So the economy is starting to improve and new business coming in...as a business owner one of the most important tasks you are going to be faced
with is managing your workforce. It's your job to make sure you have the right
people--and the right number of people--to keep your company running smoothly.
Now let's say your business is growing and you're sensing you need to hire new
employees. How can you really be sure the time is right to bring in additional
staff?
Here are the clues that tell you the time is right:
1.
Your employees are working very hard--perhaps too hard--and
they're letting you know--or complaining--that they have too much to do.
Complaints of this nature aren't uncommon, but your task is to determine if
they're legitimate.
How do you determine if the “working too hard”
complaints are legitimate? Try talking to your employees and ask them to
validate their issue of being "overworked." Then look at
attendance and productivity indicators to substantiate their claims. If what
you find confirms their feedback, then you might decide to reorganize and
restructure roles and responsibilities to better deal with the workflow. Or you
could use your new knowledge as a guide to hiring additional employees.
2.
Employees claim they want to take on more tasks or spend
additional time on current ones--if only they had the time.
3.
The growth curve for your products or services is increasing,
and you identify that as a positive trend, not just a blip on the consumer
radar.
4.
You see an opportunity for growth and expansion in your industry
or related industries, and decide that now's the time to take a calculated risk
to expand. But current employees aren't available to assume additional
responsibilities or don’t have the skills to implement the expansion.
5.
You determine that your employee's existing job skills and
knowledge are fine for your company’s current level of productivity, but to
expand, you'll need either increased skills and knowledge or a new and
different set of skills and knowledge.
6.
Revenue is at or above target and you project it to continue;
other than financially rewarding yourself and/or your employees, you wonder
what to do with the increased revenue.
Always remember there are many factors in addition to financial issues when considering hiring a new
employee. Financial factors don’t only
include being able to pay the new employee’s salary. The cost of benefits need to be
factored in in addition to workspace costs. Once
you determine you have the finances to make the new hire you have to consider
other factors such as training the new staff and the effect on the workplace
environment.
Remember when you hire
someone new you have a responsibility to that person. They might be leaving another stable position
to come work for you. Make sure you
considered all the factors and make a decision that is right for your business
and everyone involved.
STAY TUNED: Next week “HOW TO HIRE NEW STAFF”
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