Finding Employees

From the Small Business Administration

Once you have identified the skills needed for the positions you want to fill, there are many sources that can help you recruit job applicants.

Public Services

Each State has an employment service (often called Job Service, Public Employment, Unemployment Bureau, or Employment Security Agency). All are affiliated with the United States Employment Service, and local offices are ready to help businesses recruit employees. The employment service will screen applicants with aptitude tests if they are available for the skills you specify.

Fee-Based Searches

Employment agencies specialize in finding industry or skill-specific employees. The primary advantages are the professional screening services provided by such agencies, including background checks and aptitude tests. Employers typically pay a considerable fee to the agency for its services.

Online job sites such as Monster.com are still the fastest growing method for employer-employee matchmaking. These specialized sites, along with the online classified sections from major newspapers, often provide the largest pool of prospective employees. However, most online sites do not offer the professional screening services offered by employment agencies. Additionally, businesses advertising on such sites are often inundated with applicants.

Interns

Colleges and universities usually have a distributive education program in which students work for you part-time or volunteer as interns while they learn about your business. Interns typically expect to learn skills or useful information relevant to their chosen field of study. Prior to contacting a school regarding interns, make sure that you have a clear idea of how an intern will benefit from working with you. If you're looking for someone to do clerical work with little or no opportunity for learning on the job, it's generally best to hire low cost help instead.

"Help Wanted"

If you have a traditional storefront and are seeking generalists, one of the oldest and most reliable recruitment tools is a simple sign in your window. The most obvious advantage to this recruitment method is that it is free. There are serious disadvantages, however, including attracting unqualified applicants with a vast variety of skill sets, and the difficulty of talking to prospective applicants while conducting business.

Alternative Staffing Solutions

How do you cope with unexpected personnel shortages? Many businesses face this question because of seasonal peaking, inventory, special projects, several employees simultaneously on sick leave, or an unexpected increase in business.

Entrepreneurs must also cope with the rising costs of employee benefits, as well as all the payroll record keeping required by local, state, and federal government. This section discusses alternatives available to meet these staffing challenges. Options include temporary help services, employee leasing, and service contracting.

Temporary Help Services

Most businesses need extra help sometimes, and temporary shortages are especially difficult for smaller businesses. A temporary personnel service hires employees and assigns them to companies requesting help. The service is responsible for payroll, bookkeeping, tax deductions, workers' compensation, fringe benefits, and all other employee costs. Most national temporary personnel companies also offer performance guarantees and fidelity bonding at no added cost.

Workers supplied by a temporary service firm are quickly available. Usually they can start the day after a request is made, and sometimes the same day. Although the rate paid to a temporary service firm is higher than that paid to a permanent employee, the costs of recruiting, record-keeping, training, overtime, and idle periods are much less.

Evaluate temporary personnel services using these factors:

• Reliability: Is the service well established, with a history of success and financial stability?
• Recruiting: The firm with an aggressive recruiting program is more likely to have the most skilled and reliable employees.
• Testing and evaluation: How does it test and evaluate personnel?
• Training programs: Does the company train personnel in modern office methods, word processing, records management, and other important skills?
• Quality control: Does the company check the quality of work of its temporary employees?

A temporary service will ask for information about the department the employee will be working in, duration of the assignment, working hours, dress code, smoking rules, and other important information. If possible, send samples of the work. Be sure to give the exact location of your business, transportation available, parking information, and the name and title of the person to whom the temporary employee will report.

Temporary help services are not appropriate for all needs. Businesses needing a temporary worker for six months or longer should hire a full-time employee. For jobs that require extensive supervision, it may be cheaper to pay overtime to a regular employee than to use a temporary worker.

Employee Leasing

Employee leasing is similar to employing temporary personnel, but involves permanent employees. An employer transfers employees to the payroll of a leasing firm that, in turn, leases them back to the employer. The leasing firm becomes the legal employer and is responsible for payroll and leave; record-keeping; benefits and services; and participation in hiring, evaluation, and firing.

Advantages:

• Savings of time and money
• Improved employee benefits
• Help with personnel policies and employee handbooks
• Records uniform and easily audited

Disadvantages:

• Leasing company exercises certain controls over employment policies
• Employer retains responsibility for productivity and conduct
• Termination may be more difficult
• Labor union contracts or state law might keep certain employers from leasing certain employees
• Most leasing firms require the value of one full payroll in an escrow or trust account in addition to regular payroll costs

Service Contracting

Because of the infrequency of the need or the specialized nature of the work, many business needs are better met by contracting for the service rather than hiring permanent employees.

Services often contracted include:

• Security
• Janitorial
• Waste management
• Equipment/mechanical maintenance
• Merchandise delivery
• Payroll accounting
• Printing
• Data processing
• Messenger
• Grounds upkeep
• Interior decorating
• Building upkeep (remodeling, roofing, painting)
• Specialized services (installation, servicing and cleaning of appliances, carpeting, and furniture)