Ask Entrepreneur - Human Resources

It should go without saying: treating your employees with respect is the mark of a great manager.

Our expert weighs in on the advantages of being a full-time staffer versus a freelancer.

Who are the major types of employees that one should hire to run a successful ecommerce website? Why?

I have a problem with my employees getting distracted by their mobile phones. I catch them texting a lot. From a human resources standpoint, how can I handle this? Can I take my staff's phones away when they start work and hand them back at the end of their shift? If not, what should I do?

I'm building my first startup toward launch. I've learned a lot during the process, but hiring continues to perplex me. I've hired about 20 people over the past several months, and fired most. But one guy I found is incredibly talented, 50 times better than everybody else. It's incredible to have this secret weapon on my team. When I first talked to him, I got a gut feeling and hired him to be my head of marketing. How do I meet more people like this without spending as much time as I did to find this one jewel? How do great companies leverage recruiting?

As an entrepreneur, my company is my pride and joy. When it comes to staffing up, how can I find people to bring into my organization that truly care about it the way I do?

Is the enterprise head the employer of the freelancer? Or is he or she the client of the freelancer? Are there any legal issues to consider? What tips can you share for managing this type of business relationship?

As an employer in California, we provide printed pay slips and mail them to our employees. Many do not keep track of them and continue to ask us to send them six months of past pay slips. Legally do we have to provide these or is it the employee's responsibility to keep their records? What tips do you have to avoid this in the future?

I own a research and development company for pharmaceutical drugs. How can I create a success ladder for employees? I was thinking there would be three "ladders" altogether: Managerial, administration and scientist. What factors need to be considered? How should I get started?

I have one full-time employee and one part-time employee who are both non-exempt. Can I just offer the full-timer a different day off?

I own a small business but I want to offer healthcare to my staff.

A recently hired salaried staffer has been ill since shortly after she started at my company. She has never worked a full 40 hour week and is now unable to perform her duties. She needs surgery and is trying to stay on board until she qualifies for our health insurance plan.

How do I know who I should recruit?

All of my current employees were hired with these benefits in place.

Why or why not?