Hiring Staff

You are able to hire a range of types of employees, including:

- Permanent employees (full-time or part-time);
- Casual employees;
- Trainees or apprentices;
- Contractors; or
- Temporary employees.

Employers have many obligations towards their workers. These include:

- Employee hiring and termination;
- Pay as you go (PAYG);
- WorkCover insurance;
- Anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunities for all individuals;
- Superannuation;
- Awards, pay rates, leave, entitlements for employees;
- Payroll tax; and
- Work health and safety.

If you have existing staff that possess the skills or abilities you are looking for, it might be useful to consider postponing hiring new staff, as hiring the right staff can often be expensive and time consuming. Consider training your existing staff so they can learn the skills you seek. However, if you believe your existing staff could not be trained to learn the skills you require, or your business needs extra capacity, you may wish to hire new staff.

The steps towards hiring staff include:

1. Registering yourself as an employer.
2. Having an understanding of employment laws.
3. Writing a job description.
4. Advertising the job.
5. Creating a shortlist of potential candidates.
6. Conducting interviews.
7. Making a job offer.
8. Checking your responsibilities as the employer.
9. Waiting for the employee to accept the offer.
10. Evaluating the employee’s performance over time.

Often employers may struggle deciding who to hire. It can be helpful to discern some warning signs candidates may show so you can narrow down your list of potential employees. Some warning signs include:

- A candidate has employment gaps they cannot explain;
- There are errors or lack of attention to detail in the candidate’s resume or cover letter;
- A candidate has a generic cover letter that could be used to apply for any job;
- Candidates are overly emotional in an interview;
- Candidates display unprofessional behaviour or arrogance during an interview; or
- Candidates aren’t willing to provide details or required documents.

There are many factors that can motivate employees to take a job aside from just money. These include:

- Having a sense of purpose and knowing their work is helping others;
- Having a sense of flexibility over when, where and how they work;
- Being able to look after their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing;
- Working in an environment that treats every worker equally;
- Feeling empowered by the work they are doing;
- Having opportunities to learn new skills in the workplace;
- Feeling like every worker’s voice is valid and appreciated;
- Having tasks that challenge them; and
- Feeling accepted and like they belong.

If you believe your workplace could help an employee achieve any of the above, you should try to integrate these elements into your job ad when you are hiring staff.