later use
- Be upfront about your business, what the job requires, management styles or anything else that will help to determine if the employee will be a good fit for your company
- Listen well and pay attention to everything they have to say, this will give you a better feel of their personality and work attitude
- Always ask them if they have any questions
- Make sure you check their references
- Be professional and respectful