Soloprenuer to recruiting staff or outsourcing…
There comes a point when it’s time to make a big leap in your business.
Going from just you, to outsourcing specific tasks or recruiting a member of staff.
It can be both scary and exciting. In this article you can find out the basic principles in order to make this leap easier.
A Technician, A Manager or An Entrepreneur…
If you have read the E-Myth by Michael Gerber you’ll know that his theory describes that there are 3 personality types which form a business: a Technician, a Manager and an Entrepreneur.
Most people start off as a “technician”, you simply start doing the job for yourself. You were a mechanic for someone else, and now you’ve set up your own business “because you could do it better”, but you still do the same hands on role with the added stress and responsibilities of being a business owner.
The “manager” is when you get someone in to help, but you still control how things are done. You are the organiser, the planner and you make sure things get ticked off.
The “entrepreneur” is the visionary, the dreamer with energy and imagination. Always thinking ahead and how everything can get done without you.
Depending on your personality type will decide which personality type you adapt to when launching your business and who you will sign up to join you in growing your business.
It also depends in which stage your business it at.
If you fail to get the right person at the right time, you can end up a micro manager or worse still, reverting back to just yourself as “it’s not worth it” because they “don’t do things right”
The job description…
A very important step BEFORE outsourcing or gaining staff is clearly identifying the tasks that someone can or will undertake. You will need to take a step back to understand all the jobs you do within your business that someone else could undertake either by recruiting someone and/or by outsourcing.
After this step you can build a solid job description. You’ll need to think about the following things:
1. Job title
2. Job summary
3. Responsibilities and duties
4. Skills and qualifications needed
5. Salary and benefits: holidays, pension, sick pay, car etc
Outsourcing…
If you want to outsource to a specific freelancer or company then you still need to be very clear about the tasks you want them to undertake and writing a formal document will help make your search easier.
It will also help the freelancer/company to give you a better quote for services if you are descriptive about what you need them to do and if appropriate for how many hours you need them.
Jumping the gun…
A common mistake that people make is they get “too busy” to think about what they ACTUALLY need someone to do. They “just need help” and then when the new member of staff arrives (or the tasks are outsourced) they don’t feel in control about what the person can or will do and this can be very unproductive and frustrating for all.
Writing it all down…
You should also look at getting all of your processes and procedures in place. This is writing down your processes step by step so that anyone could undertake that job. It’s an idiots guide, it’s a how to, every detail should be included.
How many hours…
It’s then recommended to look at how long these tasks take. That way, you can clearly see how much help, in terms of time you really need. Do you really need someone full time? Always go with less time so that you can increase someone’s contract if needed. It’s very difficult to decrease it if you have overshot the time you actually need them.
The advert…
The recruitment comes next. A good solid advert is necessary. This is your shop window, this is you setting the scene. A sloppy or poor advert will do you no favours, it will only attract the same type of applicants.
Think about how and where you will recruit, and what kind of information you want them to send you. If you are using a free resource like Indeed think about adding in some pre qualifying questions so that people have to think and answer some questions before simply uploading documents.
For example, if your advert requires 3 years experience in a customer service back ground, have a question: How many years customer service experience do you have? If they write 2, you can discount them straight away.
Vetting before interview…
It’s always a good idea to have a chat with them on the phone, you can pick up a lot of information with an unexpected call.
Interviews are next…
Make sure you set the scene again. Hold your interviews professionally, have specifically written questions which qualify against the job description, include a “test” suitable for the job. If you are a beauty salon, as them to perform a manicure, if it’s office based, set up a suitable task.
Have a scoring system and mark people for all elements. Make sure it is clear, transparent and fair. If you have any come back after an interview, you can show how you came to the conclusions you did.
Personality profiling…
DISC profiling – one type of personality profiling
This is a great element to include. You can ensure that you are getting the best type of person for your business. If you need someone who is organised and good with people. Then you need to be recruiting that person. Although not 100% accurate it gives you a great insight and coupled with all the other elements list below:
• Application
• CV
• Covering letter
• Telephone chat
• Interview
• Test
• Personality test
You’ll be on your way to securing the best team member for your business
Growing a team and outsourcing can be stressful, but by following these principles it can make the process easier from start to finish.
If you need any help with any of the sections metioned in this blog please give me a call or send me an email:
07900 958459 or hello@beckystevenson.co.uk and we can have a chat