Are you thinking about hiring staff to cover the busy holiday period? Here are five tips to help make the hiring process go smoothly.
1. Understand the steps to hiring an employee
There are many steps to consider when hiring employees and it’s important to understand your legal obligations. These include working out the correct employee payments, tax, superannuation, and record keeping.
2. Decide on the employment type
When hiring for the upcoming busy summer period, consider the differences between hiring casuals and fixed-term employees. Both may be suitable for your business as temporary staffing options.
Casual staff have no guarantee of regular work hours. While they offer greater resourcing flexibility, keep in mind casuals are entitled to say no to shifts.
On the other hand, fixed-term employees have guaranteed hours for a certain period of time. They can be more of a resourcing commitment, but may offer your business more stability.
3. Start the hiring process early
With the holiday period just around the corner, it’s important to begin the hiring process as soon as possible. This will allow for easier onboarding and training while business is quieter.
Think about other time savers, such as:
* Documenting the processes in a manual for new starters
* Organising interviews so they are all held on the same day, or hold group interviews, and
* Sharing rosters with staff early to double-check staff availability for important dates – this will reduce the need to change rosters later.
4. Advertise your value
It’s important to let people know why your business is a great place to work.
Highlight what skill opportunities, support and perks are offered to employees in the advertisement. Use social media to reach out to networks and spread the word about your value. With staffing shortages across Australia, this will help the advertisement stand out.
5. Create an employment contract
An employment contract is an agreement between you and your employee. It can be in writing or verbal, but a written contract will communicate your employee’s pay and conditions clearly from the start. That can help protect your business in the long term.
Business.gov.au has a free Employment Contract Tool which can help you build your own employment contract for an employee under Australia’s Fair Work system, as well as some excellent in-depth expansions on these five tips.