Hiring
Hiring questions, answered.
Firing, hiring, raises, and the people questions every owner loses sleep over.
Should I fire my employee?
If you have already had the direct conversation and nothing changed, yes. If you have not, have it this week and decide after.
How do I fire an employee respectfully?
Short meeting. Plain words. Same-day exit. Treat them the way you would want a friend treated.
When should I hire my first employee?
When you are visibly turning away work you would have taken last year, not when you are tired.
How much should I pay my first employee?
Slightly above local market for the role, so you can be picky and they stay.
Should I give my employee a raise?
If they are worth more than you are paying them, yes, before they ask. If they are not, don't, even if they ask.
Should I hire a family member?
Only if you would hire them as a stranger, and only with a job description and a boss who isn't you.
Where do I find good employees?
Through your existing team and your existing customers. Job boards are last resort, not first stop.
What should I ask in a job interview?
Behavioral questions about actual past work. Skip the brainteasers and the gotchas.
How do I know I made a bad hire?
First 30 days. Late, defensive, or quietly resenting feedback. Trust those signals.
Should I hire a salesperson?
Only after you have a written sales process that you have run yourself. Otherwise you're hiring someone to fix what you don't understand.
Should I pay my team commissions?
Only when the behavior you're paying for is the behavior you actually want, and you can measure it cleanly.
Should I pay someone 1099 or W2?
If you control how, when, and where they work, they are W2 no matter what you call them.
What do I tell the team after firing someone?
One sentence, no story. 'X is no longer with us. Here is how we will cover the work.' Then move on.
How do I train someone to sell my service?
Ride-alongs first, scripts second, role-play third. Don't put them in front of a customer in week one.
Should I hire help or raise prices instead?
Raise prices first. If you're still drowning at the new price, then hire.
How do I handle an employee asking for a raise?
Don't decide in the meeting. Thank them, ask what they're basing it on, and give a real answer within a week.
What do I do when an employee quits?
Thank them, ask what would have made them stay, and decide in 24 hours whether to counteroffer. Most counteroffers fail.
Should I run a background check before hiring?
Yes for anyone with a key, a code, a customer's home, or your cash. No surprises later are worth a $40 check today.
How do I onboard a new hire so they actually stick?
Day one is about belonging. First 30 days are about clear wins. Don't throw them in the deep end and call it training.
How do I handle two employees who can't get along?
Get them in the same room, name the impact on the team, and tell them to fix it. If they can't, the one who's harder to replace stays.
What do I do about a no-call no-show?
First time, talk to them when they're back. Second time, they're done. Don't drift.
When should I hire a second in command?
When you have something the business needs to grow into and you can't get there because you're stuck running it day to day.
Should I pay my techs flat rate or hourly?
Flat rate rewards speed and can pay your best techs very well, but it needs steady work volume and honest time standards or it backfires fast. Hourly is simpler and safer for a smaller or newer shop.
When should I hire a service advisor instead of running the counter myself?
When you're the one writing tickets during the day and the one who should be managing techs, quoting jobs, or working on the business isn't happening. That's an expensive trade to keep making.
How do I hire and pay a builder differently from a general tech?
Pay a builder for judgment and problem-solving, not flat-rate hours, because build work has no book time to measure against. Hourly or salary with a bonus tied to build quality and customer outcomes fits this role better than flat rate ever will.
Should I pay techs commission, spiff, or straight hourly?
Hourly plus a capped spiff on upsells works better for most residential service teams than pure commission, which tends to produce pushy techs and inflated tickets.
My tech is great at the work but terrible with customers, what do I do?
Coach the specific behavior with a script, give it 30 days, and if it doesn't move, put them on jobs without customer-facing time before you lose him entirely.
Should I pay subs or hire employees?
Subs give you flexibility and lower fixed cost, employees give you control and consistency. Most GCs need a mix, not an either-or.
When should I hire a project manager or lead carpenter?
When your own schedule is the bottleneck on how many jobs you can run, not before. Hiring one too early is an overhead cost with no volume to justify it.
How do I know if I can actually afford my first hire?
Run the fully loaded cost against the revenue you're already turning away, not against your current cash balance. If the math doesn't clear with room to spare, you can't afford it yet.
How do I write up an employee and actually document performance problems?
Write it down the same day, in plain facts, with a clear expectation and a deadline, and have them sign it. A folder of dated write-ups is what protects you and gives the employee a real chance to fix it.
What's the right way to fire someone so it doesn't blow up on me?
Make the decision before the meeting, keep the meeting short and factual, and have logistics ready so there's no ambiguity about what happens next. The meeting itself should take five minutes, not thirty.
How do I write a job posting that actually filters out the wrong people?
Put the real pay, the real hours, and the real hard parts of the job in the posting, on purpose. A posting written to attract everyone attracts everyone, including everyone wrong for the job.
Should I pay for an employee's training, and how do I make sure they don't take it straight to a competitor?
Pay for training that makes your team better, and use a simple repayment agreement tied to a time period, not a non-compete. It protects your investment without pretending you can stop someone from leaving.
How do I know when it's time to hire a manager, and how do I find the right one?
Hire a manager when the business has outgrown your personal attention span, not your patience. Look inside first for someone who already has the trust of the team, and only go outside if nobody internal is close.
What do I do when a key employee suddenly quits?
Cover the immediate gap first with a short-term plan, then find out honestly whether it was preventable before you rush to backfill the exact same role the exact same way. A rushed replacement hire often repeats whatever problem drove the last person out.
Other answer categories