The process of hiring the right staff begins with knowing exactly what you want that employee to do for your business. As Chad Hayward points out on fastcompany.com, (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chad-hayward/effective-recruitment-and-selection/knowing-what-look-when-hiring-your-next-employ) "Many small and medium-sized business owners admit that they're not sure how to accurately describe jobs and, in turn, don't always know what they should be looking for when hiring a potential employee".

Hayward suggests starting by creating job descriptions that outline the objectives of a role along with the tasks the employee will undertake and what skills they will need to complete those tasks. Then, Hayward says, employers need to find a way to objectively measure how their employee performs and go on to use this information when hiring in the future.

Of course, hiring also involves the hands-on process of sorting through resumes and interviewing candidates, and a strong set of guidelines is crucial here. This post (http://www.businesstown.com/hiring/hiring-advice.asp) on businesstown.com outlines a number of ways to avoid hiring mistakes at this stage, such as aiming to have two interviewers present and not letting positive referee statements or polished resumes have the final say if you think someone is simply not right for the job.

hrwisdom.com.au contributor Robert Watson also suggests (http://blog.hrwisdom.com.au/tag/find-good-staff/) testing possible interview questions on current staff to find out if they will prompt the right answer: "If they give you a paragraph-type answer then you'll know that's a fairly good question. If they give you a one-word answer, you'll know that your question needs to be redesigned."

Lastly, remember that the key to attracting and keeping good staff is to offer them a good working environment. Debra Templar of Australian Retail Services lists six things employers can offer in order to keep good staff: (https://mybrc.com.au/Staffing/Staff-Solutions/Hiring-Staff/Pages/Find_Great_Retail_Staff.aspx) above average pay, good working conditions, a place where staff can be proud to work, respect for staff opinions, appreciation for their work, the opportunity for staff to enjoy work and have fun, and a job that is close to home. Above all, Templar says, "One person on top who cares can change the culture of a company".