Are you looking to hire some employees for your company? This can be an exciting time, but that excitement doesn’t come without some challenges attached to it.
Employees can make or break your company. And sometimes, finding the right employees for your company is not as easy as simply posting a job and conducting interviews.
You can take some essential steps in the hiring process to avoid hiring bad eggs that bring your company down. They ensure that you have employees who will do their job well and that you follow all the legal aspects of hiring new employees to avoid fees, fines, and more.
To help you navigate the process of hiring employees, we have created this how-to guide to get you hiring employees successfully and with as little stress as possible.
The Easy Parts of Hiring Employees
Don’t let all the thoughts of hiring employees scare you–it’s not all difficult! To get things off on the right foot, let’s chat about some aspects of hiring employees that you can check off your to-do list without too much work.
Choose the right job title.
When posting jobs for your company on the website, LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, or any other job board, it is crucial you choose a job title that accurately reflects the job and is also highly clickable.
The clickability of the job title helps to put your position high in search results and helps to attract candidates that are qualified and strong.
You want to steer clear of fun buzzwords such as “wizard,” “rockstar,” or “ninja” since those aren’t things that potential candidates typically type into the search bar. They also don’t show what the job is.
Stick to a job title that has 80 characters or less, as those are the ones that tend to get the most clicks.
Find the best candidates.
This seems like one of the most daunting parts of the process, and you’re right–it can be. However, that is typically the case when you don’t have the right tools to help you get the best candidates possible.
It is no secret that the traditional way of finding candidates for a job in your company means weeding through stacks of applications that are honestly a waste of your time.
However, by implementing recruiting software into your hiring process, you simplify finding top-notch candidates. One of the top recruiting software options is Breezy HR.
Breezy HR is an end-to-end recruiting solution that helps you find top talent in a way that is efficient and easy for you. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Run a background check.
Fast-forward to when you’ve identified a great candidate for a position and made an offer.
The next step is running a background check. This step in the process is vital as it keeps your company and employees safe. If you have customers, this is important for their safety, too.
A background check is the best way to verify that they indeed are who they say they are. And to run a background check, the applicant must authorize it.
Before diving into background checks, learn about your state’s specific laws surrounding them. There are some complicated legal requirements and restrictions on these types of checks, so be sure you know what is and isn’t allowed in the state your company is in.
Some states only allow you to pull information about certain criminal history, while others require that the position meets specific requirements to even pull an applicant’s credit history.
To ensure you comply with all the requirements and laws, you may want to use a third-party agency to do the background checks for you. This makes the process much easier and stress-free for you. We at QuickSprout have identified the top five background check companies.
The Difficult Parts of Hiring Employees
As much as we’d like to only focus on the positives, that won’t help you find success in your hiring process. So, we’ve got to cover some of the struggles that people run into when hiring employees, too.
Here are the most common roadblocks in hiring.
Long lead times.
The hiring process is typically not a quick one. From putting up the job posting to reviewing resumes, from interviewing to offers and everything in between, the time between the first and last steps of the process can be quite long.
That is a challenge because most top candidates find jobs within 10 days, far longer than the average time it takes to hire.
For this reason, some people suggest that you don’t wait to hire until you have an open position. Some companies are always on the lookout for strong candidates, and if they find someone who is the right fit, they hire them and then sort the rest out later.
You can also mitigate some of the lead time by forecasting your hiring needs annually instead of monthly or quarterly. Suppose you’re able to forecast further ahead. In that case, you’ll be able to snap up great candidates for the positions you know are coming instead of waiting until you need someone immediately and starting the hiring process.
Managing multiple job postings.
Hiring managers or other professionals typically use more than just one website to list open positions. While it is important to get your job postings on as many relevant job boards as possible, that isn’t always as easy of a task as it sounds.
The vast majority of hiring professionals struggle with using multiple different channels to place job openings, as that requires a lot of balancing. Not only are job boards a place they need to be posting on, but social media is as well. In fact, professional social networks like LinkedIn are the top sources of great hires. However, not all hiring professionals use these channels because they feel overwhelmed.
Great recruiting software like Breezy HR helps manage multiple job boards and postings and keeps track of everything in one place.
You’re not hiring for culture fit.
Though the most crucial part of hiring employees is making sure they can do their job, that is not the only thing you want to consider. Company culture is something that often gets pushed to the wayside but is integral to the success of your hire and the company.
If your hire doesn’t feel like he or she fits into the company, then chances are good he or she won’t stay very long. Or, if they do, they will cause waves for other employees.
Pay attention to the beliefs, behaviors, and personalities of the people you are looking to hire and see if they align with your company’s values and the workplace environment. And yes, this also applies to those people who are working remotely. Company culture still exists when you aren’t physically in the same office together.
You can help alleviate this issue by conducting behavioral interviews and background checks that may help any red flag come to light.
Step 1: Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
If you haven’t already, the first step is to register your business with federal and state authorities.
It is a requirement that every business that hires employees has an employer identification number which is used for tax purposes. The best way to explain an EIN is that it is the equivalent of a social security number for companies.
Check Your State’s Requirements
How you get an EIN varies from state to state, so this is something you have to do via your state’s labor department website.
Some states may require mailing in an application, while other states may be able to give you an EIN in just a few minutes.
