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Now Hiring
By Sally Bell
What’s the fastest way to double the size of your home-based business? Hire your
first employee.
But while you’ll now have additional help, you can also
double your headaches if you don’t hire the right person for your home office.
And the hiring process starts well before the initial job interview.
For
starters, you need policies to prevent misunderstandings. What are the work
hours? What benefits can you provide? What attire is acceptable? Develop a short
professional employee handbook for all job applicants. Accompany it with a
detailed job description.
But hiring for a home office requires thinking
about personal matters, too. What rooms are off-limits to the employee? Is there
a bathroom just for the office space? Is your family OK with the employee’s
office being out of bounds?
Get the future employee’s work space ready
ahead of time so you can show it at its best. Clear away household items, then
scour the area. Make it warm and inviting, but professional.
It’s also
smart to get liability and workers’ compensation insurance in advance. If the
employee slips on something your child carelessly left on the stairs, you could
lose your business and a lot more.
Only now are you ready to start
hiring.
Clarify in your help-wanted ad that the person will work from
your home office — and reiterate it in your first phone conversation so
applicants know what to expect.
It’s your home, yes, but that doesn’t
mean being sloppy. Show your professionalism to give applicants confidence that
you know what you’re doing. Dress neatly for the interview, straighten both the
house and office space, provide a formal job application for each prospect to
fill out, and, darling as they are, keep the dog and the kids away.
Along with your regular interview questions, ask bluntly how each
applicant feels about working from your home and pay attention to misgivings.
You love it, but not everyone does.
Listen to your gut. Compatibility is
vital in a home-based business. You can teach your business, but not
personality. If you don’t get along, you both will be unhappy and the business
will suffer, no matter how competent the employee.
Part of
compatibility, of course, is matching personal habits. If you have pets, for
example, ask about pet allergies, even if Fido or Fluffy won’t be in your work
space.
A rigorous background check is all the more important when hiring
for your home office. After all, opportunities abound to steal not just business
assets such as computers, but also prized personal possessions like jewelry or
golf clubs. Even the suspicion of theft will sour a business relationship.
Lastly, don’t expect your shiny new employee to lessen your own
workload, at least for a while. Now you must generate enough work for two
people, handle more paperwork, plus deal with the sometimes daunting reality
that you are responsible for someone else’s livelihood.
But when your
first hire works, your business is on its way. You can take on new challenges,
share your glories and disappointments, exchange ideas — and hopefully, make
more money.