So, you’ve kicked off your business in the best possible way, and things seem to be going well. You’re making steady sales, and you are starting to find you just don’t have time to do everything you need to, nd there aren’t enough hours in the day. It must be a chance to start hiring some full-time employees if this is the case, right?

Well, maybe – but maybe not. Hiring people on full time can be more trouble than it’s worth if you aren’t actually ready to take on employees,. And before you start posting on job boards, you need to be sure that you are in the right position to deal with all the complexities that come with hiring staff. In this guide, we’re going to take you through everything you need to know about being ready to take on employees – let’s get started right away.

The basics

First of all, there will be many stages that you will feel like you need to hire, but it isn’t necessarily the right time. For example, you could feel desperate for help and take on the first person that walks through your door. You also might hire someone without really knowing why, or understand what you need them to do.

Given that hiring people is one of the most expensive things you can do in business, it’s easy to see why any of these situations could turn into a catastrophic mistake. As with anything in life, you need to be sure of the reasons why you need to to take every action – and plan for it, too.

The management

From the second you start hiring, you have a lot of responsibilities to take on. There are rules and regulations to follow, of course, and all kinds of health and safety and working time directives to deal with. You will want to read up on this safe handling of chemicals guide and ensure that you and your staff and trained appropriately in this, as well as in other areas such as fire safety and first aid. In addition, you’ll need to start handling sickness, employee holiday management, and much more besides, as well as being able to pay for your employees.

It’s not just a wage you need to pay for on the payroll, either – it’s also National Insurance, benefits, and equipment for your employee to use. Which brings us to our next point – ensuring you can afford to pay someone to work for you.

The money

There are two financial issues to consider before hiring someone. First of all, you need to pay them – whether you are making a profit or not. That puts a lot of pressure on you to ensure that your business continues to grow. Secondly, you need to hire people that are actually going to improve your company profits and make money for the firm. Doing this will ensure that your employee, effectively, pays for themselves.

So, consider the tasks you need help with to make more money. It doesn’t mean a sales job, for example, as hiring someone to do admin could be just as beneficial as it frees your time to do more money-making tasks. However, when you are in the early stages of a startup, it’s almost always better to be making money rather than saving it – as there is little money to save! There are a few different activities that tend to be money-makers. Advertising and marketing are a good starting point, of course, but even product creation can help, as it gives you something to sell. Don’t forget about customer service, either, which can help you offer support to clients and reduce the amount o f returns and complaints.  

The third parties

Of course, you don’t have to hire anyone full-time – you can outsource almost any task you can possibly imagine. And in the vast majority of cases, this is a safer route to go down than hiring someone, for a few good reasons. First of all, it gives you a chance to test the impact of bringing extra hands on board. Does it boost your profits or help you make more sales? Are you more productive and fruitful as a result? And is there enough work for them to justify offering a full-time position?

At some point, outsourcing will become expensive, but in the early stages, you will only be paying third parties for the work they do, meaning a better level of cost-efficiency. Once you know there is enough work to share around on a full-time basis, it makes your decision a lot easier, and the risks involved a lot less. And you might even find that the contractor will happily start working for you, or, at the very least, be willing to train your first hire and teach them everything they know. Good luck with the hiring process!  

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