4 Things You Need to Do Before You Hire Your First Employee

Hiring your first employee is an exciting time, but it does require a bit of preparation. Before you take that pivotal step of welcoming a new team member into your company – there are a few things you need to consider first.

#1: Set (and Document) the Parameters

Before you hire your first employee you need to have a plan for training and management. Even the best workers can falter under unorganized leadership. You can avoid this by creating a comprehensive employee handbook and documented standard operating procedures for your employee to reference. While you’ll still need to provide hands-on training, but documented procedures make training and management scalable as you begin to grow your team.

#2: Understand What it Will Cost to Hire an Employee

According to the Small Business Administration, one of the most common reasons for small business failure is cash flow issues. Understanding payroll and the actual cost of having employees can help you prevent running out of money every month. Be sure to review your state and federal tax and insurance requirements. Also, you’ll want to factor in the cost of benefits, and expenses like computers, software, phones, and so on.

#3: Write a Great Job Description

Before you can hire the perfect person for the job, you must understand the job. This starts with a carefully written job description. Start by making a list of the tasks you need completed, and how many hours those tasks are taking you to complete properly now. Then use this information to determine which tasks can be delegated to an employee. Finally, determine how much time you can invest into training this employee. This information will tell you what experience level you need in your prospective employee, whether the job will be part-time or full-time, and how that employee will be compensated.

#4: Network

Once you’re ready to find that employee, don’t simply rely on job boards. Get recommendations from your network. It is better to find someone who comes highly recommended by someone you trust than to start with an employee who you don’t really know.

Don’t let hiring your first employee intimidate you, with a little preparation, documented processes, and help from trusted legal and financial experts – you can start building your team with confidence.