Tips on hiring for small business owners

So you’ve started out with that small idea of yours.  This is the real deal. There is no room for messing around and you’ve pretty much set up nicely. But you now need to expand your work force to meet demands. What do you do?

The above paints a picture of a startup scenario. After a couple of months/years with a Spartan culture, you must add to your work force.   According to Taizir Ajala, CEO Gordon Barret and a Mara Mentor, when that time comes, “don’t focus too much on money.”

Human resources expert Taizir says focus on strategy. According to her, when it comes to your business you should be articulate in a substantive manner.  “Use it [knowledge of your business] as a currency to get people to support you,” she says, adding that “you need to be very attractive in selling yourself to prospective employees.”

She stresses the need to oblige young people when they need you to “put them out there…give them credit, recognise them.”  According to her you can also adopt the tips below when recruiting new hands.

Have a clear job role. Clearly define the job description before setting out to hire. Let the prospective employee understand the responsibilities and expectations the position carries. It helps in filtering and getting the best candidate.

Offer employees flexible working hours. Offering flexible hours could work magic for your business. Internet-based business adopt this often, but for more traditional businesses, flexible working hours could help settle your employees in, and also give you bargaining power during negotiation. More importantly, it helps drive up productivity if managed well.

Test drive prospective employees. Don’t trust resumes blindly.  Sometimes what you see on a candidates CV is far from what you get. So do not trust CVs blindly. Test-drive applicants. Implement a probation period and examine the efficacy before employing prospective applicants.