Checklist–Making a new hire happen right!

Whether your goal is to find more time for family or personal enrichment –like attending classes and conferences — you’ll want to consider bringing on some help.

The following tips can help you get started whether you want to bring on a team of 10 or an occasional backup!

Don’t expect to hire a replica of you! Each person you meet and interview will be a living, breathing human, with their own habits, mannerisms and even ideas! This is fine – -as long as their ideas and habits are not philosophically opposed to yours.

Know exactly what you expect from your new hire. Before you advertise for help, sit down and write a job description. List your goals for the new hire – do you want someone who can fill in on short notice when you need to take a day off, or do you want someone who can work a regular schedule? Do you want someone who can meet with clients, set their own schedules and attend meetings and events on your behalf or do you simply need someone who can pick up your overflow? By spending time working through your thoughts on hired help you are setting yourself up for a great working relationship. If you can clearly articulate the job to all applicants, they will have the opportunity to determine if this is a mutually agreeable fit. Be sure to concentrate on specific job-related descriptions, and not subjective information.

Determine what type of manager you are! It’s imperative that you’re honest about your work style. After all, if you say you want an independent thinker, but really do a lot of ‘checking-in’ you may end up with an unhappy helper. On the other hand, if you hire someone who needs lots of feedback, you need to be sure that you are cut-out for the ‘people part’ of the management process.

Set aside time. If you expect to hire someone by the 15th of next month you may be setting yourself up for failure. Just as you can’t expect to find a perfect replica of you – you can’t always put a deadline on your hiring process. In other words, plan to advertise, interview and train until you find the RIGHT person. (SECRET TIP: If you find the right person – Hire them right away and then find work for them! Never pass up a great hire!)

Create a Fact Sheet for Applicants that you can provide along with an application to interested candidates. This sheet should cover your basic job description, expectations and hiring process.

Create your training program. Whether a detailed manual or one-on-one training for a specified period of time – make sure you have a written outline. Your training program should include all aspects of the job you expect your new hire to complete. Many misunderstandings and frustrations occur simply because a new hire didn’t understand the expectations of the boss.

By following these tips, you are well on your way to a happy and productive working relationship with all your new help!