Hiring staff can be an exciting time, because it means expansion and growth in a business. Sometimes, however, businesses grow before they’re ready to. Small business owners think their businesses look more professional with more staff so they hire people when they don’t need to.

Here are four tips for hiring staff, and being certain that hiring workers is the right move for your business.

Make sure you’re ready

It’s important that you and your business are ready for a team. There are some solid signs that you’re ready to hire:

• There’s too much work for you to do and too little time
• You don’t have certain skills or knowledge that are vital for your business
• You’re spending too much time running the business and not enough time helping clients (or vice versa).

If these factors describe you, you might be ready to hire an team member or two. If, however, you want to hire someone just because it looks good for your business, now might not be the time.

Decide what you need

Just because you need help doesn’t mean you need permanent, full-time assistance. You might need casual help or a part-time team member. You might need someone who assists with the paperwork while you continue with customer service (or the other way around). You might need someone to answer the phones and work as an assistant while you manage the business.

So what do you need this team member to do? How many hours do you need them for? Do you need someone casual? Do you need someone seasonal or on contract? Can you spend time training a new team member or do you need someone who already comes with a specific skill set?

Are there options beyond hiring someone? Could you hire a third party to take care of things for you or take on an intern?

Answering these questions will help you determine the best way forward for your business, and it will help you make the right hiring decisions.

Be prepared to invest

You also need to know that your business can afford a team member. Hiring staff means determining what their skills, experience and position are valued at and possibly offering benefits as well.

Additionally, you may have to purchase equipment and supplies so your team member can do their job. If you’ve been running an office with one desk and one computer, you may need to buy a desk, computer and chair for another person. You may even have to look into bigger office space. This all costs money on top of the wages you’ll need to pay.

If you don’t have the budget or resources to hire someone, now may not be the right time.

Keep your expectations realistic

You might need someone with superpowers who is an expert in accounts, customer service and marketing, but that doesn’t mean that person exists, is affordable or is easy to find. You have to be realistic with your expectations. If you need all three roles but can only afford one, determine which is most important to your business now. Or consider hiring multiple people on a part-time or consulting basis.

Asking one new person to take on too many roles and be great at all of them is a recipe for disaster, for your business and for that person.

Final thoughts

Many small business owners face a time when they have to consider whether or not to hire new staff. Before taking that step, it’s important to ensure you’re ready to hire, you know what you want, you have the budget and resources, and you have realistic expectations. Doing so gives you and your new team member the best possible opportunity for success.

PS. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways we can help you eradicate financial stress in your accounting firm or professional services business – faster …

1. Sign up to our LinkedIn newsletter, published weekly. You can sign up here: Eradicating Financial Stress
2. Get our book “Wow – I’m in Business! Your journey from overwhelmed to organised.” It’s full of insights, solutions and downloadable resources you can implement into your business immediately. Click here for your copy: Wow … I’m in Business! – Miss Efficiency
3. Book a time with me privately and we’ll do a deep dive into your Xero file to help you optimise for cash flow, efficiency and growth. Click here to book: Book a time with Sarah