While hiring an employee is a great milestone to get to as an entrepreneur, careful consideration needs to be paid to the different aspects of your business; workflow, workload, and whether you are ready for the employee. Consider;
i) Your current workload and flow: Is the workflow optimized? sometimes a simple change in how you do the job will improve efficiency – how fast you are able to complete projects. An additional piece of equipment or software may make you more efficient and is a one-off cost that could be cheaper than hiring an employee.
What skill level and experience do you require? Determine what skill level and experience you need. If you are looking for someone who is able to manage the business as opposed to carrying out menial duties then you will find that this could significantly impact your cash flow. A simple table like the one below will help you determine the specific tasks you would like to have the new employee focus on.
ii) What will it cost to get the new hire? Will you sustain it? The cost of getting an employee can be high and make significant dents in your bank account as the impact of having employees sometimes is not felt immediately they come on board. You will need to reserve at least 6 months’ value in salary before you start hiring unless the position is a sales one in which case you may expect to have an impact from the recruitment in 3 months.
iii) Can you make the position a part-time one as opposed to full time? For small businesses, the middle ground before they can justify hiring full-time employees is getting part-time workers on board. This allows you to cost particular jobs or bring in people as and when needed.
iv) Have you documented processes so it is easy for someone else to quickly learn you do? The specific process for a position should be incorporated into your orientation program (onboarding process) which should be designed for all future employees. it will help the new member of the team quickly fit into the work culture of the business.
v) Hire for potential not only the track record. If you cannot develop the person to meet your needs in the business their track record may not be of much use to you.
vi) Demonstration Of Ability. During the recruitment process have applicants demonstrate their ability. The traditional question-answer sessions may not suffice in today’s changing work environment that requires a wide range of skills. Alongside question-answer sessions put the potential candidates in the environment they will be working in and see how they respond to the pressures of work.
vi) Approval Of Co-founders. Have them also get involved in the recruitment process. This is especially important if they also work in the business as they will be relating to the new employee.
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