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81% of small businesses in the US don’t have any employees. And on average, startups have just over three employees.

However, this doesn’t mean that small businesses barely have workers. In fact, they’re responsible for employing over 61 million Americans! So if you need some help, don’t be afraid to ask for it.

When hiring though, you want to do it right the first time around. Otherwise, you’ll have a hard time.

Here are four common hiring mistakes for small businesses, so you can avoid making them.

1. Not Having Clear Job Descriptions

You might think that by being clever with your job descriptions, it’ll attract more attention. This may indeed happen, but more often than not, you’ll attract the wrong talent.

Keep things simple and lay out everything clearly on your online job postings instead. When potential employees know exactly what to expect, it’s more likely that you’ll get qualified applicants. This will make good use of everyone’s time.

2. Not Having a Hiring Process in Place

Just because you’re only hiring one or two people doesn’t mean you should improvise the hiring process. If you do, you might rush it and miss key details.

As a result, you’ll have employees who aren’t great to work with, and they’ll have a short-lived career with your company. You’ll then have to go through the whole hiring process again, which takes up more time in the long run.

Take the time to create a comprehensive hiring process that includes vital steps such as background checks for candidates. You should also look at common interview questions so interviews go smoothly. If you don’t have an HR department, or a hiring process that works, you review workforce management platforms, like Rippling review, to get help with finding talents, hiring, onboarding, and payroll management.

3. Not Hiring Enough People

We understand that as a small business owner, you need to keep costs at a minimum. Otherwise, you risk the entire company collapsing.

However, you shouldn’t push your existing staff so much that they’re overworked. This can backfire; they’ll quit, and then you’ll have to find more workers to train and employ.

Get feedback from your current employees, and if they need more help, listen to them. Hire more staff and use an agency if needed. Learn more about talent acquisition services if you’re interested.

4. Not Including Your Current Employees

Your current employees are the ones who have to work with the new hires, so they should have a say in who signs a contract with your business.

Once candidates make it past the first round of the hiring process, schedule a meeting with the team. They can also perform an informal interview to see if the applicants know their stuff and mesh well with others.

Learn From These Common Hiring Mistakes for Small Businesses

There are many hiring mistakes for small businesses, which means the ones we discussed in this article only scratch the surface.

But they’re the most common ones, so if you avoid making these, you’ve already got an excellent start. It’s only natural to make some mistakes along the way, and as long as you learn from them, then your small business has a fighting chance!

To learn more about the employee hiring process, keep reading our blog page.