It is said that a business or company is as good as its team. That is so true but it is not always the case that a business right from the onset has a team. Many small businesses are started solo and even go for a stretch being run solo. Usually, people prefer this to skirt the cost of employing people full time. Costs related to human resources usually are the lion’s share. Anyways, there comes a time as a business or startup grows that hiring or employing people becomes necessary. When is that though? How do you know it is now time to hire or employ? Let me discuss that in this article.
Limited Capacity
Limited capacity can come in two ways namely, workload and expertise or skillsets. There can come a time when you are failing to handle all your business processes. It could even happen that you do have some existing employees but they are being overwhelmed. That is a sure sign that hiring more hands is needed. Then it can also pertain to expertise or skillsets. The moment the existing team is not equipped with the necessary skills it is time to hire those who are. To ascertain these things you must engage your existing team if there is. At times you might assume wrongly when the root cause of limited capacity is coming from other issues. So you must be sure and engagement helps you do that.
Can No Longer Take In New Projects Or Tasks
This could be when you are running solo or you have a small team. Revenue growth is obviously tied to taking in and doing more work. However, as enterprising as one can be you can only handle as much. There comes a time when you begin to realize that you are forced to turn down prospective clients. I am sure most entrepreneurs or business people have encountered or encountering this. The dreadful reality might be that it is high time to start hiring or employing.
Business Growth And Expansion
This can come in many ways but it becomes inevitable to hire. For example, your business can grow to an extent that you have to open more branches. It can grow to a point where you realize that more work is coming or order quantities are increasing. Growth and expansion might come in the form of new products or services. It can even be joint ventures or partnerships that unlock a bigger market. To keep up and continue to provide great service hiring more hands might become necessary. Often time it will actually be so apparent that it will be a no-brainer.
Multitasking Becomes Rampant
The ideal situation is to have employees responsible for specific tasks. Ideally, it should be tasks related to one’s area of expertise. It becomes a red flag when literally everyone overlaps to help out in other areas. It becomes particularly problematic when experienced and qualified staff ends up chipping in on menial tasks. For example, imagine a receptionist helping out in dispatching or a customer service representative doing a stock or line check. Those might be tell-tale signs that you are now under-staffed. This goes to show you that most signs will be borne out of objective observation of daily workflows.
Pay Attention To Components That Are Pivotal To Revenue Generation
It can be a tall order to prioritize which areas need to be attended to first. Thus you must prioritize areas that are most likely to surge your revenue inflows. Examples of areas like that are design, development, marketing, and customer service. I had to mention this because surely you can figure out and acknowledge that there are gaps. However, if you do not prioritize properly you will not get good outcomes.
I am sure this has been a very useful article. As is the case with most things, there is a delicate balance to be struck. Hiring or employing people should not be done too early or too late. If you rush it your cash flows will limp because human resources require lots of money. If you wait too long though, you might find your business with too many pending commitments. It is also wise to bring outsourcing into the fold; it can bring you some good outcomes.
