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If a small business grows to the size where it requires additional employees, the owner will often delay hiring anybody for as long as possible. The off-putting aspect of the hiring process is that it can be extremely time-consuming and expensive. Here are some of my tips for keeping costs low and still finding highly-skilled workers that will fit your needs:

Ask around: You should let absolutely everybody that you come in contact with know that you are searching for employees: friends, neighbours, customers and suppliers. People will usually only recommend others for a role if they are excellent, otherwise it reflects badly on them personally.

Work experience: Offering work experience or internships to local students is an excellent way of identifying people who will work hard and fit in with your business. You could either hire them on a part-time basis while they continue their studies or offer them a position when they graduate.

Temp agencies: Although this is not an inexpensive method of finding permanent employees, the costs will seem extremely low in comparison if you go through the usual recruitment process and end up with someone who is unsuitable. Try to think of temping as a trial period for a potential employee.

Hire parents: There are hundreds of thousands of full-time parents. Many of these are extremely talented individuals who have decided  to put their career on hold while their children are young. These people are excellent part-time employees as long as you are prepared to be flexible with them.

Hire relatives: This is always the cheapest option for any small business owner looking for staff. It involves zero recruitment cost and you should be guaranteed to get someone who is reliable. Also consider hiring the relatives of your best employees as this often works out well too.

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