Hiring staff can be an exciting step for a medical practice. Additional staff can signal practice growth and can also present new opportunities for existing staff to allow them to transition to new and challenging roles.
However, the hiring of a new team member comes with quite a few steps along the way and without the right guidance can become overwhelming.
We recognise this dilemma and our Xero Hero has put together a few key points you may need to consider when hiring:
A Job Description This needs to be clear, concise and convey to the potential candidate the type of person you are looking to hire. Skills and qualifications are certainly important but so is their ability to fit in with your existing team.
The Recruitment Process The actual process of recruiting staff can be time intensive. Typically, the interviewing and hiring of staff would sit with the practice manager but potentially the use of a recruiter or another member of the team should be considered depending on the role.
ATO Obligations and Record Keeping Employers must keep appropriate records for the payment of salary and wages, super contributions, PAYG withholding and any fringe benefits provided to or on behalf of employees. With the introduction of Single Touch Payroll (STP), the ATO has real-time access to most of this information each and every time you process a pay run. It is also important to keep in mind an employer’s obligations, may vary depending on whether your staff member is engaged as an employee or a contractor so you must know the difference.
Holding Workers Compensation Insurance Workers compensation insurance needs to be held by employers for their employees. If the practice is already established this is something it should certainly already hold. It is a compulsory insurance that protects employees wages if they are injured at work.
Key Dates and Deadlines As an employer there are many compliance deadlines that need to be adhered to. Your payroll software should do most of the work here but why not set reminders or alerts for ongoing PAYG withholding reporting and super obligations
Using Payroll Software You want to make sure that your accounting software addresses all of your payroll needs. Look for software that makes it simple to stay compliant, can pay your employees efficiently and preferably files reports (such as STP) directly with the ATO.
Maintain Employee Records It is important to keep up-to-date and accurate records for all of your employees. These records must be kept for a period of time even once the employee has left. Employee records must be current, accurate and readily accessible.
If you can ensure the hiring process is right for your practice, you can achieve great results when recruiting new members of the team. Getting the team right can be time consuming process so following the steps above should help guide you.
So what next for your new team member? It is important that each and every member of the team has a clear understanding of what success looks like for them in their role. Why not consider the implementation of individual KPIs as the next step
The team at Cutcher & Neale are here to help, please get in touch if you would like further assistance.
