As a solopreneur, you can only do so much. But as your business grows, you’ll need to expand your staff. Finding and hiring the right people will help your company become more successful faster.
Here we look at five tips that will not only help you find quality talent, but also nurture them so they feel vested in your company and want to help it thrive.
1. Know What You Need
Pinpoint exactly the skillsets you need to fill to round out your team. Each person should have a slightly different background and experience so that they complement one another. But really drill down into your needs. Do you need to hire someone who has skills in social media? What specific social sites do you need help with? The more you know about your needs, the better fit your hire will be.
Also consider what types of employees you need. Not every addition to your team needs to be a full-time staff member. You can hire part-time, intern, or freelancer if your needs in one area are less than full-time.
2. Look to Your Network
Before you hit the job boards to find your next new employees, ask your network for referrals. They’re cheaper to hire, faster to get on board, and have a retentionrate of 46% after being at a company a year. Ask your colleagues, friends, employees, family and business contacts if they know of talent that would be a good fit for your company.
3. Set Up Your Onboarding Process
The more training materials and processes you have set up, the faster a new hire will feel acclimated to your company and start being a productive member of your team. Have general training materials for your company, as well as those specific to the role you’re hiring for.
If you plan to work with a freelancer or agency, give them access to all the documents, login info and details they need to be successful in helping you.
4. Foster Team Activities
Hiring one person is a small success. Integrating them into your team is another. Make sure your team is apprised throughout the hiring process so they feel vested and connected to this new addition. Encourage communication among team members, and consider setting up a team-building activity like attending an event together or even having dinner after work.
Even if you, as the business owner, aren’t involved in the day-to-day with your team, you want to leave them to be able to build and foster their own relationships with one another.
5. Check Back In Often
A month after you’ve hired a new team member, check back to see how they’re doing. Get open feedback from them, and do your best to remove any obstacles they might be experiencing that keep them from being 100% productive.
Once you’ve done this successfully, make it your road map for future additions to your team.