Find (and keep) top-notch employees

HR expert Nikki Pounds shares her staffing tips

“Nobody wants to work anymore.” We’ve heard this nonstop since the pandemic uprooted work life back in 2020. Is it true? Is there actually a shortage of workers? The truth is this – people do want to work. However, they want to work for employers who treat them fairly, see their worth, and pay them accordingly.

This can be a tricky equation to solve. How do you properly hire, train, and employ staff within a budget that allows your business to grow and reach its goals? With help from staffing expert Nikki Pounds of HR Unequivocally, we’re going to look at some tips and solutions to help you land a dream team.

Do the work up front

The first step is to figure out your staffing needs. This number might vary based on day and time. For example, if you own a restaurant, will you hire a host to work all operating hours or just during the dinner rush? If you own a retail store, how many staff members will be on the floor versus at the register?

Once you have this sorted out, it’s time to talk money. Speak with your accountant and look at your margins to make sure everything fits within your budget.

While it’s impossible to predict how much traffic your business will see on any given day, understanding basic staffing needs ensures every duty at your business is accounted for. It also creates an organized workplace where each staff member has clear expectations to meet. There’s nothing more awkward than a store filled with eager retail workers standing around or a restaurant with one server on staff!

Employees or contractors

Another important consideration is whether to hire contractors or employees.

Employees are hired to work on the company’s premises under supervision. They usually report directly to the workplace on a set schedule or weekly basis and require more paperwork than contractors. Regarding employees, Pounds notes that, “You are responsible for payroll taxes, social security, future unemployment insurance, and then, of course, workers’ comp.”

Contractors sign on with employers for specific projects. They can work from anywhere or away from the company’s premises and aren’t supervised on a regular basis. They require less paperwork than employees.

Here are some of the pros of hiring each:

• Employees: committed long-term, flexibility to change responsibilities or promote, more control and oversight

• Contractors: less overhead cost, easier to terminate if they aren’t performing adequately

It’s important to decide early on which type of worker you want to hire, as that decides…

The boring part

Paperwork. Not many people enjoy printing, scanning, signing, and – the least enjoyable of all – faxing (fingers crossed fax machines are finally extinct). From I-9s to W-4s and contracts to NDAs, knowing which documents each staff member needs makes for a smoother orientation and helps new hires feel supported. Plus, everyone gets peace of mind that they'll be set up for success once the dreaded tax season comes around!

Pro tip: you might consider offering digitized versions of contracts and paperwork that can be electronically signed to streamline the process – not everyone has a printer and some of us forget to refill the ink!

Sweeten the deal

It’s time to figure out the employer value proposition. Pounds states, “an employer value proposition (EVP) is your company’s core benefits that make up your wider employer brand. Your EVP is what your company and culture offer applicants in exchange for their talent, skills, and experience.” Ask yourself, why would someone want to work for you? Hint: it’s probably not your charming smile.

Do you offer competitive pay? A lucrative benefits package? Staff perks plus primary insurance? It’s vital that you’re transparent about what workers will get in exchange for their talents. This cultivates a healthy workplace culture where staff feel cared for, recognized, and are more likely to grow with the business.

All about applications & interviews

Here are a few tips for job listings and interviews – we promise it’s easier than online dating:

• Pre-screen candidates with open-ended questions on job applications. Ask specifics about job history, workplace hurdles they’ve overcome, and how they handle situations they might encounter on the job.

• Consider knock-out questions that filter out candidates that don’t meet specific requirements (an ability to lift a certain weight, kitchen experience required, etc.)

• Use AI sparingly. It’s great for writing job descriptions or creating interview questions but can come across robotic and automated. Writing your own job posting adds personality and attracts like-minded individuals.

Don’t onboard a sinking ship

So you’ve found the perfect candidate. How can you be sure they adjust to the new position and fit in? Orientation and onboarding make all the difference.

Orientation happens on the first day. New staff fill out paperwork, receive any necessary credentials, get a tour, learn the company values, and get an understanding of their duties. It’s like that first day of school when you’re excited to meet everyone but aren’t doing all the work yet.

Onboarding is training your staff to meet the expectations of their roles. According to Pounds, “Onboarding is an ongoing activity that happens over time as you develop the person to navigate in your business… it could be a couple of weeks and even a couple of months depending on the complexity of your business.”

During onboarding, consider creating a packet with everything new hires need to know to be successful. Keeping this information on-site in a binder is helpful, too. Staff can reference it during their first few weeks or whenever faced with tasks they might not regularly do.

Pro tip: encourage staff to ask LOTS of questions during this time. If you promote seemingly straight forward questions early on, workers are less likely to make mistakes later.

In short, tackling tax documents, offering amazing benefits, and providing extensive onboarding gives new hires the confidence to excel and thrive in their new role. With careful planning, number crunching, and compassion, you have everything at your fingertips to assemble the perfect team for the business of your dreams.

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We are proud to partner with HR and staffing expert Nikki Pounds of HR Unequivocally, one of our facilitators of the Partner to Empower Retail Workshop. You can learn more about Brookfield Properties' Partner to Empower program at www.partnertoempower.co