Checklist for hiring employees
Identifying the need for an employee.
Pro
Pro
¨ Increased opportunities for time off for you
¨ Expansion, increased income
¨ Providing jobs
¨ Having co-workers
Con
¨ Increased costs
¨ Increased complexity
¨ Difficulty finding someone as effective as you are
Use a budget to help determine if hiring employees makes sense to you. (You can download our financial worksheet template)
Federal Tax ID #
The “Social Security #” for your Business. You can download and fill out IRS form # SS4. Mail to EIN Operations *
Workers' Comp Insurance:
Need it before you hire employees (your insurance agent, or another who does “Commercial” insurance or State Fund (707) 443-9721). The cost for this is a percentage of your labor and you will need to pay some in advance. See payroll taxes for how this looks in your budget.
Workplace Postings:
You can buy an all-in-one poster here: www.hrcalifornia.com, or download the appropriate individual postings here: http://www.dir.ca.gov/WP.asp.
Payroll Taxes:
If you are hiring this out, skip to recruiting. The portion of payroll taxes the employer pays is about 10% added to your net payroll costs. For example if you have an employee making $10.00 an hour it would cost you approximately $11.00 per hour with payroll burden included..
Federal Payroll Taxes:
Get an Employers Tax Guide and the Supplemental Tax Guide from the IRS here , or call (800) 829-3676. There is no monetary cost, but a couple of hours for homework and some forms.
State Payroll Taxes:
Register with the EDD, or by calling (707) 445-6532. There is no monetary cost but a couple of hours and some more formwork.
Recruiting:
Develop a clear idea of the ideal candidate. Create a job description. This should include information on job responsibilities and job related physical requirements. (See a job description template here, and samples here).
Once you have identified the traits you need in an employee your next step is to identify the best ways to reach them. Where are they likely to see or hear about a job posting? Family and friends, online sites, the newspaper, university bulletin boards?
CalJOBS is the state job listing service. You can browse job-seekers resumes, or post your opening. It is free, and easy to use.
Both CR and HSU will post job listings for free in their Career Departments:
HSU (707) 826-5473 (www.humboldt.edu/~career/).
CR: (707) 476-4159
Applications:
Some businesses use applications, some ask for resumes, some do both. An application allows you to gather wage information and actual dates that often are not included on a resume. If an application is used, all requested information should be job related. (generic application example).
Screening/Interviewing:
All Resumes and applications should be kept for 15 months from date of job posting.
Generally, it is a good practice to interview more than one person for a position.
Screen the applications based on your job description. Use objective, job related criteria to separate those applications you want to explore further with those who do not fit the job description. Some common reasons for not exploring an application further are; lack of availability, inappropriate salary history, lack of qualifications, incomplete application, etc.
Once you have picked the applicants you want to interview, call and set up appointments. Make sure you have 45 minutes to an hour of uninterrupted time with the applicant. Make sure all conversation is job related. Ask all applicants the same general questions. Maintain a polite professional demeanor. This is an excellent opportunity to manage expectations and make a good impression yourself. If there are hurdles for the successful applicant, like needing to be fingerprinted, ask now to ensure they aren’t surprised when you need this before they can work. Avoid making an immediate decision. (see more information on interviewing, sample questions and reference checks.)
References:
Conduct reference checks on the applicant you are considering hiring. Call previous employers as apposed to personal references. Many employers are limited in what they can tell you about an applicant. Even these folks generally can verify dates of employment and tell you if the applicant is eligible for rehire. (See sample reference checks in previous link).
Job Offer:
Once you have a candidate you want to hire, you can make a job offer. Call them and check that they can physically do the job. If they are physically able to do the work offer them the job. Ask them to bring their ID (as oulined on the second page of the I-9 form below) for their 1st shift as they will need it for the I-9 form.
New Hire Paperwork:
Must Have:
I-9 from Immigration and Naturalization. This is to ensure everyone hired to work is eligible to be employed in the U.S.
W-4 from the IRS. This tells you the appropriate withholding levels for payroll.
Should Have:
A page with emergency contact information for the employee.
A training plan that breaks the training process into manageable chunks with time for questions.
An employee manual. Download a sample template.There are numerous others on the web.
The SBDC can help with each step. Call Sandy at 445-9035 or Barbara at 464-2168 with questions or if you want to work through it with a business counselor.
The forms on this page are intended as samples only. Use them at your own risk.