Human Resources For Small Business

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

I’d be willing to bet the vast majority of small businesses, do not have a distinct Human Resources manager and as a result, it is an added responsibility for the owner. Now please understand there are numerous regulations and legalities regarding employers and employees and am I not going to cover those today.
What I would like to share with you is a means you can be adopt and modify to the specific needs of your small business, and at the same time help build a better relationship with your employees. I see it as a combination of human resource management and human resources training.
Let’s begin with hiring a new employee. I believe what’s critical here is that you understand your responsibility as a team leader. When you and your team clearly recognize your goals and objectives, you can better rely on the success you are seeking. Begin with writing down your description of the position you are hiring for, and once again think about it in terms of your goals and objectives.
Now you can consider placing an ad where you do not share those goals and objectives just yet. I’ve used this approach before, when working for someone else. In my ad I requested a resume so I could understand their background and whether or not they might have had some previous experience that could contribute to our objectives. I didn’t provide a phone number, only an email regular postal address, so they could mail it to us if they had to.
Once I received their responses, I would review them and evaluate them in relation to our goals and objectives. If I believed they might be of some value to our goals and objectives, I would send them a special request. That was to look at what was important to us and ask them if they had some specific ideas on how assist us.
This process took about two weeks after the initial ad was placed and these people who were really interested could respond. I would then invite those whom I felt most interested in, to come forward for an interview. Using this approach, the candidates I was looking for, typically had positive ideas and some that we felt could be very helpful. Thus we hired a number of people, and admittedly it doesn’t end here, but I’ll discuss this in the next blog.
So how might you as a small business owner structure your employment procedure? Be honest with yourself, and ask yourself, “Do I have all the self confidence I could use to create and build the team I truly need?” Your self-esteem or belief in yourself is one of the most critical assets you need to be a successful entrepreneur.
Secondly, evaluate how willing you are to hear and listen to ideas coming from your employees. So few employers do this, and as a result don’t have a true team. It is vital that you do what you can to ask, share and modify how you approach your goals and objectives.
In fact at some point you may find it to be of value to challenge, not criticize, your employees (team members) with respect to your goals and objectives. It is all a matter of enhancing and capitalizing on your employee’s self-esteem. That’s where the true value and advantage of teamwork comes from.