Business is good, you’re busy – too busy – and people you trust are saying it’s time to take on staff. What’s stopping you?
It could be a multitude of reasons and to help, Joanne Moss has looked at the most common objections. Read on and then ask yourself again, what is stopping you?
It’s just me in the business – I can’t recruit another me.
My first piece of advice here is to enlist a good business coach (contact me for recommendations). They will help you identify areas that can be managed by other people and develop an achievable business plan.
I am yet to come across a business that cannot grow through people, without the business-owner cloning themselves. There are always areas of the business that can be undertaken by other people – finance, admin, marketing to name a few, leaving you to concentrate on what you do best.
If the process works in a particular way that involves you, consider ways in which you can duplicate this. Then recruit and train the best person for the role. This isn’t always a direct copy of you, someone with different skills and experience can often achieve the same, or better, results, using a different approach. It’s time to think outside the box!
Ambulance chasers – those who are in it to catch you out and take you to court
It’s all about getting your ducks in a row at the outset. Robust contracts, policy and procedure help to protect you against legal action. There’s always a chance, but this will help reduce the risk. Think of it like driving your car – you might have an accident, but there are things you can to do reduce the risk or limit the damage. For example, wearing your seatbelt, ensuring your vehicle is in good working order, sticking to the speed limit and driving conditions, having insurance.
Employing people is no different, robust recruiting procedures to ensure you have the right person in the right seat helps no end and having those policies and procedures to fall back on can save you a heap of time, and money.
I just can’t afford it
Often businesses reach a plateau where they’re at capacity with the work or client base they have and can grow no more without investment. Your accountant (again, contact us if you need recommendations) or business coach will be able to help with this.
I’ve been through this myself recently and it’s always interesting to get a fresh pair of eyes to look over your figures with an outside-looking-in approach.
A consideration is someone part time to begin with, whilst you grow. This helps to keep the costs down in the very beginning. You can always expand the role later when needed.
I don’t have the time
I can relate to this. Ironically, you need help, but don’t have time to source the help!
As with most things in HR, it’s just a process. Take a few days to note everything down someone else could be doing – answering the phone, organising reviews with clients, managing social media – simple bullet points on a pad will suffice. This is the basis of your job description and from there create a job ad.
If you haven’t time (or confidence) to write a Job Description, please give us a call. We can help put it together from a list of tasks on a scrap piece of paper, then create a person spec (a bit like a wish list) during a short conversation with you. It’s another one of those tasks that can be outsourced!
At Moss HR, we understand how daunting it can be taking on a new employee. We’re with you there! That’s why we created Simple Steps, an online guide – complete with templates – to help overcome the fear of taking on a new starter.
Click here for more details.