The following is a guest post by Kyra Kuik.
Hiring your first employee can be a daunting undertaking. There can be a lot of unknowns for a recruiting newbie, like what starting salary is appropriate, what a job description should look like, and what questions to ask during an interview.
Before you start the recruiting process, you first need to make sure you’re fully capable of affording an employee. As any HR pro can tell you, there are quite a few hidden costs to hiring beyond salary. You need to factor in employer taxes, benefits, work equipment (like a desk, computer, phone), etc.
Beyond the expenses of employing someone, there are also the added expenses of hiring your first employee. The time it takes you to advertise, interview, select a round of final candidates, interview again, and make a final decision costs you money and resources. The average cost per hire for all U.S. companies is $3,479, and you need to be fully prepared to foot that bill if you’re hiring.
Fortunately, there are loads of tools on the Web that can help you determine the steps to take in hiring your first employee, including whether or not you can foot the bill. For example, Simply Business is a UK-based company that created the infographic below about the necessary steps to take as a recruiter, including cost calculation. While this piece is UK specific, there are some great, universal take-aways for any recruiter. Click here to launch the interactive guide.
Of course, there are plenty of concerns beyond the financial when you’re hiring your first employee. Ultimately, you need to make sure you are mentally prepared to share your business with someone. If you have doubts you can trust someone else to help you run your business, it’s probably not time for you to hire.
Also, take into consideration any culture requirements you might have. Evaluate the current culture of your business, and how you would like to grow that culture. Your first employee will speak greatly to the future of your business, so make sure that person is a good fit for your business culture and goals.
Hiring is more than just bringing someone else on board. It’s about sharing your business, goals, and vision with someone else.
About the Author:
Kyra Kuik is a twenty-something writer and blogger who works for a creative internet marketing company in Seattle, WA. You can connect with Kyra via Twitter.
