Don’t Waste Money on the Wrong Freelancer Posted on November 24, 2015 by Jessica Lunk 5 techniques for hiring the right freelancer for your project I know from experience that hiring a freelancer can give small teams the agility to accomplish their goals – without adding another person to the payroll. Hiring a freelancer is a lot like hiring a permanent employee, but there is one difference – the freelancer is in a more precarious position than the applicant is. The freelancer knows this isn’t a permanent gig for them – they can only hope that you decide to use them frequently. Benefits, salary, vacation time and any of the other things that come with permanent employment are not on the table. That includes the comfort of knowing that their bills are satisfied on a monthly basis and that they are allowed to have an off day. It behooves them to look good, but what should be done isn’t always what is done. So it’s good to know that hiring a freelancer is easy. You can do it right now, if you really want to. There are people out there clamoring to do the kind of work you need done – whatever it is! You can find someone online, offer them the job, and they’ll take it with little to no questions asked. Lots of people do it. What’s not easy, though, is finding the right fit for your project. Here are some things you should consider when hiring a freelancer: Define Your Project Much like when writing a job listing, you need to know what your final product is. A clear understanding of what you want ahead of time is imperative. It helps the freelancer accurately pitch their services and price their work. This doesn’t mean that some details won’t change along the way but a change in scope is a big deal and would need to be renegotiated. Ask for Samples A good freelancer will be able to provide you samples of their work so that you can decide if they have the qualities you are looking for. Sure, everyone starts somewhere, but depending upon the type of project you are hiring for, you may not be able to let them cut their teeth with you. Know Your Timeline Once of the great things about working with a freelancer is that the work can be done quickly after the preliminary discussions are over. Be sure your candidates understand your timelines and can be flexible enough to meet them. Firm up these timelines before ever sitting down with a freelancer. Outline Your Budget This sounds like a simple in house task but it isn’t. While it is important to have your budget in place, you also need to know what the going rate for the kind of work you are requesting is. Do some research before reviewing freelancers to be sure you aren’t offering too little or too much pay for the task at hand. Prepare to Be Interviewed The freelancer is looking for several things in a potential client as well including a well-thought out end product, effective communication, and reliability. If they think they can’t trust you on any of those concerns, you may have a hard time sealing the deal. Be sure to put your best forward, too. Hiring freelancers isn’t a hard thing to do, but remember this: you get what you pay for. It may be tempting to go cheap and save a couple of dollars but what you lose in availability and proven ability will cost you more in the long run. Invest the time and effort required to find the freelancer that is the perfect fit for you and for your product. It’ll save you stress and a fair amount of money in the long run.
So Your Small Business is Thinking of Hiring an Intern Posted on October 16, 2015June 3, 2016 by Jessica Lunk You want to hire an intern; someone to photocopy forms, file papers, backup drives, run out and get coffee for the office, set up meetings, and make lunch reservations? If that’s what you’re thinking, it will be beneficial for you to reevaluate your definition of an intern; they are not a gofers, whether they are paid or not. An intern is a person who is interested in your business or industry for a reason – they want to get a foot in the door or the business or want to try the industry on for size. Either way, they are a valued resource that your company should view as potential candidates rather than free help. There are a couple of things you should consider when thinking about bringing an intern onboard: Know What Your Goals Are What are you planning to expose your intern to? What tasks are they responsible for while working with you? Planning out an intern program ahead of time makes more sense than just bringing someone in to expose them to working in an office. The process of interning should be respected by both parties. As such, both of you must come prepared. Internships with a Purpose If your small business is considering bringing on an intern it makes sense that the motivation is two-fold. You not only want to have entry-level help for specific project and ramp ups, but you are also interested in cultivating a potential employee. Be sure that you are taking the necessary steps to getting a candidate that will suit your needs. Look for motivation, interest in your specific industry, and a willingness to learn from a small business perspective (read wearing multiple hats and understanding the business in a well-rounded fashion). College students or newly minted grads are perfect for this exercise. Treat it like a Real Job Going into the exercise as thought this was a real job is crucial. Interns looking for knowledge should get it from the very onset of the process. Conduct interviews with question designed to get a feel for what they are looking for and why they chose you as a potential fit. Divulge a bit about what they would be doing at your company as well. When you bring on an intern be sure to have an internship agreement that specifies the duration of the internship, pay (if applicable), and agreement between the two parties to work. Create a timesheet for the intern and be sure it is kept up to date with accurate hours. To Pay or Not to Pay, That is the Question You can go both ways with your interns but you’ll have to look into the requirements of either choice. If you want to go the unpaid route, be sure to consult the Fair Labor Standards Act to be sure you are in alignment. But the unpaid route is usually the big business route – ones with a large footprint in specific industries and ones with names that stand out on resumes. As a small business, you should consider paying your interns. Bringing on an intern is a wonderful opportunity to nurture a person’s goals and interests. It can be as fulfilling for the business as it is for the intern.
