A guide to hiring and firing small business employees

The owner of a company sets the standards for any successful small business. Passion as well as relevant knowledge and skills can drive a company forward. As a business owner, you’ll need to delegate, which means having the right staff in place and potentially removing individuals who do not contribute appropriately.

Decisions regarding hiring and firing are not always easy. It’s important to ensure that you engage in either of these processes within the confines of the law. Outlined below are some important factors to consider when crafting your approach to both of these challenges.

The hiring process

For vacant positions, you are going to want to place an advertisement that is appealing. Describe the role clearly as well as any benefits that come with the job. As you vet potential candidates to find out if they might be suitable, make sure you are sticking to legal guidelines. For instance, you cannot make them give you information about their religious background or personal relationships. During interviews, make sure that you stay on task and focus on the experience and skills that the candidate could bring to the company.

While you can search for external candidates, you may also want to consider internal hires. Has someone already on your payroll shown the desire to move up the ladder? Internal promotions can be extremely beneficial, so it always pays to monitor the records of your existing employees.

The firing process

Unfortunately, employment relationships don’t always work out and you are almost certainly going to get rid of someone at some point. In such a situation, it is vital to adhere to the law. If an employee has had previous warnings or faced disciplinary procedures, then this must all be documented. Making this effort can help to show that you have done your utmost to resolve the issue – and that the termination was not based on discriminatory nor retaliatory grounds – if the case is ever litigated.

These are just some of the concerns that you’ll need to take into consideration when building your team. We help companies who are having issues with the hiring and firing process, contact us for a consultation to learn more.