Hiring Employees Will Save You Money

To successfully grow your business you need to build a strong team.  And yet often designers have trouble letting go and question the need for a team.

What would your life be like if your business kept growing, your profits increased, and you were to delegate some of what is currently on your plate so that you didn’t work such long days, on weekends, etc. and you could focus on the parts of the business you really enjoy?

There are only 24 hours in a day.  When you begin to build a team you will find that your revenue will increase because your business will have more “hours” available with additional people to get the work done and consequently be able to grow your bottom line.

If you can pay someone less than your billable rate to do those things you don’t need to do, may not want to do, and may not even do well – it makes sense mentally and financially to build a team.

Once you realize the benefits of building a team, take time to write down the tasks you do every day and for each task ask:  Do I like doing that?  Am I the best person to do this?  Is there someone I could hire to do this? Or can I outsource this?  If you have 5 + things on that list you shouldn’t be doing then you need to hire.

As you prepare to hire, understand that most people need to learn hiring skills.  One tip to remember:  Always hire slowly and fire quickly.  Make sure you hire people to balance your strengths and weaknesses.

Create a very clear job description – first for yourself and then for the areas you plan to offload.  Organize where the tasks fall in the segments of the business:  sales, marketing, operations, design, etc. Then focus on what positions within those segments you need to hire or outsource for.

Create a great ad for hiring and a process.  Develop questions to ask and decide how you will make the decision on the final choice.

How are you portraying your company and its culture – in job ads and job descriptions?  Finding an ideal team member is like finding an ideal client with negotiables and non-negotiables – identify them.

Listen carefully in the interview.  Pay attention to what they don’t say and create a scenario to see how they problem-solve and deal with challenges.  Have a current offer letter ready.

When you hire, have an onboarding and training plan in place.  You’ll need an employee manual including policies for your firm.  Don’t forget to calendar a 90-day review.

As for the order of hiring, find the most experienced person you can hire as it will be less expensive in the long run.  There will be less of your time needed for training, less time for the employee to ramp up to speed, and a lower likelihood of there being a poor match.  Then fill in your team as you grow.

So, as you plan for success, think about the vision of your business and be open to hiring, then prepare to hire, and don’t forget to plan for the onboarding and training.  Remember:  “Collaboration is multiplication” – John C. Maxwell

For more information on hiring, listen to Gail and Erin talk about the topic on the Creative Genius Podcast: Genius For Hire