HR for the Small Business Owner

Finding and Keeping Good Employees

​It’s no secret that good help is hard to find, and even after you find them, they’re hard to hang on to!
Hiring someone to help in your small business shouldn’t be too big a challenge, you think. Just put out the word with your friends and relatives and potential employees come flocking in the door - right? Yes, you will find some potential employees this way - you might even find the best this way. Word of mouth is still how most people find a new job. 
The applicants you get this way may not be the best fit for the position though.  Before you spread the word, advertise, or start combing the internet, be sure you know what you want. Make a list of the knowledge the position requires i.e. typing speed, software knowledge, speaks Spanish, etc. Describe to yourself your ideal employee’s characteristics: outgoing, able to travel, organized, clean, good communicator and so on. Once you know exactly what you require in an employee, you will be positioned to start looking for the right one.
After you’ve found the right one (don’t forget that EBR Consulting can help you with that), you still have work to do.
Where will they work, do you have the right equipment, are there safety issues in the shop/office/plant that the employee needs to be trained in? What are their hours, do you have a dress code, how do you want them to treat the customers/other employees?  Even is this is the only person you have working for you, it’s not a bad idea to have an employee handbook. (We can help you there, too!)
The most important thing you can do is train your employee right the first time.  No one is going to walk into a new job knowing everything they need to know.  You can let the new guy shadow you, showing them how things work as you go.
Shadowing you does two things - it teaches the new employee how things are done - and it also teaches the new employee how you want to treat customers, other employees, the public in general.  So be very sure that you are setting the example and walking the talk that you expect your employees to follow.
Keeping this good employee after you have spent time to train them is another thing to keep in mind.  More training is always welcomed by a good employee.  This is accomplished in several ways, depending on the size of your company.  You can transfer them to different departments to learn the other parts of your business if you have them.  You can send them to classes to learn new skills or pay for them to take online courses.  In a 2018 survey, 42% of employees say learning and development is the most important benefit when deciding where to work followed by health insurance (48%) (Udemy)
In a small business, this training may seem too time consuming or too expensive for you - it is the best way to spend your time and money because you want to have an employee who you trust - then you can go out and grow your business some more!