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Taking on staff can enable business owners to delegate tasks in order to concentrate on their strengths. And it is a way to increase output and grow the business. However, employing staff for the first time is big step and one that many business owners are reluctant to take for the following reasons :
1) The cost of salary and benefits. Calculate how much it will cost you to employ someone, taking into account employer’s liability insurance, salary, benefits and NI contributions. Weigh up how much benefit their appointment could bring to the business and make a decision. It could be that you do not need to employ someone directly - many jobs can be outsourced or handled by a contractor, e.g. Virtual PA, Accountant, Marketing or Manufacturing. It could be that you only need someone for part of the year and you could get them through an agency.
2) Don’t know who to hire and where to find them. Once you have established that you do want to employ someone, look at what you need them to do. The purpose for hiring is likely to be to get your product or services to market to grow your business, so that could mean someone to do the back office functions to free you up or someone to market or sell for you. There are many routes to follow for recruitment, but a good one is to ask around your network if they know of anyone suitable; try smaller online job boards; social media; local paper; recruitment agencies. If you are small employer, a better fit may be someone from another small business who will be used to working more flexibly than someone from a larger company.
3) Don’t know what to do if the person is not performing? This can be time consuming, but there is a solution. Using a probationary period will enable both you and the staff member to resolve this, but even when the probationary period has ended, you can still manage their performance. Follow a fair procedure whereby you tell the employee what they need to do, provide training, and give them adequate time to improve. If the desired improvement is achieved, great. If the desired improvement is not achieved, then you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
4) Don’t know what to do if the employee has an ongoing health problem which will affect their ability to do their job. Again, this can be time consuming but there is a solution. As an employer, under Disability Discrimination legislation, you have to act reasonably. Talk to the member of staff. Establish what the health problem is. You may need to seek advice from their doctor or an occupational health service. Look at what they can and can’t do. Can you accommodate them? Can you alter their role or provide an alternative? If you can, great, try this and review it. If not, possibly because of the small size of the business, or if the trial period is unsuccessful, you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
5) What if you spend time and money training them and then they leave? This is a danger, however if you have spent time getting the right person for the job and then inducting them, this is unlikely to happen. You can delay expensive training until they have completed their probationary period, say 6 months, get them to pay for it by deduction from salary, or sign an agreement that they will repay some of the cost of the training if they leave within a certain time. And consider that if it is not working out, it may be better for the employee to resign that have problems down the line.
For a free consultation regarding your HR needs, contact me at Duck Soup HR on 07765 070998
1) The cost of salary and benefits. Calculate how much it will cost you to employ someone, taking into account employer’s liability insurance, salary, benefits and NI contributions. Weigh up how much benefit their appointment could bring to the business and make a decision. It could be that you do not need to employ someone directly - many jobs can be outsourced or handled by a contractor, e.g. Virtual PA, Accountant, Marketing or Manufacturing. It could be that you only need someone for part of the year and you could get them through an agency.
2) Don’t know who to hire and where to find them. Once you have established that you do want to employ someone, look at what you need them to do. The purpose for hiring is likely to be to get your product or services to market to grow your business, so that could mean someone to do the back office functions to free you up or someone to market or sell for you. There are many routes to follow for recruitment, but a good one is to ask around your network if they know of anyone suitable; try smaller online job boards; social media; local paper; recruitment agencies. If you are small employer, a better fit may be someone from another small business who will be used to working more flexibly than someone from a larger company.
3) Don’t know what to do if the person is not performing? This can be time consuming, but there is a solution. Using a probationary period will enable both you and the staff member to resolve this, but even when the probationary period has ended, you can still manage their performance. Follow a fair procedure whereby you tell the employee what they need to do, provide training, and give them adequate time to improve. If the desired improvement is achieved, great. If the desired improvement is not achieved, then you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
4) Don’t know what to do if the employee has an ongoing health problem which will affect their ability to do their job. Again, this can be time consuming but there is a solution. As an employer, under Disability Discrimination legislation, you have to act reasonably. Talk to the member of staff. Establish what the health problem is. You may need to seek advice from their doctor or an occupational health service. Look at what they can and can’t do. Can you accommodate them? Can you alter their role or provide an alternative? If you can, great, try this and review it. If not, possibly because of the small size of the business, or if the trial period is unsuccessful, you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
5) What if you spend time and money training them and then they leave? This is a danger, however if you have spent time getting the right person for the job and then inducting them, this is unlikely to happen. You can delay expensive training until they have completed their probationary period, say 6 months, get them to pay for it by deduction from salary, or sign an agreement that they will repay some of the cost of the training if they leave within a certain time. And consider that if it is not working out, it may be better for the employee to resign that have problems down the line.
