There’s something exciting about picturing your small business filled with passionate employees. But small business hiring is an art, and it’s often difficult to pinpoint the roles that you need filled and the total number of employees that your business can support.
While there’s no firm answer to the question — How do I hire the right employees? — there are key considerations and hiring tips that can help you make the right choice for your small business.
Here are some key small business hiring tips:
Take Into Account The Nature of Your Business
When you run a growing restaurant or retail store, hiring new employees is inevitable. But small business staffing becomes a bit trickier if you own a company that provides consulting services or a web-based product. You have to more carefully consider how many employees you need, because the lack of a brick-and-mortar location makes for less obvious roles.
Owning a small business also creates opportunity, such as leveraging new technologies, outsourcing tasks and finding contractors to get the productivity you need without adding to payroll (see more below).
Know When to Outsource
While it’s exciting to create jobs through a small business, it’s not always recommended to add a full-time employee — especially if there’s technology or an outside firm that can perform the duties at a significant savings.
Small businesses traditionally outsource advertising, accounting and other administrative tasks. But before you hire for a particular position, look into technologies and small (sometimes one-person) firms that can do a great job at a far lower cost.
The Right People vs. The Right Roles
It’s difficult to know exactly what skills and experience you need at a small business. Some move forward with the philosophy of running lean and hiring the right people rather than focusing on specific roles.
How do you hire the right person without focusing on the role? During the hiring process, find employees with a wide skillset, varied experience and a fervent belief in your company’s mission. Plug them into positions with the understanding that you run with an all-hands-on-deck approach — any team member may be called on to perform a unique task at any time. If you find the right people, the specific titles and roles will develop over time.
How Are Your Finances?
Can you afford additional employees? It’s the obvious question when it comes to small business hiring, but failing to fully consider the answer can cost you.
Think through the full cost of each position you have in mind. That means calculating salary, as well as the cost of insurance and other benefits, payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, supplies and a slew of other expenses. It adds up quickly. Luckily, Fundation offers plenty of small business financing options, such as working capital loans and business expansion loans that can give your company the financial support it needs to hire new employees and successfully grow your business.
Consider Temporary Employees In Place of Full-Time Hires
Small business hiring is stress-inducing for a business owner, and rightfully so. You want the perfect people pouring all of their talent, experience and energy into seeing the business reach its full potential.
But finding those people is more difficult in reality than on paper. If you’re not ready to commit to a full-time team member, consider using temporary help such as contractors, temp agencies or freelancers.
This route can help you better understand the skillsets needed for maximum impact on your business, while giving you the productivity and flexibility you need.
Understanding how to hire the right people for your small business can be extremely challenging, as every business has individual needs and roles to be filled. While there are many helpful small business hiring tips to get you started on the right track, successful hiring and staffing ultimately results from understanding your company’s unique needs as well as financial flexibility.
Is it time to hire? If so, Fundation can provide the growth capital needed to comfortably hire new team members without placing stress on your cash flow.
