Dig a hole, put the roots in, cover the roots with soil, firm well with your boots, water in, keep watered for the first year in dry spells until established, prune/cut when at required height.

Can't really do much wrong with privet really....just make sure they're kept watered when dry in spring and summer and you'll be fine

Just remember they are gross feeders, means they are greedy, so you won't find it easy to grow anything near the hedge.

What length of hedging are you planting and where?
What about something instead of privet - spirea, forsythia, lilac - all have (visible) flowers. Box or Lonicera nitida if you must have a wall of green. Mixed native hedging - hawthorn, dogwood, hazel - to attract wildlife.

Nothing will ever convince me that privet is a good idea.

Agree Urbanite - the best thing we ever did in this garden was to remove the privet hedge; we instantly gained a metre of ground and are much happier without.

I bet you remembered to improve the ground MG. I forgot, and then wondered why nothing lived very long there! Doh.

We did remember Stera though we never removed the roots, himself painted them with the root rotting stuff and we never had a problem.