The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that about 7 million of the 10.9 million jobs added back to the economy have been driven by small business. For 15 consecutive quarters small business has driven employment growth -accounting for as much as 80 percent of job gains in any given quarter.
If you are a small enterprise looking to hire talent, this is good news. There are many talented professionals out of work eager to rejoin the labor force working for start-ups and small businesses. Hiring the right person and having a mutually successful relationship is not always easy. Here are some steps you can follow to ensure that you are selecting the right person and setting up the relationship for success:
1 – Be clear in what resource you need. Take the time to write a job description that encompasses the overall responsibilities of the position as well as the specific tasks. Think about the minimum education and experience level needed in order for the candidate to be successful in the position.
2 – We all know that employees of a small enterprise often wear multiple hats. Be clear about this and make sure you are hiring someone who is flexible and adaptable. Ask the candidate to describe situations where flexibility and juggling of tasks was demonstrated in a work situation.
3 – Compensation arrangements can be difficult to arrange in a small enterprise, as resources are limited. The more talented and experienced the individual, the higher the requested compensation will be. You may have to resort to incentive compensation arrangements like bonuses and stock options to attract the talent you need.