Taking That Step: Your First Employee

 

A short article on the process of employing your first employee and the pros and cons of doing so.

For many, working from home is a dream job. It can provide a healthy income whilst giving unparalleled freedom and independence, but it has its downsides. Loneliness can set in and some people can experience a lack of motivation caused by a perceived lack of forward momentum. Once this sets in, it can be difficult to focus and business profits may decline.

However, many self-employed businesspeople are turning to bigger ambitions in order to boost motivation and profits. Chief among these ambitions is the desire to one day employ another person and to watch the business grow from a one-man-band into a fully functioning orchestra. The transition is not an easy one to make, however, because there are a multitude of things to consider, both legal and practical. For a starter, there are various health and safety regulations, tax provisions, working hour and pay rights and, of course, contractual obligations. Next, the employer must consider the practical elements of employment: whether it will benefit the business, how they will manage both workloads, whether the employee could somehow damage the business and how much to pay a prospective employee.

Whilst these considerations are important and numerous, there is one benefit that cannot be quantified nor anticipated: how much having an employee will benefit your own productivity. An employee can make things seem more ‘real’ and can help make working from home more like a job, which may end up making you a more efficient worker.

Businesses, however, can often struggle to find the right employee, and this can be especially true for businesses that are employing for the first time. The interview process can be an interesting one and will reveal almost as much about the interviewer as the interviewee.  

The interview process is invariably structured, but any decision on an employee is always visceral: the interviewer just knows when a prospective employee is ‘the one.’ They must trust their instincts, not only in deciding to take on an employee, but also on deciding who to take on as an employee.

The road to taking on an employee is not always an easy one, but the benefit of having one can often extent further than just an increase in productivity and profits. It can help prevent loneliness and depression. So, if you can, take someone on and see how your business will benefit!