The BPS Blog

Small Business Pitfalls – #2 People Problems

06/07/2012

You can’t just hire someone and forget them. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in a small business. Employees have to be managed effectively or they can become a huge drain on time and energy. They also have to be trained, coached, and told just exactly what you need them to do.

It can come back to planning again. You should have job descriptions and expectations written out for each position. You should have a training plan in place. Even if it’s just an hour where you go over expectations, what to do in an emergency, and what is a fire-able expense.

Becoming an employer is a big step. As soon as you have one employee you have to make sure that you are in compliance with all employment legislation in your country, state or province, and city. You have to dedicate the time and resources to make sure you keep on top of all the rules, regulations, pay, and tax requirements.

Avoid these common mistakes:

Not paying your staff on time, or the right amount.

Not training new staff on the written terms and particulars of employment. This is required by law. It’s a good idea to have employees sign an acceptance of receipt for this. Then keep it in their file.

Failing to find the right people. You need to hire staff that are responsible and that can fill in some of the gaps for your skill set. For instance, if you don’t understand social media then you need to hire someone who does and plan how they will handle this area of the business.