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How To Prepare For Your First-Ever Employee

A few weeks ago, CharlieHR tweeted asking for guest bloggers and, since I’m trying to do more blogging, I thought I would give it a try. It was tough choosing a topic but finally found one that would be useful, so scroll down to read it, or pop on over to Medium and take a read.

“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients” Richard Branson

First things first – Congratulations! Now, stop patting yourself on the back as you need to consider the following!

What’s Your Budget For Your First-Ever Employee?

Depending on what role you are looking to recruit for, there are various options a small business can take.

Look At The Type Of Contract You Offer

Ask yourself if you’re looking to fill a full-time role, a part-time position or maybe to start with, whether you could use a sub-contractor to test the water?

Ensure You’re Offering A Competitive Salary

Generally the more experience someone has the more money you will have to pay. Have you thought about making first-ever employee an apprentice, a graduate or even an intern? Would you have time to show them what to do? A graduate or intern might reduce salary, but don’t forget that time costs money too!

Once you have decided on your first-ever employee’s hours and salary, you need to remember to add on all your other costs — tax, National Insurance, and, from October 2017, their pension. As an average: if you add 15% to their annual salary and you won’t be far off.

The Legal Bit:

So, you‘ve found the person you want to hire – what next?

Make Sure You Have A Contract Of Employment

By law, you must have issued a Contract of Employment within two months of an employee’s starting date. Remember that both parties need to sign it — you will be surprised how often this is overlooked.

As An Employer, You Must Prove Your Employee Is Eligible To Work In The UK

Make sure your first-ever employee has provided the necessary paperwork to demonstrate they are eligible to work in this country. Just as importantly, make sure you keep the records to prove this on file. You may face a £20,000 fine per employee if you can’t.

Get Advice From Your Accountant On Using A Proper Payroll System

With RTI and auto-enrolment, you need to make sure you’re getting payroll right from the outset. Your accountant will be able to advise you regarding this.

Isn’t Induction For Big Companies?

50% of employees leave within the first 120 days of starting a new job because they felt their needs were not met. Ensuring your first-ever employee gets the best start is just as important as choosing the right candidate.

Use CharlieHR To Get The Onboarding Process Started For You

Why not prepare a video or presentation about your company and its culture? A directory of “Who’s Who” can go a long way to making newcomers feel involved from the start.

Ask New Starters To Complete Online Training Before They Start

New employees are eager to please and make an excellent first impression, so use this to your advantage! We know Health and Safety is a dry subject but, much like going to the dentist, it has to be done. Get it out of the way sooner rather than later.

Plan Their First Week; Especially Their First Day

Introduce new starters to key people in your business, like customers and suppliers. Remember to tell them where they can store their lunch or go to the loo. These basics are often the things that many employers forget to say!

Make Your Employees Feel Unique & Embrace Your Company Culture

From Friday beers to a buddy system, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

Plan Feedback Sessions Within Their First Three Months

…and put them in the diary! Make the time — even if only 30 minutes a month — to find out how they are doing.

Last (But Not Least), Don’t Forget The Basics!

Have a desk, chair, computer, phone and other items they might need to do their job on ready on their first day. Forgetting these will cost in the long run, as they sit around waiting to start work (and pondering on how unprofessional you are!)

“Your people are your biggest asset and your biggest cost. Look after them, and they will look after you, from their first day to their last.”

If anyone knows me or networks with me, you will know that I rate both CharlieHR and BreatheHR as HR systems. I wrote a blog about businesses who don’t want to pay a fortune for HR systems back in May. 

CharlieHR is an amazing product, and it is such a shame not more small businesses know about it as it saves so much time. The core product will always be free for a limited number of employees. Yes, I did say free! There’s not much that we can say we get for free, but in this case, it is true!

If you would like to find out more about how to prepare for your first-ever employee, how to make them welcome, or any of the legal bits, please book a call with me today.

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