How to hire employees

Hiring help can improve your business, and your lifestyle. But it’s a big process. Here’s what to do and when to do it.

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Steps to hiring employees

Find out what’s required of you as an employer, how to hire the right person for your business, and how to keep them happy.

1. Know your employer responsibilities. Woman in a cake shop checks her responsibilities as an employer.

Find out what sorts of things are expected of employers.

2. Register as an employer. Woman uses laptop to register as an employer.

Make sure you tick all the right boxes with the government.

3. Write a job description and promote it. A computer screen showing a job description.

Get set to find the right person by writing an accurate job description.

4. Start the recruitment process. Woman interviews a candidate for a job on the phone.

Get tips on handling applications and working out which candidate is best.

5. Onboard your employee. Paperwork showing the onboarding plan for a new employee.

Sort out the paperwork, and get tips on bringing your new hire up to speed.

6. Run payroll for your employees. A business doing payroll on their tablet.

Learn what payday entails and how to stay onside with the tax office.

7. Manage employee evaluations. A manager and staff member have a discussion about the employees performance.

Get ideas for performance reviews and communicating with employees.

8. Get extra support. An image of Xero's guides to help small businesses.

Learning how to hire is just one job. Get other tools to help on your journey as an employer.

This guide is intended as general information only. Always check with a professional for advice.

Get the ebook from Xero

Find out how to hire employees and how to handle the admin that goes with it.

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When do you plan to hire?

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Xero makes small business software, used by 2.7 million+ subscribers.

Hiring tips for beginners

Many things can affect how you hire – including the type of help you need and the package you can offer.

Are you hiring for someone with specialist skills?
Allow extra time (and budget) for the recruitment process.
Do they need to be full time?
Offering part-time or flexible hours can help attract more candidates (plus it may be less expensive).
What kind of package can you offer?
Run a budget to check what you can afford. Can you also offer flexibility or benefits?

What’s it like being an employer?

Ever wondered how hiring an employee will change things? Here’s what small businesses say:

of UK microbusiness owners do payroll themselves
(Xero, 2019)

of US employers have made a payroll mistake at least once (SurePayroll, 2019)

of Australian employers say the best thing about hiring is creating jobs for people
(Xero, 2019)

of Australian employers have invested their own money to pay employees
(Xero, 2019)

“I hope our business can grow and make more profit. Helpful staff will get us there.”

– Small business owner, Hong Kong.

How work is changing

A 2020 Xero report found that half of small businesses were planning to use online tools that enable remote working. Small business advisors agree it’s worth considering if you’re hiring office workers.

Find a payroll specialist

Since you’re wondering how to hire employees, you might want help setting up payroll. Search our directory for an accountant or bookkeeper near you who specialises in Xero payroll .

Find an advisor