Congratulations on opening your new business. You probably already have your business strategy in place, a product in mind, a place of business and the necessary equipment, so you’re ready for the next step: hiring some employees. You will have to be very careful when selecting your employees if you want your business to succeed.
Here’s a quick guide to making your first hires.
What sort of employees do you need?
In Australia, the framework for hiring and managing your workforce is outlined by the Fair Work Act of 2009, with all the subsequent amendments. You should use it as your basic reference tool.
As far as your future employees are concerned, try to establish how many people you will need on a permanent basis, as full-time employees, and what type of jobs can be outsourced or performed by part time employees.
You will obviously need some full-time employees, but keep them to a minimum. You don’t want to be paying people you only need from time to time.
If the job description involves working in shifts, you should discuss this with the job applicants before hiring them and make sure they understand and agree with your requirements.
You can employ someone for a fixed term or on probation. This is actually a very good idea when you’re starting out and don’t know what to expect of your employees.
Check this official site to learn more about the types of employees described by the Australian law and the differences as far as pay and agreements are concerned.
Before you hire anyone, make sure to check the legislation concerning ending the employment, to avoid making costly mistakes. An employee’s rights are strictly protected by law and you cannot get rid of them that easily if you’re not satisfied with their performance.
How to screen your future employees
If you don’t have a resource department, this will be your responsibility. Here’s what you need to do.
- Check out they’re educational qualifications
Have a look at their diplomas and, whenever possible, check to see if they’re genuine. They probably are, but why risk it?
- Ask for references
Look through the list of past employment in their resume and ask for written references or contact the previous employers to see if they were satisfied. A phone call or an email don’t take that long.
- Do a police background check
It doesn’t mean that you don’t trust them, it means you’re smart and want to protect your investment by making sure your employees have a clean record and won’t create any problems. This is another thing you can easily do online, by using the services of a character check agency. Don’t worry, such online bodies are fully accredited and can provide national police check in a couple of days. You can run a national level check or a state-based check. For example, in the state of Victoria, you will be required to get your employees to undergo a police check Victoria. A useful link for state based Australian police checks is as follows: https://www.australiannationalcharactercheck.com.au/Police-Check-Victoria-VIC.html
- Use your own judgment
Since yours is a small business, these are the people you’ll be working with every day. Make sure they’re easy to communicate with and are ready to support you in growing your business. Even if they’ve checked all the above boxes, if something strikes you as odd about them, go with your gut feeling and look for someone you will be comfortable working with!
