If you have been running your retail store for a while now, either alone or with the help of a few select friends and family members, you might be considering adding on more employees as you gain momentum. Being the only person running a store can be challenging: helping customers, operating the register, keeping track of inventory, and watching out for theft can be a difficult job for only one person. But who do you hire first? How do you get the word out? We’re here to help you get started.
You will need a trusted manager or key holder that you can depend on when you are not in the store. You need to be comfortable with this person handling money, locking up at night and dealing with your inventory. This is basically your right hand (wo)man for days you are unavailable or simply need some time off.
Likely, you will find this person by word of mouth. Either through a family member or close friend. If they have a trustworthy reference backing up their abilities, it will make your hiring process much easier. If you aren’t quite so lucky and need to look elsewhere, that is fine too and you are sure to find a dependable manager for your store. Using job board websites such as Indeed.com and CareerBuilder.com let you list out all of the qualifications you are looking for. LinkedIn job postings is also a great option. Since the majority of job seekers are looking online, your listing is sure to land in the hands of a qualified candidate this way.
If you are growing your retail store even more, you might want to fill a few more spots. Someone to run the backstock, a great sales associate, and someone to man the cash register are a few of the crucial roles you will likely need to fill. As you grow, assistant managers and additional sales associates will probably be more in demand.
But before you begin the hiring process, there are 8 steps that the U.S. Small Business Administration lays out to follow:
- Get an Employee Identification Number
- Begin Records for Withholding Taxes (Federal Income, Federal Wage And State)
- Get Employee Eligibility Verification
- Register with Your State's New Hire Reporting Program
- Obtain Workers' Compensation Insurance
- Get Organized and Keep Yourself Informed