There is an old saying in business, All of your real assets leave at five o'clock. Anyone who owns or manages a business knows how important employees are to its success. Next to customers, they are the lifeblood of any business.

The first step in creating and maintaining successful employee-employer relationships is to institute a strong, effective hiring process at the very beginning of the hiring process. Employees represent a major asset of your company, and employers are entitled to set high standards of excellence in hiring employees, to ask hard questions and to solicit as much job-related information as desirable.

In the hiring process, you have many things to consider:

** Ensuring non-discriminatory practices. Remember, more than 15 federal and state agencies monitor human resource and employment compliance.

** Documenting the recruitment process to protect you and your company.

** Making an informed decision on how likely a candidate will succeed at performing a particular job -- based on facts, not feelings.

** Gaining a strong interview competence level by enhancing your skills.

** Learning as much as possible about the candidate to provide information on how well he or she may perform on the job.

Selecting the wrong employee can not only cause inconvenience, it wastes time and money as well. The long-term success of your company is dependent on the quality of its people. When you hire people who are dedicated to your company's mission, you have made a good investment decision because they stay longer on the job, can be promoted into new roles and can contribute to the bottom line.

There are 10 essential steps to the hiring process that cover from the time you recognize a need for a position within your company to the time you bring someone on board:

Step 1. Analyze the job. For those employers with 15 or more employees, the Americans with Disabilities Act states employers must know the essential functions of the job. To ensure equal opportunity in hiring practices, in general it is a good idea for employers to know the essential functions of the job, document them and use them in recruitment.

Also consider local ordinances. In Lee County, for example, Florida Ordinance No. 86-28 requires that equal employment opportunities apply to employers with five full time employees working more than 30 hours per week, or 10 employees irrespective of the number of hours per week. Other equal opportunity ordinances may apply in various geographical areas. With this in mind, it is more important than ever to know the job for which you are recruiting to ensure non-discriminatory interviewing practices.

Step 2. Prepare or Update Job Descriptions. The job description serves multiple purposes. The first is that it is a document which describes to candidates important aspects of the job; essential functions, supervisory responsibilities, problems and challenges, decision making, mental and physical requirements and education, to name a few. Second, the job description may be used as an internal tool for job clarification or changes, and it is useful in the performance review process.

Step 3. Initiate the Employment Activity. Complete a New Hire Request Form. This will educate your human resource recruiter on what the job requires in addition to the job description, which may include hours of work, weekend or shift work, new position or replacement, reason for the opening, exempt/non-exempt status and full or part-time status. It should also have signature lines for appropriate approvals to fill the open position.

Step 4. Prepare Internal Job Posting. Sometimes we don't know all of the talent that exists within the company. By posting open positions first within the company, you give employees an opportunity for consideration with the possibility of promotion or lateral move to learn more about a particular part of the business. Knowledge is power, and you want your employees to be knowledgeable and grow with the business.

Step 5. Initiate the External Recruitment Process. You may find that you need to recruit outside of the company for special or entry-level positions. Where will you search for the right candidate? Much depends on time and the financial resources of your company. A few resources may be:

Print - local or out of town newspapers, professional journals, trade magazines. Create interest in your company through creative ads!

Media - radio, television, Internet

Agencies - governmental, private, non-profit. Include your local community colleges and universities as a resource.

Employee Referral - Be sure not to use this as your only method, however, as equal opportunity considerations may apply.

Word of Mouth - conversations with other professionals in the community

Active Applications and Resumes - including those already in your files

Professional and Civic Associations - often a good resource

Networking with Like Industries - this can be an excellent way to help each other.

Step 6. Screen Resumes and Applications. Look for the positive. What skills, experiences, talent and education does the candidate bring to the table? Equally as important is to seek contrary evidence. What are potential negatives of the candidate, such as gaps in employment, reason for leaving employers or movement to positions with less pay and/or responsibility? Be sure that as you complete the screen process, you are not inadvertently discriminating on the basis of equal employment opportunity or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Step 7. Prepare for and Conduct the Interview. Prepare a comfortable, private interviewing setting. You are the first impression of the company to the candidate, and you want to ensure it's positive. Prepare your questions in advance. Be sure they are legal, and ask questions that will give you the information you need to create an informed decision. Open-ended questions requiring the candidate to share a past story or on-the-job experience are most helpful. Don't forget the basics, however, such as work hours and other important aspects of the job:

**Be on time. This will leave a good impression of you and the company.

** Give job related tests. Again, be sure if you give job related tests, that all candidates interviewed receive the tests, not just a select few. In certain situations, this may be viewed as discrimination.

** Evaluate the candidates. A good rule of thumb is to complete your written evaluation immediately after the interview so that it may remain objective and you don't forget important points that you wish to remember.

Step 8. Perform Background Checks and Reference Inquiries. This is an important step that is often overlooked, and as much as possible should be completed before you make a conditional offer of employment. After you make the offer, you may then co