The Canoe and Kayak Rental Business Hiring Guide

Hiring employees can seem like a nerve-wracking process, but it doesn't have to be. We break the process down into four basic steps: (1) Planning; (2) Recruiting; (3) Interviewing; and (4) Completing the Hire. Here are some tips for each phase of the process

Plan to Staff Your Business

At a minimum, you’ll need to hire administrative staff to greet customers, handle paperwork and reservations, and ensure equipment is checked out and returned properly. Some companies will also hire drivers for a shuttle service, and tour guides to accompany groups downriver. All of the roles are generally scalable with the size of the business, employing more administrative staff and drivers as customer volume increases.

A canoe rental is an extremely seasonal business: most shut down completely during the winter months. As such, expect to hire employees during the spring through fall months. Ensure your employees are aware of this so they can plan accordingly. The volume of customers coming to your business will vary with the season: plan staffing for a slow start in the spring as it gradually gets warmer, and a peak during the height of summer.

Develop a Recruiting Strategy

Recruiting can be done through traditional channels such as online job boards or community flyers. Consider also advertising at local colleges or universities to give you access to young workers able to work part time during the weekday and weekends.

Interview with Confidence

If you take your time during the planning and recruiting phases of the process, you will likely end up with many qualified candidates.

Nonetheless, it is natural for a new business owner to be a bit anxious the first time hiring employees. Don’t forget that the interview is just a chance to get to know an applicant and to give them an opportunity to learn more about the role and the business. Also, it might help to remember that they are probably even more nervous than you are!

Throughout the interview process, it may help to keep in mind that most cafe owners look for employees who are:

• Customer-oriented
• Flexible
• Good multi-taskers

Here are some sample interview questions that will help you learn more about the character of your interviewees:

• Talk about how you handle working under stress.
• Do you have reliable transportation?

Be Familiar with Hiring Laws

After selecting a job candidate, there are certain steps you will need to follow to complete the hiring process. Check out our Hiring Compliance Checklist for a step-by-step guide to the legal aspects of hiring employees.

One of the most important steps is to classify your new hire as an employee or an independent contractor. Become familiar with IRS guidelines on this matter, as there are serious consequences for misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor.

Once you have a growing team of employees, it's time to set up your payroll. Using a payroll service provider saves you time for running your business, and also helps ensure that you comply with important federal requirements such as employee tax withholding.

To help our readers save money and grow their business, we negotiated a 20% discount for you with payroll provider ADP, the most popular small business provider in the country.