Do you want to know one of the BEST things I ever did for myself and my business?
It was making the decision to finally hire that first person–and little did I know would go on to grow a team that I love and am so blessed to have. I was so scared to do it because I was convinced hiring would kill my business. There was my fear that I wouldn’t be able to afford it or that I’d never find anyone who could do the work as well as me. It wasn’t until my brother literally sat me down and knocked some sense into me that I finally took the plunge. And the truth is, my business has exploded since making that choice to hire. This week, I talked to Alison Begor, an Executive and Leadership Coach who specializes in helping entrepreneurs implement the best Human Resource strategies to build effective teams.
Alison Begor On When It's Time To Hire
If you’ve been itching for some time to yourself but are apprehensive about hiring help, then this episode is for you. Maybe you’ve found yourself overwhelmed and wishing you could clone yourself. You love your business, but there are just constantly a thousand and one things to do.
And the thought of adding anyone to the madness fills you with anxiety instead of relief. Well, I’m here to tell you that those are the exact symptoms of it being time to hire, and it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process in the least.
Alison Begor shares where to find your next employee, how to keep them happy and motivated once you have them, and even offers advice on what to do if you need to fire them!
Keep on reading for the answer to those questions that have been running through your mind.
When Should You Hire, Anyway?
This tends to be a sticky spot for a lot of entrepreneurs out there. When they think about hiring people, all they can see is a full-time employee and a whole team of people. Of course, that is totally overwhelming when you’re just starting out!
Alison’s advice is to break it up into palatable chunks. You don’t need to have an entire team right off the bat. Hiring for you might mean bringing someone on for five hours a week or just a handful of hours a month. She suggests looking for opportunities that will free up your time.
You can hire a virtual assistant to help you out with replying to emails or scheduling content. The key here is to give yourself more time to do the work that YOU are great at!
Where to Find Your New Hire
Ah, another obstacle in the road. Maybe now you’re convinced that you can take on a new hire to help you with business operations, but you have no idea where to find them.
To start, you need to get clear on exactly what you want this new hire to do. That means creating a job ad that accurately reflects the position and a peek into who you are as a business owner and what your business is all about. Next, you’ll want to post that ad in as many places as you can.
Maybe that means sending it out to your email list, pinning it on your website, or posting it to your social media channels. You can also utilize sources like Upwork and Fiverr. Check out this helpful guide that Alison created for a template of the best interview questions to ask your next hire!
How to Keep an Employee Once You’ve Hired Them
The first obvious answer here is to pay them a good salary. Always pay someone a fair price for their services even if it equates to less amount of hours work. It’s a much better trade-off than trying to find someone for a cheap rate.
Turns out, most people don’t leave their jobs because of the pay. It’s more important that your employee feels valued and appreciated. You can do this by ensuring you have great communication and providing good projects for them to work on. It’s also important to show them you value their time by having short meetings and always verbalizing your appreciation for them.
Saying thank you and meaning it goes a long way!
How in the World Do You Keep Them Motivated?
This one is definitely not as hard as it seems. It’s all about being flexible and remembering that we’re all human. There are going to be some weeks that an employee has lower energy levels. It’s important to check in with them and give them that grace so they can bounce back energized and refreshed.
Emphasizing the relationship instead of the work helps foster trust and appreciation, and those things feed motivation and engagement.
What If You Need to Fire Them?
This one might be just as stressful, if not more so, than hiring someone in the first place. Firing someone will never feel good, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a good way to go about doing it.
I love Alison’s approach because it starts with trying to fix the problem first. She goes by a general sixty day timeline as a window for improvement. This timeline can obviously be adjusted to fit your circumstances, but the point is to highlight an area that needs improvement and check-in at the end of the allotted time to see if the issue has been remedied.
At this point, you’re better able to make the decision if you and your employee should part ways and know that you made the right decision.
Top Takeaways From Alison Begor
- Investing in other people is actually investing in yourself
- Before you fire someone, give them a specific deadline and specific goals to see if they can accomplish them
- Pay isn’t the only reason people quit
- Gratitude goes a long way
- You can hire a VA for five to ten hours a month just to get your feet wet and help buy back your time
- COMMUNICATE
- Find the best way to communicate with them
- Start with quick wins
- Put your job description everywhere
- It’s never too early to hire
