I think there’s stages for hiring for a young entrepreneur.
Stage 1 – Hiring 1st employee. I’m not talking about working with someone or a contractor, I’m talking about 1st employee. A w-2 employee who comes to you on a daily basis. This is a huge step that many entrepreneurs are just beginning to get frozen at. I froze for a while. It makes sense, but the pause when it’s time to get someone. You need to be the 1st one there and the last to leave. You need to have this new mindset that you work for them! Your whole little “Do whatever I want” Entrepreneur life suddenly has something you are responsible for and you need to be mature about it if you want respect.
Stage 2 – 2nd employee- once you have 2 employees you have a culture. It becomes something you need to monitor. What’s the relationship like between your two employees? How do they interact, what are their days like? Monitor interaction between them . making sure the other person doesn’t hate them and make their life miserable. Making sure they’re not best friends and chatting all day getting nothing done. Have 2 employees is way different than having one.
Stage 3 – is a 10th employee. Once you have around 10-15 you need managers of managers. This is a whole new stage and its actually where Im at right now. Operations manager- I admit I’m a little hesitant.
Stage 4- Never been here, but if you have people who are in charge of hiring and systems in place where it’s easier to replace people. New training manuals, etc. then the company holds more power. As long as i’ve been in stage 1 & 2 I’m always scared to lose people because if they go. My whole day is ruined. Say i need a new shipper. This make me more likely to let people get away with things. Its almost like i felt they were more valuable to me than I am to them. I imagine the next stage is when this dynamic shifts. Once there are systems in place for replacing and retraining. You can get rid of somebody who deserves it without having to worry. I think ill be at this stage in the next 1-2 years and looking forward to it. These are the stages I know. I have made a lot of mistakes and I’ve learned some good skills. I’ve been here and I think these tips are helpful! 5 Tips for hiring employees.
Tip 1) Where do I post jobs? Craigslist – $25 Facebook – free Linkedin – $10 a day minimum usually $900-100 to get legit candidates ZipRecruiter- Sucks!
Tip 2) Understand what they want Personal value- I use this small company Using skills that they love
Tip 3) Don’t hire a ‘Victim’ thinker. They hate hierarchy and hate “the system.” They must like the owner & respect the company. Theres 2 kind of these. Active victim thinkers(leaders) and non-active. If you have 3-4 people are non active then hire an active one, you will get 4 activated and lose 5 at once! This happened to me,
Tip 4) Watch for Cliques- especially ‘complainer’ cliques No cliques are the best cliques! Keep an eye. Who’s going to lunch together, who’s hanging out after work. Who is talking about the company together.
Tip 5) Remember the whole company is watching your decisions, act accordingly! Getting employees for your company is a journey, i would have loved these tips when i started so i hope its helpful!