It's natural that hiring workers of any kind for your fledgling business feels odd. You may have had relatives or friends dropping in to help you with work, but hiring real workers that you pay is a big step toward growing your company. Because it's new for you, however, these hiring mistakes could happen; you must guard against them.
Not Knowing Designations
The first hiring challenge is to understand that you'll either be bringing on full employees or freelance, independent contractors. Contractors will do one or a few tasks that they'll deliver periodically. Employees, however, will be on hand and on call throughout the week. For first-time bosses, that designation could be unclear or tough to determine. However, that affects your taxes, what you can ask of them and other issues. The IRS has a page which explains differences.
Asking Illegal Questions
You're probably always going to wonder about certain personal details which you feel have relevance to filling positions. However, illegal questions could torpedo interviews and cause legal jeopardy. Your focus whenever asking interview questions should be limited to skills and work-related scenarios.
Having No Manual
Your attention may be on how new workers can help your business, but remember that in addition to salaries or payment, you've got to give people some idea of what to expect with job related issues. Having no employee or contractor manual can be confusing for people and for you as well. You need to have one place to direct people for details about sick days, bonus pay, vacation time, employee conflicts and other issues. A manual can inform workers and save you from having to explain the same information each time someone comes on board.
Manuals are especially important because they should lay out the ways in which you can terminate any worker. To protect yourself, employment law experts should supervise the text inside the manual and the actions you lay out.
Offering No Training
You may have sought out skilled workers and trust that their skills are in line with what you need. However, it's smart to provide training on site. This gives you a chance to see what they do in work situations and allows you to correct any behavior which doesn't fit into your particular work ethic or culture.
Having No Training
Employees aren't the only people who need training. You should be seeking management training, harassment training and discrimination training. This education will enable you to relate better to workers and could prevent you from doing anything which could lead to legal action against you or the business.
Employment lawyers can further guide your worker hires. Discussing these issues and bringing on terrific people can provide a healthy work atmosphere for all. Contact a firm, like John H. Haskin & Associates, LLC, to get started.