How to Find the Right Employee for Your Small Business Posted on October 2, 2015September 2, 2022 by Jonathan Herrick You went into business because you believe in the product or service it supports, right? But now you realizes that you can’t do it all on your own. You want to bring in the right people to help grow your business but have no idea how to do that? There are several things you need to pay attention to when looking for the right candidate to join your company, so much so that the process can seem overwhelming. But don’t worry. This article will help you put it all in perspective so that you can successfully apply it to your hiring processes. Here are some qualities that you want to look for and how to find them in candidates: Are they any good? This seems like a simple point, but you would be surprised how many people don’t do the due diligence required to figure this out. Their resume may list several degrees, but does your position call for a bunch of acronyms after (or before) their names? Does having a Ph.D. in English really matter for a Project Management position? It is easy to become blinded by all the years of schooling but it is important to keep your feet grounded and see what is unimportant: can they do the job they are applying for? Do they have soft skills? You may have a person who is technically sound and knows how to configure hardware better than anyone else in the industry but can they relay that information to a colleague? How do they handle change? It is important to know whether the person you are hiring is able to communicate effectively and partner on projects. This is important in every business but more so in small businesses where people sit in close proximity and are responsible for a lot of functions at one time. Will they fit in? Before you dismiss this item on the list think about your company. Is there a certain feel that either you have fostered or that morphed on its own? Most companies have it – this unmentioned collection of thoughts and mindsets that permeates the business and your approach to work. It’s called company culture and it can be a good thing or a bad thing to specific candidates. Making sure that a person fits in with the culture is something you can glean in an interview but it is still difficult to do. After all, people are on their best behavior when sitting in front of a potential employer. It might be difficult to ascertain whether or not this candidate will “fit in” but it is important that you keep a keen eye toward them and their personality traits and include that in your overall assessment. But that’s not all. Finding the right candidate for the position in your company is not a one-way street. There are some things that you have to do to make sure that you are presenting yourself not only as an appealing option, but also in an accurate light. Know what you want. If you prepare the employment ad with an understanding of what the position entails and what skill sets are needed, you will get more applicants that match your requirements. Be clear and concise. Be sure to list required qualifications. This should weed out those who do not possess the proper skills to work for you. Set expectations properly. Candidates should understand the product they are working on and future goals before applying to the position. Without giving your candidates a roadmap of at least 3 months, they cannot accurately determine if the company is moving toward something they would like to be a part of. Hours and responsibilities are also things you should be upfront about. It will make for a better interview. Be nice. Another simple point but well worth posting. Create an ad that is respectful. A threatening or uncompromising tone will do more to damage your prospects than help to deter unwanted inquiries. Looking for candidates can be a difficult undertaking but there are several sites online that are highly traveled by potential employees such as Indeed.com and Monster.com. Social media has also stepped up as a tool for finding potential employees. Utilize LinkedIn to find people with the skills you are looking for. As always, reach out to your current employees and let them refer candidates.