Step 2: Prepare for Recruiting
Now that the registration and EIN are out of the way, you can get started on recruiting. Starting this step off right means that you have a higher chance of the recruiting process going smoothly and your company getting some strong hires out of it.
Use Recruiting Software
The top tool to help you with recruiting from start to finish is recruiting software. Breezy HR helps you attract the best candidates and one we rated very highly in our research. Whether you are recruiting in-house or via an agency, good software is key.
Breezy HR offers all kinds of features, including:
- Reporting and analytics
- Candidate management
- Automation of candidate emails and SMS messages
- Scheduling of interviews
- Job advertisement
- Sourcing candidates
- Career portal
- Team collaboration
One of our favorite parts about Breezy HR is that it solves one of the problems we discussed earlier: managing job postings. With this recruiting software, you can advertise your company’s jobs on over 50 different job boards with just one click. That means less time individually posting and more time focusing on the strong candidates.
You can also build Employee Referral Sites quickly and easily, which helps you get candidates that currently employees can vouch for. According to a LinkedIn study, employee referrals are four times more likely to be hired, and 45% of employees sourced from employee referrals stay at the company for at least four years.
Breezy HR offers a few different pricing options that each open up additional features for you to use.
- Bootstrap. This version is entirely free and gives you all the basics you need to hire for one position.
- Startup. $143 per month. This version is for a hiring experience that is “enhanced.”
- Growth. $249 per month. This version helps those with a growing team.
- Business. $399 per month. This version allows for the most hiring control as well as the most flexibility.
Define the Role
Before you start doing any hiring, you need to figure out precisely what you need.
What are the critical tasks that you need help with? Where is your company lacking? How can someone improve things?
Once you’ve answered those questions, you can move onto the level of responsibility this person has. Is it an entry-level position? Or something more senior?
With those questions answered, you can then decide what the pay is for the open position. This takes into account the work, the level of responsibility, as well as the budget.
Lastly, think about the experience, education, and skills that you want from someone for this position.
Write A Thorough Job Description
With all of the above information, sit down and write the job description. The more well-thought-out and clear your job description, the higher chances of success you have of hiring the right person.
Remember to keep the job title clear and accurate. You should definitely list out the job responsibilities and requirements and remember to talk about your company and why a candidate would want to work there. Do you offer perks or competitive benefits and compensation? Mention it in the description to attract good candidates.
While you are trying to find a strong employee, candidates are looking for a great new employer. And the job description may be their first introduction to your organization.
Step 3: Find Your Candidates
With recruiting software in place, you can start the process of finding the best fit for your open positions. You want to get your job out there and attract the most qualified candidates. Here are three ways to find top candidates for open positions.
Employee Referrals
Employee referrals are one of the top ways to find strong candidates. Referrals save you time because someone that already works for you vouches for them. They also keep you from having to sort through a pile of unqualified resumes to find a couple of solid options (hopefully).
Job Boards
Posting on multiple job boards helps to get the word out about your company openings. And Breezy HR comes in strong with the help in this step. Recruiting best practices say you should post your job on multiple job boards to get a broader reach.
Social Media
LinkedIn is one of the top recruiting tools used today, so don’t forget to look for candidates there. You can essentially see their resume before you even decide whether to spend time pursuing them for any positions.
If you choose to upgrade to LinkedIn Recruiter, you’ll be able to anonymously view people’s profile without it alerting them. It also lets you search across much wider audiences instead of only within three degrees of your connections. You can also utilize InMail to message candidates you are not connected to.
Step 4: Conduct Interviews
Now that you’ve received resumes and sifted through all of the unqualified candidates, you hopefully came out with a few potential hires. Next comes the interview process.
Here is an example of how to approach an interview.
- Introduce yourself and the company
- Let them know what to expect during the interview
- Review the job responsibilities and requirements
- Start with general questions about them
- Review their resume and dive deeper into relevant experience
- Ask some consistent questions for all candidates
- Allow candidates to ask questions
- Share a timeline of your hiring plan
When the interviews are over, make sure to thank the candidates and let them know when to expect a follow up. Even if you do not hire the person, they still deserve a personal rejection.
Step 5: Make an Offer
After the interviewing process, you’ll have your list narrowed down to the top candidate, a.k.a, your new hire.
Now it’s time to offer them a job! This is an exciting time for both parties.
Call First
Before sending out the official offer letter, schedule a time to talk and invite them to join your team. On this call, you can discuss the different terms of the offer, which includes:
- Salary
- Benefits
- Start date
Send Written Offer Letter
If the call goes well and the candidate accepts the verbal offer, the next step is sending an official offer letter that reiterates all the things you discussed on the phone. Ensure the offer letter includes all compensation and benefits information, plus anything you need from them for the next steps.
The next steps might be to send back a signed offer letter, submit references or background check information, take a drug test, or any other pre-onboarding things.
Step 6: Take Care of the Legal Stuff
To comply with federal and state labor laws, you must meet a number of different legal requirements.
For Your First Hire Ever
If you have never hired an employee before, you need to do the following:
- Get an EIN (done in step one of this guide)
- Register with your state’s labor department
- Complete paperwork for federal tax withholdings
- Get workers’ compensation insurance if required in your state
For A New Hire
If you already have employees but have hired a new one, you need to do the following:
- Run a background check
- Have the new hire fill out an I-9
- Have the new hire sign W-4
- Report the new hire to your state’s reporting agency within 20 days of the hire