How to Hire Good Employees for Small Business

To hire good employees for small business, start with clear job descriptions that attract qualified culture fits. Go beyond resumes by conducting thorough interviews and using pre-employment testing.

These skills tests objectively evaluate candidates’ talents and job fit, revealing their potential to be passionate, adaptable problem-solvers. 

As a small business owner, you have to juggle multiple roles, from being the visionary to the accountant and sometimes even the janitor. However, one of the most crucial tasks you will face is hiring employees for your small business.

After all, your employees are the backbone of your business, and making the right hiring decisions can make or break your success. 

What Makes A Good Employee for a Small Business?

The best employees for small businesses are problem-solvers who fit the company culture. They share the core values, have a passion for the work, tend to be entrepreneurial, adapt to changing priorities, and have a high level of ethics.

Finding team players with a self-driven mindset allows lean small business operations to thrive.

Small businesses are the engines driving the American economy, accounting for an incredible 99.9% of all U.S. companies. However, hiring the right employees for small business is the start of success. 

What is the Bottomline Cost of Bad Hires for Small Business?

The Center for American Progress estimated that replacing an employee can cost approximately 21% of that employee’s annual salary. For a small business with tight margins, that’s a big hit to absorb.

From publishing job postings to interviewing candidates, the hiring process requires an investment of time and money. When you make a poor hiring decision, you have to restart this costly cycle. 

Bad hires can also have a significant impact on a company’s productivity, culture, and reputation. A recent article from Business mentions that in addition to the financial costs, bad hires can result in lost clients, increased stress levels among co-workers, and extra time spent by other team members to fix their mistakes. 

How Can You Hire Good Employees for Small Business?

The perils of bad hires are reflected in the bottom line. Follow these steps when hiring employees for your small business will help in  building a dream team that propels your business forward:

Craft a Clear and Compelling Job Description

The hiring process starts with a well-written job description. Be specific about the skills, experience, and qualifications you’re looking for. This will attract the right candidates and weed out those who don’t fit the bill. 

Don’t be afraid to get creative – a compelling job description can make your small business stand out in a competitive job market. To reach as many potential candidates as possible, make use of social media, your professional network, and recruitment websites.

Look Beyond the Resume

While a candidate’s resume is important, don’t let it be the sole factor in your decision. Conduct thorough interviews, ask for work samples, and consider pre-employment tests to get a comprehensive understanding of their abilities. 

Remember, you’re not just hiring a set of skills; you’re hiring a person who needs to fit into your company culture and contribute to your team’s success.

Assess Cultural Fit

Speaking of culture, this is a critical factor that many small businesses overlook. Skills and experience are important, but cultural fit is just as crucial, especially in a close-knit, small business environment. 

Look for candidates who share your company’s values, work ethic, and vision. After all, a team that works well together is more likely to achieve great things.

Use Pre-Employment Tests

As a small business owner, sifting through hundreds of resumes for a job role can be a daunting task. Thankfully, pre-employment testing is an effective tool that can help you streamline the hiring process. 

These tests can do the heavy lifting of assessment for you. By conducting skills based pre-employment tests, you can gain insights not only into whether candidates have the necessary skills for the position but also to what degree they can perform the required tasks.

With pre-employment tests, you can effectively evaluate a candidate’s attention to detail, fundamental computer skills, workplace math skills, and other relevant abilities.

Pre-employment tests can also help identify candidates who have inflated their skills or qualifications. By relying on objective data rather than solely self-reported information, small business owners can make more informed decisions based on the candidate’s actual abilities.

Interested to know how many candidates lie on their resumes? Check out these stats!

The Bottom Line

Building a strong team is the foundation of a successful small business, and making the right hiring decisions is crucial. 

Investing time and resources into the hiring process may seem like an added expense upfront, but it can save you from the potential costs of bad hires. Don’t risk losing time, money, and productivity by hiring the wrong person. 

PRO TIP: Interested to know how much can be saved on bottom lines by using pre-employment tests to hire the right employees for small businesses? Check out this eye-opening and valuable ROI calculator tool.

Not all pre-employment testing platforms are the same. Be sure to check out comprehensive test lists, or if one is offered, take a free sample test.