When considering new staff for your business, hiring the right person for the job and finding someone who fits your business can take time and a degree of skill.
As hiring just one extra staff member can significantly change the dynamics of a small business, it's important
to have a clear plan in place on how to approach the hiring of new staff. Seven tips to consider when hiring are:
Sarah Avent, sales and marketing recruitment specialist from recruitment agency Gaulter Russell says the key to successful recruiting is getting the match right. For employers, this means having a good understanding of their culture, values, and being realistic about what sort of person is right for them. It's about finding the "fit" for both parties."
What style of work environment do you have? If you're relaxed and casual, look for candidates with a similar approach. Do you need someone who can work autonomously, or needs micro-management? Consider the role and what if any opportunities there are for the candidate to develop. Can you afford to take on a junior and train them, or do you need someone with more experience who can 'hit the ground running'.
"Having a good understanding of a candidate's motivations and drivers is important to ensuring both parties are happy. Essentially you're developing a relationship," says Sarah.
For a small business hiring the wrong person can affect your whole team and create a negative culture, which will have flow on effects.
Sarah says, "When you're hiring you're looking at three areas skill, experience, and fit. You want to get an ideal combination of each of these. For a small business the most important area is fit. If a candidate has the right attributes and attitude, often the other areas can be learnt or taught."
It's also important to make sure your interview process is thorough and robust as a lot of employers make the mistake of hiring on first impressions.
"Gut feeling has a part to play, but it also important that you have a robust process. Go beyond the surface and use a good interview, and screening process. Be diligent and check the details, make sure you know candidates work style and career attitudes," says Sarah.
Finally it's a good idea to make the hiring experience a positive one.
"We see a lot of people that don't get this right. Make sure your candidate remains positive throughout the process from beginning to end. Make sure the tools of trade are in place when they start working for you and that you have an induction programme even a basic one. First impressions count and once you've got the right people on board you want to keep them," says Sarah.
For more information on finding and hiring staff go to