Published on 25/07/2019 by Any Business.Com.Au

Business growth: Hiring the first employee

Following on from our blog on hiring people of diverse backgrounds, we thought we had better take an in-depth look at the recruitment process as a whole – how to go about it, the steps to hiring the right person and what your requirements are as a potential employer.

As your business grows you may need to employ additional staff with new or different skills, or possibly employ people for the first time.

Making the right choice and ensuring you meet your obligations to your employees can ensure your business continues to succeed. If you're unable to train existing staff, it may be possible to acquire the skills you need by hiring new staff. Hiring a new employee for your business is a big decision, so it's important to do it right.

Before you advertise

Before you advertise a job remember that, by law, you must not use discriminatory language in the description that may exclude potential employees on the basis of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer's responsibility, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.

Advertising the job

You can advertise the job in a variety of ways.

These may include:

  • placing the Ad on your website
  • local newspapers
  • online through a recruitment website
  • in a trade or industry magazine
  • through social media
  • word of mouth.

You may also choose to use a recruitment agency to assist you in the process. If you decide to use a recruitment agency, talk to your business colleagues or partners to find out whether there is one they recommend.

When recruiting, consider how you can work with your employees, such as whether you need them to be physically present, or can the work be conducted through communicating online. If you don't need your workers to be physically present, you may be able to save costs on office space, as well as broaden your recruitment options to different locations.

Conduct an interview

Before conducting an interview, you'll need to shortlist applicants based on their application. You will also need to decide if you will have anyone helping you in the interview process.

When interviewing for the position, ensure that the questions you ask are related to the position advertised. You will want to ask questions that help you understand the skills, qualifications and experience of potential applicants as well as their fit within the team. Just as when you advertised the job, you must not use discriminatory language or questions within the interview.

When conducting the interview, use a standard set of questions for each applicant. This will help you and your interview panel members when comparing and selecting the right applicant for your business. Having a scribe or person recording the responses during this interview may help you when reviewing later.

Select the right applicant

Following the interview, consider contacting the applicant's referees to check any claims made during the interview. This may help in gaining you get a better understanding on the person's abilities and past experience within the workplace.

The referees may have been supplied by the applicant at interview, but it's always a good idea to contact the applicant to confirm that you wish to contact their referees and that you have the correct contact details.

Once you have decided on the right applicant, you will need to contact them directly to offer them the position. If not previously discussed, you may discuss the salary, conditions and workplace benefits and entitlements as part of employment. If the employee accepts your offer for the position, you can then go ahead with preparing the formal documentation and offer of employment.

Prepare and document a formal offer of employment

As an employer, you have obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009, state and territory laws, industrial awards and agreements, tribunal decisions and contracts of employment. You need to ensure you maintain a minimum standard of pay, conditions and entitlements for your employees – head to the fair work ombudsman website to ensure this is handled correctly.

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AnyBusiness.com.au

Curtis is a leading expert in the business-for-sale industry, serving as a senior content creator at anybusiness.com.au.

With a career spanning over fifteen years, Curtis has accumulated extensive knowledge in the domain of business sales, acquisitions, and valuations. His deep understanding of market dynamics and his ability to translate complex industry jargon into accessible insights make him a trusted resource for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to buy or sell businesses.

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