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A small business owner, there’s only so much work you can do yourself. As your small business grows, you may need to hire employees to sustain its growth rate. Of course, hiring your first employee is a major milestone that shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you use the wrong approach, the employee may offer little or no benefit to your small business. Therefore, you should follow these five tips when hiring your first employee.

#1) Purchase Workers’ Compensation Insurance

When hiring employees, you’ll need to have workers’ compensation insurance for your small business. Although there are a few exceptions, nearly all businesses that operate in the United States with at least one employee are required to have workers’ compensation insurance.

#2) Register With Labor Department

In addition to obtaining workers’ compensation insurance, you must also register your small business with your state’s labor department. In the United States, employers are required to pay unemployment taxes for each of their employees. You won’t make these payments to your small business’s employees, however. You’ll make the payments to your state’s labor department, which is why it’s important to register your small business with the labor department.

#3) Advertise Job Listing

After getting your ducks in order, you can now advertise your job listing in an effort to attract candidates. Some small businesses simply place a “We’re Hiring” sign in front of their establishment. Given the superior reach of the internet, though, it’s recommended that you advertise your job listing online. You can publish the listing on your small business’s social media profiles as well as job recruitment websites.

#4) Assess Candidates’ Skills and Credentials

Perhaps the most important step to hiring your small business’s first employee is assessing the sills and credentials of candidates. Assuming your job listing generates a decent amount of exposure, you should have some applications coming in. You’ll then need to review each application while choosing the best-qualified candidate for the position.

#5) Set Up Payroll

Of course, you’ll also need to set up payroll when hiring your small business’s first employee. Don’t wait until you’ve already hired the employee to set up payroll. Because this is your first employee, you may encounter problems with managing his or her paycheck. As a result, you should set up payroll before hiring your first employee.

Have any other tips that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments section below!