Are You Ready To Recruit Your First Employee?

Are You Ready To Recruit Your First Employee?

Recruiting employees could be necessary for helping your business to grow. By spreading the workload, you can take on more business and improve the quality of your work.

Of course, hiring employees isn’t easy. It comes with extra costs and responsibilities which could be legally mandatory. You could get into serious trouble by neglecting these requirements. As a result, you need to be sure that you’re fully prepared and that everything is in order before you take on that first employee.

Here are just some of the main steps you’ll need to take before starting the recruitment process. There may be others depending on your industry – hiring an HR advisor could be worthwhile to be absolutely sure that you’re 100% prepared.

Register yourself as an employer

The first step should be to register yourself as an employer.

You’ll need an employer identification number (EIN), which will be used when filing your employees’ taxes. This can be obtained by filing IRS Form SS-4, which you can obtain via the IRS website.

After this, you’ll need to register yourself as an employer with your state Department of Labor. This is important for paying unemployment compensation tax.

Not notifying IRS and your state department could have very costly implications as it is illegal - to make this your priority.

Determine the role and salary

You should then consider the type of role you’re hoping to fill and how much you plan to pay as a salary.

It’s important that you understand the role so that you can plan training and invest in necessary equipment. For instance, if you’re hiring a secretary, you may need to offer some training in the inner workings of your company, as well as supplying equipment such as a computer, desk, and chair (if they’re working within your workplace).

As for the salary, this is important to establish so that you can make financial plans. You’ll need to be earning enough to pay their salary and your own. This salary will need to at least the minimum wage. Different industries come with different salary expectations so do your research into what other companies are paying so that you’re not underpaying employees (otherwise, it’s unlikely you’ll attract much interest).

Consider employee benefits

On top of a wage, you should consider other employee benefits. Certain benefits could be mandatory depending on your state. In the case of most jobs, offering some benefits will be expected – this could include two weeks’ holiday pay, paid healthcare insurance, sick pay, maternity pay, or the chance to earn bonuses/commission.

Certain benefits may even not be monetary. This could include offering flexible hours, the opportunity to work from home, a work phone, a company car, freedom to take pets into the office or freedom to dress casually. It may all depend on the type of job.

Get insured

When you become an employer, you need to start paying workers compensation insurance. This is insurance cover that compensates your workers if they get sick or injured as a direct result of your work.

Worker's compensation rates can vary depending on the trade and depending on the rates you offer. The best way to save money is to shop around – different insurers are likely to charge you different amounts.

Set up your payroll

A good payroll system will need to be implemented to help you pay employees the right amount on time, as well helping you to calculate and file their tax on time. Most employers nowadays use payroll accounting software to automate the process. Consider familiarising yourself with such software so that there are no initial problems when you first start paying your employees.

The rules on withholding employee taxes can vary from state to state, so it could be worth doing some personal research first. An HR advisor will know exactly who you should withhold tax with.

Implement workplace health and safety features

When becoming an employer, it’s also a legal requirement to have certain workplace health and safety measures in place. These depend very much on the industry as each trade has its own unique risks. For instance, different health and safety measures will be needed on a construction site to ones needed in an office.

Fire safety is a universal aspect of health and safety that needs to be addressed. Make sure that your premises contain necessities such as a fire alarm, fire extinguisher, and accessible fire exit. Taking a fire safety could also be worthwhile.

A first aid kit meanwhile will need to be supplied in your workplace. Some basic first aid training could also be essential so that you can help your workers in the event of a medical emergency. Your employees can also get certified in CPR and first aid by attending an online course in life-saving skills.

Create an employee contract

Before working for your company, successful applicants should be asked to sign a contract. An employment contract can encourage your employees to work fairly and can outline rules of dismissal. It can also benefit your employees by giving them evidence that an agreement took place.

To write a good employee contract, you may want to consider hiring a legal writer. These writers can ensure that the wording of your contract cannot be misconstrued. Paper contracts are most popular, but you can also sign contracts digitally.

Consider writing an employee handbook

An employee handbook is no replacement for training. However, it can be a useful supplement. Employees will be able to reference this handbook when they are unsure of something. This could prevent them from having to come to you.

A handbook could be a physical book or a digital guide, depending on what you think is most suitable for your employees. In the case of a digital guide, you could even incorporate quizzes and tests that allow employees to further develop their knowledge.

Consider a leadership course

To be a good employer, you need leadership skills. Taking a course in leadership could be worthwhile for helping you to get the best out of your employees. It could be particularly important if you’ve never held a position of leadership before.

There are lengthy courses that you can take as well as courses lasting only a couple of days. There are even leadership workshops and seminars that may only last a day. On top of this, you can learn more leadership skills by reading books and watching videos.

Write a winning job ad

In order to attract the best applicants for the role, you’ll need to write a polished job ad that gets people interested. This will then be posted on job boards.

For a job ad to attract applicants, it needs to be well-written with no spelling or grammar mistakes to ensure that your company comes across as professional. You should also make sure that you’re advertising the perks of your job and not merely listing demands. Too much talk of what you want and not what you can give will put off applicants that have the freedom to be picky.

Schedule time ahead for recruiting

A lot of employees make the mistake of rushing the recruitment process. Make sure to schedule enough time for reading applications and conducting interviews. By doing this, you can make the recruitment process thorough and you can then increase your chances of hiring the perfect employee.