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Welcome! We’re so excited to be launching the fourth season of the Creative Genius Podcast. Thanks for joining us.
Hiring an employee is a big step for any business but a necessary one if you want your business to grow. Done properly, adding to your team can be a game-changer, for you and the employee.
In this podcast, Gail and Erin discuss the benefits of hiring, when to hire and preparing to hire. Having recently gone through several new hires themselves, they share their insights on how best to determine what kind of employee you need and how to help ensure you select someone who’s a good fit for your business.
When you have more on your plate than you can accomplish in a reasonable work week or if you want to expand your business, it’s time to hire. If you want to work less or have more work/life balance, it’s time to hire. If you are doing things you don’t like to do or are not good at, such as accounting or managing the office, it’s time to hire. Or, if you can’t spend enough time on the things you do well and contribute most to your business because you’re spending too much time attending to small details, it’s time to hire.
“You shouldn’t be fulfilling on the details because the details aren’t what pay you,” said Gail. “You’re leaving money on the table if you’re doing things that are not your best use of time.” Why, for example, would you not pay an accountant $40 an hour if you could use that time to bill a client $150 or more an hour?
Before you hire, take time to prepare properly. Think carefully about what you need the person to do and write a comprehensive job description. Determine what your process will be for hiring, onboarding and training the new employee. Develop in advance interview questions that will give you the information you need to decide if the candidate has the skills and experience you’re looking for and will be a good fit for the business culture. Prepare a letter of offer and, if you don’t already have one, an employee manual that specifies HR policies and procedures.
“Try to find the most experienced person you can hire,” advised Gail. It will be less expensive in the long run because you will spend less time on training and managing that person. “Don’t try to bring on more than one person at a time.” You need to devote time to onboarding the new employee, and you don’t want to take more time away from other priorities than you have to.
Erin recommended scheduling a review with the new employee after 90 days to discuss their performance and give them an idea of what comes next in their duties and training. She also encouraged solopreneurs to be open to hiring. “Think about the business you’ve created and the business you want to grow,” she said. Do the preparation and have a plan for orienting, training and delegating to the employee, and things will work out.
For more insights and tips on hiring, listen to the entire podcast.
Mentioned in This Podcast
You’ll find additional information on how to build a strong team based on your values and culture, the hiring process and employee policies and procedures, and why teamwork is the ultimate shortcut in Gail’s new book, Business Breakthrough: Your Creative Value Blueprint to Get Paid What You’re Worth, available as a Kindle book or in print form.
If you are not familiar with the laws in your state regarding employees and labor practices, you will find a list of state labor offices on the U.S. Department of Labor website at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state