7 Small Business Hiring Hacks You Can’t Live Without Posted on September 11, 2015 by Erin Posey Finding strong talent is important for building a great team. However, small businesses often struggle with recruitment, since they can’t dedicate an entire department to the process and don’t always have the same things to offer that big companies do. Rather than settling for the lower talent pools, here are some hiring tips for hacking your recruitment process. Streamline the Process When you designed your website for the consumer, you probably put a lot of time and effort (and money!) into making the process easy to navigate and conversion-friendly. However, most companies don’t put much thought into their application process to encourage potential talent. Make it a one-click process and don’t require your talent to fill out page after page of information they have already entered elsewhere. To really streamline the process, you can even embed an “Apply with LinkedIn” button directly onto your website and remove barriers applicants might face with lengthy forms and indirect processes. Treat Candidates Like Customers As we just stated, you want to make the application process as easy to navigate as your product website is for your customers. At the same time, you want your listings to read like enticing products that peaks the interest of top talent. Be Authentically You Your brand needs to be a realistic place with a realistic approach to appealing to candidates. Stop purchasing cheesy stock photos and using them as-is. Instead, create your own images and visual aids that resonate with candidates because of the authenticity shown. Give your employees free reign to talk about their workplace on social media and be the kind of brand that builds brand advocates. This will help improve your candidate pool. Nurture Your “Leads” Candidates are like leads and you have to go past the lead generation. Sure, you can get new people clicking on links and viewing your job listings, but how are you connecting with them after that initial show of interest? Look into retargeting ads for those who saw the listing and never applied. Also, create an outreach plan to keep your candidates in the loop and let them know what they can expect from you and the company during the hiring process. Keep your leads in the loop and you won’t burn bridges with top talent as you go. Reduce Multi-Tasking Surprisingly, studies have shown that multi-tasking actually slows down productivity. Focus on one task at a time to get the most out of your efforts. If you have to juggle the recruitment efforts, consider taking a certain day of the week or time of the day to focus solely on your tasks related to recruiting talent and listing jobs. Create an Autoresponder To reduce your efforts, you can simply set up an automatic email to be sent to each new applicant, thanking them for applying and explaining the next steps in the process. By letting the applicant know what they can do next or when they can expect to hear from you, you will receive fewer calls and have to write fewer emails yourself. Send the email from the CEO or boss who will be overseeing the hiring process so there is continuity in the procedure. Keep the Candidate in Mind Once you’ve brought in the candidate for an interview, never keep them waiting. Your first impression is a lasting one and could make a big impact, driving away talent you need. Be prepared for the interview and offer refreshment. After the process is over, send a personal thank you and be honest about where they stand in the proceedings. Constructive feedback is valuable for nurturing talent and you may be able to glean tips for your own process (such as how other competitor hiring processes went and what you could improve on). During the hiring process, you are also being interviewed. With these hiring tips, you will win over the talent you need for your business.
How to Hire the Right Employee for Your Small Business Posted on August 31, 2015April 3, 2024 by Don Breckenridge There are few things more crucial to the success of a company than its people, especially for a small business. With a small workforce, each new hire has an outsized impact on the company’s culture and achievements. Brett Lewis, who co-founded Skillbridge, an online platform for business freelancers, has said, “Great people versus okay people is the difference between success and mediocrity.” Hiring the right people is also important for controlling costs. Recruiting is a big expense for a business of any size, and if that employee isn’t a good fit it’s expensive to replace them. The median cost of replacing an employee is 21 percent of that person’s annual salary according to the Center for American Progress. For employees earning less than $50,000 annually it’s about 20 percent; for positions that pay $30,000 and under—which includes more than half of all U.S. workers—it’s 16 percent. That’s significant, especially to a small business. Make sure your hiring practices allow you to find the best candidates for every position. First, write out all the tasks involved in the role you need to fill. Then add to that the personality you feel is best for the role, the salary, benefits, time commitment and the other employees that person will be working with regularly. Write out the overall goal of the position, even if it’s very general. Then include the specific skills needed for the job, whether that’s knowledge of Java, QuickBooks, Excel, WordPress, etc. Devote time to hiring. As a small business owner, you probably don’t have an HR department—and likely not even an HR person–to whom you can delegate a lot of the hiring process. Yes, it’s difficult to add this to the array of hats you’re already wearing but it’s crucial for the success of your business. So schedule it into the workday as you would any other meeting or task. Look in the right places for the right people. Now that you know what you are looking for, where do those types of candidates spend time, both on and offline? Find out by talking with other small business owners, as well as vendors, friends and family about where they find good candidates for the position you need to fill. Don’t limit yourself to active job seekers. Every employee today is a passive candidate, so it pays to look where people are already doing the job you need done at your company . If you need someone with HR experience, for example, go to human resources association meetings. If you need someone in sales, attend trade shows in your industry. If it’s someone with very specific expertise, for example, a senior financial officer who understands financial technology, try fintech meetups. Don’t be desperate. Desperation will only cause you to compromise on what you want and, ultimately, wind up with the wrong hire. So don’t fool yourself into thinking that a warm body in the position is better than no body at all—that can wind up being an expensive mistake. Wait until the right person is available for the job. Test drive. Consider hiring someone on a contract basis, which is a cost-effective way of conducting a candidate search. Contractors mean you can have the staff you need immediately but without having to make a long-term commitment. If the person turns out to be terrific then you can offer them a full-time position. And since they’ve already been doing a great job, you can be secure in the knowledge you’ve hired the right person. Hire the right employee the first time to conserve costs and drive growth for your business. Do you have any hiring tips to share with other small business owners? Share them with us on Facebook.