As a small business owner in Australia, hiring staff can be daunting. Not only do you have to find the right people for the job, but you also have to navigate the often complex rules and regulations surrounding employment in Australia. In this blog post, I will share some tips and best practices for hiring staff for your small business in Australia.
Now you might be saying – “what does this mob know about hiring staff!? They’re not recruiters? They’re not in HR!”
And you’d be right! We’re not in HR/recruitment. But you wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve been asked to assist in attracting staff to businesses after traditional methods have failed. So we’re going to share the ‘usual’ ways that everyone will tell you in this article and then some more unconventional methods that you can also use.
First and foremost, it’s important to clearly understand the roles and responsibilities of the positions you are hiring for. This will help you create detailed job descriptions and advertisements, attracting the right candidates and helping you to make informed hiring decisions.
Once you have a clear idea of the roles you want to fill, it’s time to start advertising. There are many ways to advertise job openings, including posting on job boards, using recruitment agencies, and networking with industry associations. It’s important to be clear and concise in your advertisements and to provide potential candidates with all of the information they need to apply for the position, including details about the job duties, required qualifications, and the application process.
Regarding the hiring process, there are a few key things to keep in mind. First, conducting thorough interviews with all candidates is important, using a consistent set of questions and evaluation criteria. This will help you to identify the best candidates for the job, and to make fair and objective hiring decisions.
So let’s get into some ways you can hire besides the usual Seek, Indeed or LinkedIn job adverts.
LinkedIn Outreach
Rather than paying several hundred bucks for an advert in the ‘usual’ places (everyone’s doing that btw) and rather than waiting for your next employee to hit you up, you can be more aggressive in your hiring approaches and reach out to people via LinkedIn. Recruiters do it, and that’s what you’re really paying them for. But, you can use tools on the internet to automate this approach based on key criteria.
Only want to hire in a specific area? No problem.
Only want to hire someone with 5 years’ experience in the workforce? No problem.
Only want to hire someone who has stuck around at their job for at least 2 years? No problem.
You can target all these parameters within a few minutes, hit go and sit back.
It’s a bit like fishing or the lotto.
“You’ve gotta be in it to win it”.
Email Outreach
Like LinkedIn outreach, you can also cold outreach to employees via email. Now, you may want to check the legalities of unsolicited emails, and I’m not saying this is a great idea. But it’s an option up your sleeves if you need it. You can gather data from the internet pretty easily and for a reasonable price. You can then manually reach out to the individuals that look like a great fit or put the whole thing on autopilot.
Keep in mind this strategy only works for some roles. If you’re looking for someone to fill a casual job at Woolies, this probably isn’t your strategy. But, if you’re looking to hire a professional, you’d be surprised at the information available online.
Another important consideration is ensuring you comply with all relevant employment laws and regulations in Australia. This includes providing fair and reasonable working conditions, paying the correct minimum wage, and offering entitlements such as annual and sick leave.
Finally, it’s important to provide ongoing support and training to your new employees. This will help them to quickly get up to speed in their new roles and will ensure that they can contribute to the success of your business.
In conclusion, hiring staff for your small business in Australia can be challenging, but by following these tips and best practices, you can find the right people for the job and hopefully ensure your business is successful.
