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Overview of the hiring process
So, you know you want to hire someone, and you’ve figured out what type of employee you need and what they’ll do. Now you just have to hire them!
Click "View" to see the full visual guide, or see the text version below it.
Step-by-step guide to hiring
The steps below are text versions of the visual guide. It's aimed at people who use screen readers, or who prefer to take in information by reading.
Great working relationships start with a great recruitment process that clearly explains the role, working conditions and employment rights. With just a bit of planning, you’ll set yourself up right and take your business further in the long-term.
Checklist of tasks
- Define the role.
- Choose an employee type — see our visual guide to staff types.
- Check your costs with our Employee Cost Calculator.
- Find the right person.
- Make an offer.
- Sign the agreement, created with our Employment Agreement Builder.
- Get ready.
- Complete any remaining paperwork.
- Settle them in.
Step 1: Make an offer
You must:
- Check the candidate can legally work in New Zealand.
- Explain the 90-day trial period, if you’re going to use one.
- Give the candidate information about any unions or collective agreements supplied to you by the unions.
You should:
- Spend a bit of time chatting about the role and the conditions you’re offering, eg hours and location of the work, salary, training requirements, fringe benefits and holidays.
Remember, a person is an employee once an offer is accepted. This might be through verbal agreement or signing a letter or employment agreement.
Step 2: Sign the employment agreement
You must:
- Give the candidate a written employment agreement that’s specific to their employee type and includes all the agreed conditions.
- Provide them with a written role description.
- If there’s a collective agreement, give them a form to indicate if they will join the union.
- If you’re using the 90-day trial period, tell them about it again and write it into the agreement.
- Give them enough time to consider the agreement and show it to anyone else they might want to.
- Make sure they’ve signed the agreement before they start work (or travel from overseas to New Zealand).
Remember, if they start work (or start to travel for the job) without an employment agreement, minimum employment standards will apply.
Creating an employment agreement
Employment Agreement Builder(external link)
Union form for new employees(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Step 3: Get ready for their first day
You should:
- Organise anything they need to get going, eg computer, uniform, work tools, company policies, safety equipment, security pass and email.
- Plan out their first day and an induction process.
- Add them to any insurance policies you might have.
Remember, new employees will be more comfortable if you’re fully prepared for them. Being prepared will also speed up their settling-in time and get them contributing to your business faster. If this is your first employee, you’ll need to register as an employer with Inland Revenue.
Register as an employer(external link) — Inland Revenue
Step 4: Complete any remaining paperwork
You must:
- Sign them up for KiwiSaver, if they’re eligible.
- Have them complete a tax code declaration (IR330).
- Give them any relevant union forms within their first 10 days of work. Return forms to the union, unless the employee objects.
- Work out their pay and payroll.
Our page on how to set up a new employee will guide you through this process.
Starting employees in KiwiSaver (IR348)(external link) — Inland Revenue
Complete my tax code declaration(external link) — Inland Revenue
Step 5: Settle in your new employee
You must:
- Explain your workplace’s health and safety procedures.
You should:
- Show your employee how your systems and processes work.
- Introduce them to any other workers you might have.
- Get their emergency contact details, and give them yours.
Remember, the more effort you put into getting the right employee, settling them in to the role, and getting them up to speed with their work, the better it’ll be for you, your staff and your business.
Everyone you employ needs a written employment agreement.
You must do it by law, and it’s a great foundation for an employment relationship. Our new Employment Agreement Builder(external link) will help guide you through the steps to create a proper agreement.
Find out what you know about hiring and managing people. When you're done, follow the links in the answers for more details.
