Hiring an Employee for Your Home-Based Business

Has your business expanded to the point you need an extra hand, or someone to free up your time so you can run the company more efficiently? That's great, but make sure your prospective employees are just as comfortable with the decision as you are about the decision. Here's some tips if you're thinking about hiring an employee for your home office:

First, before you set up an interview, make sure you know that each candidate is aware you operate out of a home-based office. If you aren't up-front about this, you may leave the candidate confused when they arrive and leave each of you with a bad first impression of the other. The candidate may even think you're a shady company with something to hide if you don't let them know ahead of time.

When you're interviewing them, ask how they would feel about working out of a home-based office. Try to listen carefully to what they're saying when they answer - some people may not want to offend you and try to drape their words in a polite facade. Let them know it's okay to be completely honest with you and that you won't be offended in any way. Assuming you gave them fair warning in advance about the home office situation, they won't be surprised by it and can give you the honest answer you're looking for.

Once you've hired the employee, try to set up their own workspace so they won't always feel like an intruder in your home. Make sure they have some semblance of privacy, but you don't have to go overboard to isolate them from the rest of the house. If there's no privacy for the employee, they may feel like you're always watching them and become resentful of you - and resentful employees do not make for a very pleasant work atmosphere.

Speaking of privacy, there should be a bathroom dedicated solely for your home office. If you don't, you may be able to designate a little-used bathroom in the house close to the office for such a purpose, but you risk offending your employee; a home office with no bathroom really isn't set up to accommodate an employee, anyway. Another space that should be separate is your conference/meeting room. An office desk may be inspirational for brainstorming, but the usual office clutter that's inevitably surrounding it makes it ill-suited for meetings, especially if you're trying to bring a more professional tone to your business.

Where possible, try to designate one entrance/exit for your business. Not only does it help maintain an invisible barrier between your home and your office, it gives your company a more polished and professional quality (not to mention the added relief not to step on Spot's squeaky toys upon entering.)

Having an employee working for you makes it all the more imperative not to have your family barge in with non-work-related issues. Your children should not use the computer, and your spouse shouldn't be able to come in and use your office phone line if the home line is being used. Your family will need to respect your business - and your employee's privacy. After all, they came here to work, not listen to how your daughter absolutely must have the latest Justin Timberlake CD in the next five minutes or she'll die.

Be sure to offer more perks and vacation time than companies that aren't home-based. Working out of a home can be exhausting, and your employee can probably just as easily find another job (for higher pay) if you don't make it worth their while. Consider offering at least three or four weeks vacation compared to the usual two. If your business is set up this way, you can even offer to let your employee telecommute upon occasion. Flexibility is important in a home office environment

Lastly, keep the mood light. When your workspace is little more than a 15-by-15-foot room, people have a natural tendency to get testy. In any other environment, your employee would have co-workers to complain to, but in your home office you're the only one in their sights - and you're their boss. Try to shrug off inconsequential problems, saving the heavy mood for more important matters.