So you’re wanting to hire your first employee? Read Part 1 first!
In this second part to our guide we talk you through the beginning of the hiring process. Next time we’ll be giving you tips on conducting the perfect first employee interview.
Who gets through to interview?
You have a pile of CVs, either sent straight to you or sourced and filtered by a recruiter. Where to start? Make sure you have your job description to hand. You decided what you needed when you wrote it and you should be comparing the candidate’s skills with the job description throughout. Obviously a recruiter would ensure skills and experience are up to requirement. We tend to favour people that we see as a reflecting our own qualities. It’s natural and not necessarily a good or bad thing, just be aware of it and question your motives. Ensure you are not dismissing people who, on paper, you have little in common with. A CV is a very poor way of judging personality and compatibility. You want your colleague to bring an exciting new perspective to your business. If you start making discriminatory judgments i.e. ‘She’ll probably go and have a baby’, ‘He’ll be retiring soon’ you’ll miss out on the best talent and potentially break the law – see below.
Don’t break the law!
There is a lot of legislation surrounding the hiring process and if you’ve never done it before you need to familiarise yourself with some key points. You don’t want your first hire to be memorable because of the employment tribunal! Your job description should not suggest any discriminatory language including things like ‘young and keen to learn’ or ‘strong and healthy’. A recruiter will ensure your advert doesn’t fall foul. There are government guidelines that you should familiarise yourself with. It is also the hirer’s responsibility to ensure their employee can work legally including, but not limited to, their visa status and obtaining appropriate DBS checks. When you take on staff you also need to ensure you register as an employer with HMRC, pay them minimum wage, have employer’s liability insurance, provide them with a written ‘statement of employment’ and check whether you have to enrol them on a workplace pension scheme. For full details check here.
Firing people is not easy
Your first hire (and all subsequent hires!) should be taken seriously. It can be difficult to maintain relationships, there will be conflicts and it might not work out. Rather like a divorce, letting someone go can be painful and expensive. Whether you have to dismiss an employee or make them redundant you must adhere to fair process and follow the law. If you need a replacement, consider the costs of hiring someone new. Remember this at every stage of the hiring process!
Make sure you are making decisions based on building long term relationships and if you’re not sure about a CV invite them to interview – an hour of your time could result in a lifelong working relationship. Some of our proudest hires started with taking punt.