Hiring isn’t hard. In fact, we’ve previously shared nine secrets that will help you realize how to make this part of growing your business easy.
With 10 years of experience being 100-percent remote while connecting clients and contractors all over the U.S., rethinking hiring is the cornerstone of what we do at BELAY.
Our CEO, Tricia Sciortino, is no stranger to hiring. Recently, she listed some of her guidelines for hiring and onboarding. Summarized, they include …
- Move slowly and intentionally.
- Create growth and staffing plans annually and budget accordingly.
- Determine what can be outsourced until hired. What can volunteers help with?
- Arrange face-to-face interviews as body language and nonverbal cues are important.
- Remember that the end goal is not to simply hire people for the sake of hiring them; the goal is to hire them because it will move you toward your business goals and, ultimately, toward growth.
Although hiring seems to come as second nature to many business owners, some hiring mistakes are best to avoid.
Hiring Full-Time Staff Only
Having full-time employees is great, but expensive. There are alternative options to hiring, such as freelance, short-term work, consultants, interns or — our specialty — 1099 contractors that can be a great option for your business.
According to FlexJobs, 65 percent of respondents are more productive in their home office than at a traditional workspace boasting fewer distractions and interruptions, less stress from no commute, minimal office politics, and a personalized, quiet environment.
On average, remote work is often a more cost-effective option for employers by saving up to $11,000 per year when hiring remote employees on average.
By pivoting to remote hiring, companies often also avoid lost productivity by hiring contractors.
Contractors who are also remote workers are not only usually more productive in the day-to-day, but there are savings from not hiring full-time employees. Think: health insurance, life insurance, worker’s compensation, short-term disability, and tech equipment.
Having Team Members Responsible for Multiple Jobs
In the beginning, setting clear expectations and definitions is critical for setting up a successful work relationship with your employees.
As business owners, we wear many hats and often fight to avoid falling into the trap of working all of the time and doing all of the things. Protect your employees' time as well by setting healthy boundaries and reasonable expectations.
Communication is the key here. It is great if your employee is a jack-of-all-trades and can do many things. In fact, we encourage you to utilize our contractors for all they are capable of and that their experience has taught them.
However, when their workload supersedes what they have time for each day and they feel almost incapable of stopping each day due to an ever-expanding list, it may be time for them to scale back and spend their valuable time doing what they are best at.
Not Taking Culture Fit Into Consideration
Having a candidate with the perfect skill set is great but what is even more crucial is having them fit your company and team culture.
When they believe in the work your organization does and value the tasks they are responsible for in their roles that move your mission forward, it is most often a perfect match. Most skills and day-to-day tasks can be taught and perfected over time, and having the right person in place is invaluable.
A great way to test whether the candidate is a good fit culturally is to have them meet with members of your team. Having the people who will rely on and interact with this candidate get to know them and provide you with feedback can prove beneficial in the long run as well.
Failing to Set Expectations
Sharing your expectations for them, their role and their team, even in the hiring process, can help your future team members avoid burnout in the long run.
Hiring a fantastic candidate whose skill set has checked many of the boxes in your wishlist is great, but if they are in their first team meeting sweating over how this wasn’t what they expected, you could be losing them sooner than you get their login information set up. Yikes.
Providing as much information as you can in the hiring process, as opposed to only putting your best foot forward and creating unrealistic expectations, can only help build a high-performing team.
Hiring and expanding your team can be what your business needs to take the next steps toward substantial growth — even if you are hiring a personal assistant to give you time back in your day so that you can get to the point of building a team.
When done well, these three mission-critical elements may take more time and effort on the front end — but the returns are well worth it.
Do you want BELAY to help you find your next contractor? Our team is ready to help you find the perfect match today!