How to Grow your Team
Understanding Your Options & Preparing for New Hires
by Kate McKenzie
As a small business owner, the decision to bring on additional people to your team is a huge one! There are many key considerations to keep in mind as you consider whether or not now is the right time to bring someone on and what your options are in finding the right person. There is no one size fits all so it’s great to explore a variety of ways you can meet your needs and get the help you need.
Option 1: Service Providers
Ask yourself, do I need to bring on an employee or do I need to simply outsource some of the tasks that are taking up too much of my time or where I have fewer strengths. For example, have you brought on an accountant or bookkeeper to help you stay on top of your financial tasks? Have you considered working with a creative agency to help you build out brand assets so you don’t need to become a design expert? Have you hired a photographer to take great product shots you can use for your promotional needs?
Option 2: Reducing Personal Tasks
Especially as a solopreneur, you may also want to consider if there are tasks in your personal life that could be delegated to others to help free up time for your business. Have you considered hiring someone to help with cleaning, grocery delivery, laundry, childcare, pet care or landscaping?
Option 3: Virtual Assistant
You may want to consider a virtual assistant who can help you with specific tasks including as a researcher, virtual receptionist, email responder, editing, invoicing, calendar management, data entry and social media management. Check out Virtual Gurus, an Alberta based company offering virtual assistants to meet your needs.
Option 4: Freelancer/Contractor
Before you take on the full responsibility and costs of an employee you may want to test out the role first with someone in a freelance or contract position instead. This arrangement allows you to set a clear start and end date to the role and to assign key tasks or projects and evaluate whether or not your expectations were met. If they meet your needs and there’s a good culture fit this can be a great way to build your talent pipeline and bring them on in a more full time capacity.
Option 5: Interns & Students
You may want to consider the benefits of bringing on a student intern to fill a role on your team. Many high schools, colleges and universities are looking for co-op placements or internship opportunities for their students. These roles are often only a semester long (2-3 months) but the benefits can include bringing on someone at a lower price point and developing a talent pipeline for future roles. Many of these programs also provide support for the employer and can be a great way to access more training to grow your own skills as a manager. Check out the Canada Summer Jobs Program and Venture for Canada or connect with the school or program nearest you.
Option 6: Part Time Workforce
You may want to start with someone in a part time role instead of committing to full time right off the bat. For many candidates part time is ideal as they may be looking for something that balances well with attending school, providing childcare or as a side gig to earn a bit of extra money. Choosing to create a part time role may also allow you to expand your concept of who might fit the role as you may wish to turn to someone who is a student, retiree, new Canadian or stay-at-home parent. You may also wish to consider improving the inclusivity and accessibility of your job posting by learning more about opportunities available to hire people with disabilities.
Option 7: Employees
If you are choosing to bring someone on as an employee, take your time. As the saying goes, “Hire slow, fire fast.” Before bringing on an employee ensure that you’ve considered the following:
Do you have savings set aside as a buffer for payroll? Ideally three months of their wage is a great starting point.
Have you written out a clear job description and job posting that outlines what this individual would do?
What steps can you take to be inclusive of a diverse range of candidates? Are there ways you can intentionally try to reduce your own biases so you can build an inclusive and diverse team?
Have you considered what salary range you can provide? How will benefits factor in?
Have you looked into your payroll options and found software or support to help you ensure it is done properly? (see below for more details on Payroll Requirements)
Have you considered where you will post the job description, who in your network you can share it with and which groups may help you share it with potential candidates?
Have you built in your values and purpose into your interview questions to make sure you are assessing candidates not just for skills but also to see if there is a cultural alignment?
Have you created and documented your interview process so you know what you will be asking and assessing for at each stage? Have you written out a template you can use to connect with successful and unsuccessful candidates following interviews?
What information would you like to collect from an employee before they start? What information should they know about the company before Day 1?
What skills training, general knowledge, safety information and team culture practices do you want to introduce on Day 1 through onboarding? Will you require additional onboarding days? How will you delegate other tasks or make time in your calendar to facilitate the onboarding?
How will you communicate your business purpose, mission, values, goals and story so that new team members can understand it and feel confident to share it themselves?
Have you considered how you will evaluate your candidates performance at 30, 60 and 90 days as well as ongoing quarterly check ins? How will you provide feedback to them? How will they provide feedback to you?
What responsibilities and goals will the successful candidate complete within 30, 60 and 90 days of their onboarding?
Payroll Requirements
As the employer, you are responsible for ensuring you understand and follow each step involved in the payroll process:
Register and maintain a Payroll Deductions account
Ask each employee for their social insurance number (SIN)
Have each employee complete a TD1 Form: Personal Tax Credits Return
Calculate and deduct Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Employment Insurance (EI) premiums and income tax, and keep deducted amounts in a separate bank account
Remit payroll deductions with your share of CPP and EI
Report employee deductions on T4 or T4A slip by the end of February each year
Complete a Record of Employment (ROE) upon employee departure
Keep all records
*For more information, see the Canada Revenue Agency’s Payroll Information for a New Small Business video series.
It can feel overwhelming to go through a list such as the one above and realize just how much is involved in bringing someone new onto your team. Remember, you don’t have to complete it all at once. Plan with the end goal in mind and give yourself enough lead time to start building out these processes well in advance of when you need to hire. Share your process with others to get their feedback and help you work out any kinks. Remember that the financial cost, not to mention the emotional and mental cost of finding out a candidate is not the right fit after they’ve been working with you only a short time is high so it is worth it to take your time and be methodical.