A Guide To Hiring The Right People For Your Small Service Business

Many people decide to start their own service business, like plumbing and landscaping, because they love the independence that comes with it––they get to control all the aspects of the work. However, as your service business starts to grow, you may come up against challenges with regards to meeting customer demands. This can be overwhelming until you are adequately resourced to deal with the workload. 

To solve this issue, you’ve perhaps thought of hiring new employees, but you’re hesitant as it may disrupt your business dynamics, especially if you’ll have to manage more workers. There may also be the fear that you are not sure you want to manage multiple employees, aside from the fact that hiring the wrong person can cost you dearly. (1) 

However, if you can get it right and recruit the right people, your business can flourish. Aside from helping you take your company firmly on the road to success, the right employees will assist you in making your job more manageable and enjoyable. With that said, here’s a guide on how to hire the right people for your small service business. 

Don’t rush the process

Similar to other important aspects of running a service business, it’s crucial not to rush the hiring process. Instead, have a plan before taking action. If you settle for the first applicant who comes to your door without proper assessment, there’s a huge chance you may get the wrong candidate. This can be a waste of time and resources, which can lead to more problems in the end. 

Before getting new people to join your company, try to conduct some research, especially on hiring tips and how to attract the right people to work for you. This way, you can develop a systematic process, allowing you to attract the best candidates, which ensures you’re hiring only the right people for the job. 

Have a detailed job description

If you don’t have a clear idea on what a candidate will be doing once they’re hired for the job, you’ll have a hard time finding the right employee. That’s why as part of your hiring process, you need to create a detailed job description. This should reflect the responsibilities of the position, as well as the required level of skills and experience. 

Say you run a landscaping business in the field service sector. You want your new hire to be in charge of job scheduling and the daily management of your business operations. In this case, your job description should include technical competence in being comfortable to use and quick to learn new software applications such as Jobber. The ability to bring someone up to speed quickly on your internal processes and systems will be essential in them being able to do their job efficiently. 

Also, state their specific role, your offered salary and benefits, their working hours, as well as the overall nature of your service business, including your company culture. By doing so, you’ll also be sieving applicants who may be seeking something else.

Look in the right places

Since you already have a clear idea of the type of employee you’re looking for, the next step is to find them. You can do so by asking referrals from other service businesses in your area, as well as suppliers, manufacturers, and even your friends and family. 

Also, don’t limit your hiring venture to online-job-seeking platforms. More than a third of workers are casually or actively looking for jobs on various platforms, so it pays to know where your ideal candidates can be found. Some of them may not even bother posting their resumes online. (3) 

If you need someone who has sales experience, for instance, try going to trade shows. And if you’re looking for a candidate with accounting experience, go to various association meetings. Doing this will help you find the right person for the job.  

Bring them onboard

At this point, you’ve already made your hire. You still have to ascertain that you have their full commitment, and this can be done via a good orientation program. According to research, the retention rate for new employees may increase by around 40% if they’re properly oriented. (2)

Apart from settling in your new hires and letting them know how your company operates, it’s also a good idea to have one of your more established employees mentor them. This way, you can introduce them to the company’s culture and show them what’s expected of them on the job. 

Final words

There are plenty of factors to consider before hiring an employee, especially when you have a service business. For one, the majority of the work requires technical know-how, which only experience can provide. So, whether applicants have graduated with flying colors or have decades of experience in your industry, it’s still best to have a rigorous hiring procedure. 

References

  1. “The Engaged Hiring Process – For More Successful Employees”, Source: https://smallbiztrends.com/2014/08/engaged-hiring-process-employees.html
  2. “How to hire the right people for your business”, Source: https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/employees/recruit/7-steps-recruiting-right-people
  3. “8 Employee Engagement Statistics You Need to Know in 2021 [INFOGRAPHIC]”, Source: https://blog.smarp.com/employee-engagement-8-statistics-you-need-to-know