As a business owner you may have made the decision to hire people to work for the business as employees. What you may not have assessed is just how well prepared you are to do it successfully. The act of bringing additional staff into a business is one that should be well thought out prior to the first employment interview or job posting seeking additional help. However, as a business owner it may not be intuitive to think through the process of hiring others under the assumption that employees will share your vision, be as invested in the success of the business, have the same eagerness to contribute to the success of the business, etc.

Why Hire

Depending on the particular business owned, it may require a staff larger than just the owner for the business to achieve its goals. Owing to the geographic dispersion of the targeted market or consumers, the requirements of producing products, selling and marketing activities, servicing of existing customers, or any number of business requirements; it is not uncommon for employees to be necessary from the onset of the business or shortly thereafter. While there are many reasons to bring on additional staff, there are a few over-riding caveats to consider when determining what to consider before any applicant is even sourced.

As a business owner you possess certain skills and responsibilities that should be identified and remain yours to fulfill. For instance, it is the rare business owner that would leave strategic

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vision for the future of the company up to an employee. That would typically be something that the owner would retain as their own task. That work has high value to the company and should not typically be delegated to an employee; and certainly not until that employee has worked closely with the owner to internalize what is truly important and meaningful to the ongoing success of the business and how to best accomplish it. On the other hand, there are tasks that are essential to the business, but may be satisfactorily accomplished by others within the business other than owner. Potential examples might be; maintenance functions, information technology, bookkeeping, or other functions that are:

-More readily available in the labor pool
-Not as highly compensated as the tasks or functions that are associated with being exclusively the domain of business owners
-Essential, but would be a poor use of the owner's time and energy because it would decrease the opportunities for the owner to use the time more effectively or efficiently.

The other key reason to think of hiring others into the company is to provide for complementary skills to those possessed by the owner. If the owner is very creative and has a flair for innovation, it is often beneficial to balance that skill with an employee that is hired to provide some discipline and process into the business model. A person with a more quantitative background, logical approach to decision-making, or a preference for research and facts in business approach may serve as an excellent sounding board to ensure crucial insights are not overlooked.

Considerations:

1. Hire to free up owner's time to focus on the tasks best done by the owner
2. Hire to maximize the value of the owner's time, and delegate other tasks to employees
3. Hire to acquire points of view complementary to the owner's perspectives on business, decision-making, approaches, etc.

What To Look For

When seeking employees to join one's own business the default is often to hire on one's own image. To source people similar in personality or viewpoint may lead to greater harmony within the company as the chance for conflict is somewhat reduced, but it comes at a potential price to the success of the business. While if someone is a polar opposite to the owner it may cause tension and strife that is untenable, more often it is beneficial for the business, the owner, and the employee if there differences in personality or a variety of interests, experiences, and preferences amongst people working together. It allows for a more comprehensive approach to tasks, a blending of skills, and a chance for people to learn from one another.

An owner of a growing professional practice shared with me recently an incident in her business. She tends to be more process focused and task oriented person and she was frustrated by a receptionist who was sloppy in the administrative part of the job, but always seemed to have a smile on her face and warmly greeted customers. Thinking that what the role needed was someone stronger in the data entry, customer follow-ups, tracking of project work, billing, etc.; the owner brought in someone with those skills to try out as a receptionist with the thought of even possibly replacing the original receptionist. The owner was pleasantly surprised by the following:

-Customers began to ask for when the original receptionist would be working again as they missed interacting with her.

-The newly hired receptionist was functionally proficient at the organizational skill side of the job, but did not have the warmth of the current receptionist with customers.

-The owner's realization that when the two employees were allowed to work in tandem, the work was completed much more professionally and the customers were pleased with the human side of the interaction. The owner's own bias in what the critical aspects of the job were almost led her to make a decision that might have had disastrous results.

When culling resumes down or going through the interview process it is not uncommon for the interviewer to try to get a sense of the person that is not documented, a peek into the soul if you will. Often, the effort is designed to address whether this person is dedicated and loyal, or detail oriented, or some other trait that the interviewer values in an employee. However, what influence should it have if the person has interests or has behaviors that are different than the interviewers? If, in the course of an interview it should arise that the prospective employee is a fan of a different sports team, is that problematic? What if they support a different political party? In almost all instances, these would not be considered as a reason for not hiring a person. However, what if the behavior or experiences of the job applicant were in conflict with image of the business or were not consistent with the ideals of the owner? Does the owner make a short sighted decision if s/he chooses to not hire someone that has very different views on issues important to the owner? For example, if an owner is seeking a new marketing person for an advertising campaign, should an interviewee be penalized or lose the opportunity to join the company because s/he was previously affiliated with a company that is renowned for sending SPAM emails or for being associated with marketing pornographic websites?

Considerations:

1. Look for hires that will supplement or complement existing resources and not mirror that which is already in abundance
2. Think long and hard about what, if any, boundaries exist that would exclude an interviewee from further consideration.

What To Offer

When going through the hiring process, it is always best to provide a realistic vision of what the tasks, expectations, roles, and foreseeable future will be for the candidate. While it is natural to want to sell the opportunity to the candidate in the most positive light, if it is not reflective of what the employee will experience it is probable that the employee will grow frustrated, feel betrayed and may choose to leave or perhaps become a disgruntled employee working at less than full capacity or effort. It is also important to think through what exactly is being offered (if anything) beyond a salary or wage. Many employees have become savvy shoppers of competitive offers and may be swayed by additional offerings above and beyond the dollar compensation:

1. Tuition reimbursement
2. flex time or ability to work from home
3. bonus compensation for performance
4. non-monetary compensation (uniforms, "gas cards", company cars, etc.)
5. Health benefits

Hiring an employee is a step that should be seen as a strategic investment and not merely as the renting of another pair of hands in most instances. Careful thought to what is needed in expertise, what kind of person, and what remuneration is offered will go a long way in clarifying the relationship and will contribute to a successful hire and transition for the new employee and company.

David Zahn is a serial entrepreneur and consultant to Fortune 100 businesses (www.zahnconsulting.com) as well as entrepreneurial startups (www.startupbuilder.com).

The opinions expressed are the author's and not necessarily those of connpost.com. Please direct comments to cdauber@ctpost.com.