For a free consultation regarding your HR needs, contact me at Duck Soup HR on 07765 070998
Taking on staff can enable business owners to delegate tasks in order to concentrate on their strengths. And it is a way to increase output and grow the business. However, employing staff for the first time is big step and one that many business owners are reluctant to take for the following reasons :
1) The cost of salary and benefits. Calculate how much it will cost you to employ someone, taking into account employer’s liability insurance, salary, benefits and NI contributions. Weigh up how much benefit their appointment could bring to the business and make a decision. It could be that you do not need to employ someone directly - many jobs can be outsourced or handled by a contractor, e.g. Virtual PA, Accountant, Marketing or Manufacturing. It could be that you only need someone for part of the year and you could get them through an agency.
2) Don’t know who to hire and where to find them. Once you have established that you do want to employ someone, look at what you need them to do. The purpose for hiring is likely to be to get your product or services to market to grow your business, so that could mean someone to do the back office functions to free you up or someone to market or sell for you. There are many routes to follow for recruitment, but a good one is to ask around your network if they know of anyone suitable; try smaller online job boards; social media; local paper; recruitment agencies. If you are small employer, a better fit may be someone from another small business who will be used to working more flexibly than someone from a larger company.
3) Don’t know what to do if the person is not performing? This can be time consuming, but there is a solution. Using a probationary period will enable both you and the staff member to resolve this, but even when the probationary period has ended, you can still manage their performance. Follow a fair procedure whereby you tell the employee what they need to do, provide training, and give them adequate time to improve. If the desired improvement is achieved, great. If the desired improvement is not achieved, then you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
4) Don’t know what to do if the employee has an ongoing health problem which will affect their ability to do their job. Again, this can be time consuming but there is a solution. As an employer, under Disability Discrimination legislation, you have to act reasonably. Talk to the member of staff. Establish what the health problem is. You may need to seek advice from their doctor or an occupational health service. Look at what they can and can’t do. Can you accommodate them? Can you alter their role or provide an alternative? If you can, great, try this and review it. If not, possibly because of the small size of the business, or if the trial period is unsuccessful, you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
5) What if you spend time and money training them and then they leave? This is a danger, however if you have spent time getting the right person for the job and then inducting them, this is unlikely to happen. You can delay expensive training until they have completed their probationary period, say 6 months, get them to pay for it by deduction from salary, or sign an agreement that they will repay some of the cost of the training if they leave within a certain time. And consider that if it is not working out, it may be better for the employee to resign that have problems down the line.
For a free consultation regarding your HR needs, contact me at Duck Soup HR on 07765 070998
1) The cost of salary and benefits. Calculate how much it will cost you to employ someone, taking into account employer’s liability insurance, salary, benefits and NI contributions. Weigh up how much benefit their appointment could bring to the business and make a decision. It could be that you do not need to employ someone directly - many jobs can be outsourced or handled by a contractor, e.g. Virtual PA, Accountant, Marketing or Manufacturing. It could be that you only need someone for part of the year and you could get them through an agency.
2) Don’t know who to hire and where to find them. Once you have established that you do want to employ someone, look at what you need them to do. The purpose for hiring is likely to be to get your product or services to market to grow your business, so that could mean someone to do the back office functions to free you up or someone to market or sell for you. There are many routes to follow for recruitment, but a good one is to ask around your network if they know of anyone suitable; try smaller online job boards; social media; local paper; recruitment agencies. If you are small employer, a better fit may be someone from another small business who will be used to working more flexibly than someone from a larger company.
3) Don’t know what to do if the person is not performing? This can be time consuming, but there is a solution. Using a probationary period will enable both you and the staff member to resolve this, but even when the probationary period has ended, you can still manage their performance. Follow a fair procedure whereby you tell the employee what they need to do, provide training, and give them adequate time to improve. If the desired improvement is achieved, great. If the desired improvement is not achieved, then you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
4) Don’t know what to do if the employee has an ongoing health problem which will affect their ability to do their job. Again, this can be time consuming but there is a solution. As an employer, under Disability Discrimination legislation, you have to act reasonably. Talk to the member of staff. Establish what the health problem is. You may need to seek advice from their doctor or an occupational health service. Look at what they can and can’t do. Can you accommodate them? Can you alter their role or provide an alternative? If you can, great, try this and review it. If not, possibly because of the small size of the business, or if the trial period is unsuccessful, you will be in a good position to terminate the employment.
5) What if you spend time and money training them and then they leave? This is a danger, however if you have spent time getting the right person for the job and then inducting them, this is unlikely to happen. You can delay expensive training until they have completed their probationary period, say 6 months, get them to pay for it by deduction from salary, or sign an agreement that they will repay some of the cost of the training if they leave within a certain time. And consider that if it is not working out, it may be better for the employee to resign that have problems down the line.
For a free consultation regarding your HR needs, contact me at Duck Soup HR on 07765 070998