Halloween is traditionally a time for carving pumpkins, dressing up and being scared by folks dressed up as ghouls, witches, werewolves and vampires.

Exactly the kind of people that you don’t want employed in your organisation!

So how do you make sure that you get your recruitment process right?

How can you make sure that you hire the right people who can perform the tasks that you need for a collaborative team and to form a great workplace culture?

Lots of business owners tell us that employing people is one of the scariest things about running a business. Even very established businesses get nervous when it comes to employing people – so imagine how less experienced, bootstrapping start-ups feel? Quaking in their boots!

Fear not! We have put together a practical checklist for you to follow and there’s even a downloadable Magic Book to help you.

You will be able to stop feeling trepidatious and confidently get on with growing your business by getting the right people on board.

As with every other task in life, if you put in some advance planning and thought behind the recruitment process, this preparation will stand you in good stead.

 So here is the basic checklist for you to follow:

• Do you really need to hire an employee? Can you outsource effectively to another organisation (for example for admin tasks or telephone answering or getting a Virtual Assistant rather than hiring a full time employee for now?)
• If you feel it has to be an employee then crack on with the next things on our checklist! The first of which is a job description. Make a list of the roles you need to be carried out. This can be daily tasks or the responsibilities that the person will have in the role.
• Person specification – narrow down the qualifications and experience you’d expect to see in the person to carry out this role.
• Set put the basic information in a transparent way. Do include hours of work, do include salary information and full information about benefits. Imagine you were buying a car – you are less likely to be interested in a car that is advertised that does not give the price, mileage and condition. We think you stand a better chance of getting people interested in applying for the role if you give a great description.
• Spread the word. Think of the appropriate platforms to advertise your job. Some might be free and others might come with a fee. For example, putting it on your website, but also sharing this on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or an on-line jobs board like Indeed.
• Interviews – put some thought into the shortlisting and interview process with some planned and relevant questions

The first thing we did when growing our business was to find a great Virtual Assistant. The first task we asked her to do was to take over all the administrative tasks from me and to help us look after the compliance and operational elements of the business. I got her to compile something we call the Magic Book. All the information from the Magic Book lived on my laptop or in my head or in various emails. Having all the information in one place meant that delegating various tasks to our VA then become easier and easier.

Doing it this way means that as you grow your business and possibly need more assistance than the VA can give you, the Magic Book can be updated and passed on and you don’t have to start from scratch each time.

Need a Magic Book template to pull together the future delegation of some of your tasks? Why not download it from us here

So, we have shared with you some tips, a checklist and our Magic Book. Have a happy Halloween filled with happy pumpkins, treats and tricks! And don’t ever be scared by recruitment again!