Hiring an employee is one of the most crucial decisions that you will have to make as a business owner. Not only do you need to hire someone that you can trust with all of your business endeavors, but you will be spending a lot of time with this person too, so it is imperative that you can work well together. Since this process can be overwhelming and stressful, here are a few tips to keep in mind when hiring employees:

(1) Set Clear Expectations
In order for you to hire the absolute best possible employee, it is important to have clear, direct job descriptions, policies, procedures, expectations and goals written out ahead of time. This will help ensure that everybody is on the same page right from the start with regard to the various aspects of the job and allow you to find an employee that can meet (or even exceed) those expectations. If everyone knows upfront what is expected of them and who is responsible for what task, then everyone will be working towards the same goals and milestones of moving the business forward. This is critical for hiring the right employee.

(2) Find the Holes
Write down every single task that needs to be completed in your business. Then, figure out which tasks are the best uses of your own time- the tasks that you do well. After you do that, you should be left with the holes that need to be filled by your employees- those are tasks that you don’t do well or aren’t the best use of your time. While it’s important that your new employees share your goals, vision and values, they don’t need to share the same skill set. Finding the right employees that can fill those holes will help move your business forward much faster.

(3) Take a Deeper Look
As I’ve talked about before, people often try to put “their best foot forward” when being interviewed. This can make it difficult to really know if a person would truly be a good fit for your business. So, definitely ask for references and then, actually contact those references! And in this social media obsessed world, do a little digging and check out your prospective employees’ Facebook and/or Twitter pages. Make sure that the person you are about to hire is actually who they are presenting themselves to be. I’m amazed at the amount of businesses that don’t and wind up having to look for someone new in a few months.

(4) Keep it Rational
Emotions (which, in many cases, mean “ego”) can really cloud your ability to make the best decisions for your business, especially when it comes to hiring. This is why I recommend that you talk over any major hiring decisions with someone (preferably someone without any skin in the game) like a trusted friend or mentor before making your final decision. And take your time! While it may be tempting to hire the first person that applies for the job or to hire someone based on flattery or their particular life situation, but that may not be the best business decision, which is ultimately what matters.

These are just a few tips for hiring employees in business. What other tips do you have? Please share them below.

Thanks to Leanne Hoagland-Smith of ADVANCED SYSTEMS, Stacy Robin of The Degania Group, Doug Hecker of 2 Excel Now, LLC, Dave Baldwin of Dave Baldwin, Content Creator and Tim Chaney, Author & Success Coach for the inspiration behind some of these ideas.