Every small business owner knows how to wear multiple hats. Depending on the size of your company, you may take on the mantle of CEO, CFO, Office Manager, Staff Accountant and Human Resources all in the course of one afternoon. When it comes time to expand, recruiting the right team is crucial to your success.
Here are four tips to help you build the right team to ensure your survival in the trenches and in the competitive marketplace!
1. Know What You Need Before You Look for It. I once had a hiring manager tell me, “I don’t know exactly what I want Kevin, but I need you to find it for me.” As frustrating as this plea was, it was incredibly heartfelt and honest. My leader had admitted that we were at a standstill in the recruitment process because we hadn’t clearly defined what knowledge, skills and abilities we were looking for in an ideal candidate. Think of it like buying a new car. How often do you purchase a vehicle without first determining what is most important to you? Do you prefer power over good gas mileage? You also need to ask yourself if this role is a permanent placement that you have enough work to sustain over time. If not, you might consider a flexible working arrangement, or contacting a staffing agency to take on the recruitment process for you (for a fee of course) with a temp-to-hire option if a permanent need becomes available. Being overstaffed can present a greater challenge than being understaffed!
2. Hire Based On Values. If you haven’t defined your organization’s core values, it will be next to impossible to build a team that will nurture and reflect what you’re looking for through their behavior and contributions. Building core values is far simpler than you may realize. Your primary financial goal is to have a successful (i.e. profitable) business. In order to do that, you must provide a valuable and cost-effective product or service to your customers. From there you may determine that since your business would not exist without your customers, you need to place the customers’ best interests at the center of all business transactions. Once you’ve defined “Customer Focus” as a core value, you can draft interview questions that will help you select candidates based on that criteria. When you have alignment between organizational values and employee values, the chances of a long-term, successful partnership increases!
3. Sell Your Organization and Then Deliver. As much as you want a candidate to impress by bringing their “A” Game to an interview, this is also a prime opportunity to sell yourself as employer of choice to others. Even if the candidate you have sitting in your office isn’t going to make the final cut, recognize the value they bring by spreading the word about how great it would be to work for you. Nearly every business has some perks that can distinguish you from the pack. Does your company offer benefits or a profit-sharing option for employees? Do you allow for flexible scheduling arrangements or the ability to telecommute for certain roles a few days a week? Sell your finer points, and then ensure you deliver upon them. Each new hire is a customer earned, you wouldn’t sell a customer on a service you couldn’t deliver. Don’t make a similar mistake with your employees. Your reputation is on the line!
4. Don’t Settle, Just Make Sure They Settle In. Recruitment is a time consuming, and therefore costly, process. Although the perfect hire might not exist, you shouldn’t settle for someone your gut tells you won’t bring value to your business. You don’t want to be too eager or too lackadaisical in your selection process. If you fail to act on someone you feel can do the job and has the potential to learn the other skills they need, you may lose them to another employer — taking you back to square one. Still, don’t let that deter you from making a well-informed hiring decision. Most importantly, once you’ve made the decision to hire, allow for adequate time to “onboard” them. This process can include anything from reviewing company and individual performance goals, communicating the organization’s value proposition or simply providing adequate training on systems and processes. Give your newest employee the opportunity to succeed and contribute effectively to the team!
What hiring advice do you have to share with other small businesses? Leave a comment below, leave a comment on Facebook or tweet us @123Print and share your knowledge!
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