Starting a business isn’t only about manifesting one’s business plan but also about recruiting the right talent – aka – hiring employees. Many potential entrepreneurs take loads of time to learn how to hire employees, which, in some cases, can cause serious pitfalls.
That said, if you own a startup and are in the phase of hiring employees, you will want to follow the below-given tips to avoid making the mistakes that newbie entrepreneurs commonly make.
Here is everything you need to know before hiring people.
Establish a Legal Business
To run your business smoothly, you will want to hire employees legally. To do so, you will require an EIN (Employer Identification Number) along with an IRS and tax ID (these requirements are subject to your respective state).
The EIN will work like an SSN (Social Security Number) that is required for tax purposes. You can get the EIN for free through an online IRS application. The thing about hiring employees is that this aspect induces potential liability to your business, which is why you will want to consult an attorney beforehand to ensure that your business structure is correct for the circumstances.
Depending on the type of your business, your state might demand that you establish unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and other liability for the safety of your employees. Before you initiate the hiring process, you will want to consult with an attorney to ensure that you comply with the state’s laws.
Be Clear with the JD
Of course, you will be giving ads to see your hiring options. If you want the right people on your team, you will want to ensure that you are writing a clear and highly relevant job description.
When it comes to crafting a clear and relevant job description, you will want to ensure that it contains the following aspects:
- A peep into the business culture.
- A clear description of the autonomy, influence level, and decision-making the role includes.
- A clear description of how the role will affect the people and the company’s growth.
- A clear description of the required skills, traits, and experience level.
- A clear stance of the potential opportunity of growth for the required role.
- A clear description of the daily duties.
- Set clear expectations that the company will have from the role.
- A clear statement of the company’s values and how these are incorporated into work.
The most challenging part of writing a clear description is that the information should fit into a clear and brief description.
You will want to make your job ad stand out from other job ads by writing a clear, straightforward, and concise depiction. While crafting the job description, you will want to ensure that you only include the things that are truly required for the role.
Absolutely avoid using requirements or language that fall under the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) laws. Never add things in the job ad that might indicate bias against skin color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.
Vet Applications
Now, let us talk about a challenging aspect of hiring people – you will have to review the applications. Suppose you have created and posted an attractive and clear job ad at all the right places. Now, you will start getting job application responses, which means it is time to vet them all.
Of course, you can get help from technology, but some people might question the legal aspects of using AI in hiring. The thing about AI is that these can contain biases that the people who created that software might have fed into it.
As a result, you might not even realize that you are being biased at the time of screening the applications. If you decide to integrate an automatic screening program, you will want to be mindful of the criteria you enter into the system to avoid bias.
You will want to frequently audit your tools to detect any biases. While vetting the applications, you will want to assess the applicant’s skills to ensure they fit into the roles they applied for. You will also want to assess the candidate’s potential achievements and the application’s accuracy.
While narrowing down the applications, you will also want to run background checks. Suppose you plan to run your business in Texas, in which case you will want to run the selected applicants through public arrest records in texas to ensure that they have no criminal records.
You will also want to ensure an employee verification check to ensure the information on the CV is correct. This way, you will know that the potential applicants are who they say they are. You will want to opt for employment verification to ensure that the applicant(s) do indeed meet your business needs.
While vetting the applications, you will also want to keep in mind the company culture as you will want to go beyond qualifications and seriously assess what the potential new hire can add to your company culture.
Employees are simply not working machines – they are people who are the face of your company and, hence, make up the running mechanism of your company. So, you will want to look for employees who can introduce missing elements in your company culture.
So, vetting the application is mandatory for making the right hiring decision.
Welcome New Employees
After you have narrowed down the list of candidates and run a background check, you will want to extend an offer by having a clear conversation to explain salary, benefits package, company culture, expectations, etc.
Subsequently, it is time to onboard the new members. Again, you will want to work closely with your lawyer to ensure that you are doing everything right, including filing a Form I-9, which is mandatory for employees who work in the USA.
You will also need a system to help you file for payroll with taxes and save direct deposit information or other ways you would want to pay your employees. With an attorney by your side, you can ensure that you have everything ready regarding your state’s requirements for new hiring.