Effective Human Resources Management

If your business requires hiring and retaining employees, then there are certain practices you should put into use that will help you find, motivate, and retain employees. There are also certain steps you can take to avoid employee issues.

Finding Potential Employees

Finding and hiring good employees can be one of the most important parts of getting your business up and running. The better your employees are, the more likely your business will be successful. But finding good employees can be challenging. What is your best defense against hiring unsuitable employees? Taking your time and following a few simple rules.

Identify your resources. That's right: ”you can't do it alone! You are going to need a little help to find the right employees. Resources can include other employees, employment agencies, and headhunters and executive search agencies.

Once you have some resumes in hand it's time to go through them. Look for candidates with the right education, experience, and qualifications for the job in question. Once you've narrowed the applicant pool down, you'll want to meet with them face-to-face in an interview.

The interview process will allow the applicant to further expound on their qualifications and experiences, and will help you determine whether that person is a good fit for the job. Make sure to ask lots of detailed questions about education, experience, and qualifications, but stay away from any questions that might be construed as discriminatory, such as marital status, ethnicity, or sexual preference.

Hopefully, after interviewing your prospective candidates you have found the perfect fit. Do you extend an offer now? Not before you do a background and reference check. At the very least, make sure to verify past employment and talk to the candidate's former supervisors.

Hiring Employees

When you've decided on a candidate, you can either call them up and offer them the job, or you can put the offer in a letter. Putting the offer in a letter offers you better protection, as you can spell out the terms of employment. A good offer letter should include the job position, whether the position can be changed by the employer, the length of the agreement, payment, benefits, whether the employee is an employee "at will," if the employee can be terminated for "good cause," and the employees job responsibilities.

Retaining Employees

Now that you've done all that hard work to find good employees, you want to keep them, right? Just as your employees need to satisfy you, you also need to satisfy them. It goes without saying that you should always respect your employees and value their input. Here are some other things you can to do increase their satisfaction:

- Keep your employees challenged. If an employee has done a good job on a project, show your appreciation and faith in them by giving a higher-level project next time.
- Award certificates of appreciation. It is a cheap and easy way to show your employees that you recognize their efforts and what they bring to the company.
- Be flexible. With our busy lives these days, increased flexibility is becoming a real job benefit. Provide as much flexibility to your employees as is possible for you; guaranteed you'll have a happier and more motivated work force.
- Ask your employees how you can improve their satisfaction at work. While many employees may be wary of telling you outright, asking them to fill out anonymous surveys is a good way to get the answers you are looking for.
- Offer as many incentive plans as you are able to. Stock option plans, profit sharing plans, bonus arrangements, and 401(k) plans are all sure to retain employees.

Avoiding Employee Problems

Hiring and retaining employees are just the tip of the iceberg. In managing them, there are a whole host of potential problems that can crop up. Following certain practices will protect your business.
- Treat your workers fairly. Make sure they are aware of what is expected of them in terms of job responsibilities as well as workplace rules and policies.
- Hand out an employee handbook. Putting expectations, rules, and regulations down in writing ensures that everyone has access to them. The handbook should cover such subjects as working hours and overtime pay, sick and vacation policy, sexual harassment policy, policy on illegal drugs and alcohol, discrimination policy, disciplinary policy, and whether employees are employees "at will." Have employees sign a document that says they have read and understand the handbook.
- Be careful about how you fire employees. Your reasons for firing should in no way be construed as discrimination. Reasons for firing can include poor performance, violation of company policy, repeated unexcused absence or tardiness, physical violence, and use of illegal substances.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you are a business owner get listed at Best Repair Site, part of Localwin Network.