How to hire your first team member

Are you ready to scale up and wondering where to begin? Jane McNeill, MD of Hays Banking, shares advice on finding top talent

How to hire your first team member

Are you ready to hire your first employee and wondering where to begin? Jane McNeill, Managing Director of Hays Banking, shares her advice on finding top talent to scale your business.

Technical and soft skills
One you decide to recruit, start a list of competencies you want your new hire to possess. This could include demonstrated administrative experience and achievement of the Certificate IV in Finance and Mortgage Broking.

But what about your soft skill requirements? These equally important skills are often overlooked by first-time hiring managers. For example, you’ll want someone with strong communication and interpersonal skills who understands your clients’ needs, can help them make informed decisions, and will build long-term relationships with them rather than focus solely on getting the deal.

Your business culture
Many first-time hiring managers then move straight onto the job description. But for a successful hire, you need to look for on-the-job behaviour that aligns with yours. This means defining your business’s culture, unique way of operating and what it’s really like working for you. This is often referred to as your Employee Value Proposition or EVP.  

By defining your EVP, you’ll communicate the reality of what you stand for, which will help attract likeminded candidates. If you skip this step, you risk attracting candidates who don’t live your values. In that case, what sort of interactions are they having with your clients?  Will your clients stay loyal if your staff aren’t aligned with your values and way of doing business?

Write the job description
Next, write your job description. Outline the duties and skills required. First-time hiring managers often neglect to define what makes someone successful in the role, so ensure you clearly describe the expected results.

While you do not need to include the salary, you should at least research the typical rates for the skills and experience you’re looking for and have a number in mind.

Candidate sourcing
If you are working with a recruiter like Hays, we’ll send you a shortlist of top talent that meets your needs. If not, advertise and source candidates then set aside a few days to thoroughly review all applications, including CV, work examples and LinkedIn profiles.

The interviews
If working with a recruiter, we’ll go over the basics of interviewing. If not, read up on standard interview technique. Remember, an interview is a two-way process; the candidate is assessing whether they want to work for you too.

Give yourself enough time for each interview. Turning up late is poor form, as is hurrying the candidate out the door because you have a client waiting.

Start by making the candidate feel at ease. A smile, handshake and a polite question or two about their day can help settle nerves. Give a short introduction about yourself, your company and the vacancy. Try to bring the job to life by sharing insights they can’t gain from the job description or your website.

Prepare a list of questions covering technical and soft skills, cultural fit and the candidate’s ambitions. Ask each candidate the same questions so you can compare them all equally.

Towards the end of the interview, ask the candidate if they have any questions for you, then confirm the next steps, including when they will hear from you next. 

If working with a recruiter, provide feedback as soon as you’ve had the chance to reflect on the candidate’s suitability.

Check references
Once you’ve identified your preferred candidate, conduct a reference check to verify the information you’ve learnt about them and how well they’ll fit into your business. If working with a recruiter, we’ll do this for you. If not, make sure you ask the right questions – you can download a reference checking template from the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website.

The offer
Your recruiter will make the offer on your behalf. If you’re not working with a recruiter, make your offer promptly and over the phone, never by email. Tailor your offer to what you know the candidate values, based on your conversations with them. For example, if upskilling is important, what knowledge can you share and courses can they attend? 

Onboarding
Finally, remember that the process of recruiting isn’t finished the day contracts are signed. Their first day, week and even month should be planned to some extent to provide the necessary training and understanding of the role and your business.

This may seem like a lot of work, but with these steps you’ll find your ideal candidate and commence what should be a positive long-term employment relationship.