Hiring a new staff member is scary – and if you’re reading this, your previous attempts at hiring were probably a failure. In a moment of pain, exhaustion and overwhelm, you hired the first person who came across your path. It didn’t work out for whatever reason, and the employment was ended.
The message you take away from the ordeal is, “I am never doing THAT again!” or “I am better off doing it myself; it takes half the time and I save the money.”
But the truth is, you are not saving time, money or frustration. You’re still exhausted, overwhelmed and living with flat-lined revenues. And you know deep down inside that you need help.
But how do you get over the fear of “been there, done that, don’t spend that money again, it won’t work!”
Here are five ways to put your hiring failures behind you
- Time: Track your time for one week and see all the administrative crap you are touching. Once you write down everything you touch, and spend 15 minutes reflecting on it, you see in plain sight all of the time you are NOT spending operating like a business owner. You see all the administrative stuff that holds you hostage. This list will drastically reduce your fear and show you that you must get back on the hiring horse. Otherwise, you will never get unstuck and get over the hurdle of where you are to get where you really want to be.
- Money: Back into how you are going to pay for this new person. Let’s say a new hire would cost you $2,000 a month. How much is your hourly rate? Or your average fee? Back into how many new matters, cases or hours you would need to bill to pay for this person. Our recommendation is that you at least double it (there are always hidden costs). So if your average fee is $1,200, then you will need to bring in two cases to eliminate the fear of hiring someone and rid yourself of any anxiety about how you are going to pay for this person. Go back to #1 above; if you are not freed up, you won’t have the time to bring the work in.
- Interview and Hire: If you interview and hire from a place of integrity, mindset, character, values, belief systems and desire, you can’t lose. Once you have the right ad to attract the attributes you wish to have in your office, and the interview questions to interview and ultimately hire your next superstar candidate, there is no reason to be fearful. When you have a process for almost anything, the anxiety disappears. Visit our blog for numerous tips and techniques on how to systematize the interviewing and hiring process in your business.
- Training: Most entrepreneurs have an enormous amount of anxiety around what to do with a new employee. When you have a system for onboarding and training your new team member, they almost never leave or have to be fired. Don’t underestimate the intentionality and time it takes to train a new employee. Good news: You can let go of the fear right now, because we have your back. Email us for a complimentary copy of our webinar “Essentials to hire, empower and keep great employees”and the accompanying 90-day training plan. Knowing you have this available will allow you to let that fear go right out the window.
- Reviews: The biggest mistake we see business owners make is to hire and onboard their new employee and then check the box that they are “done.” The truth is, you are never done. You must have 30/60/90/120/annual reviews for the first year of your new employee, and quarterly after that. As humans, we need feedback and a path and plan for growth. When you have this in place, you will never be waiting for “the other shoe to drop.” You will officially be able to let go of the fear of “too good to be true” or “not sure how long this is going to last.”
If it sounds simple, that’s because it is. What is already a fearful process for most entrepreneurs doesn’t have to cause paralysis. You can produce valuable, dependable results.
The process to get over the fear of hiring your first employee should be just that – a process – predetermined, with consistent standards and steps. It should be designed to weed out not just the unqualified candidates, but the ones who are great (overqualified) – but not a fit for your position.
So, before you ever begin the hiring process, make certain you have a plan in place for what to do first, second and ongoing, and make certain you have time scheduled on your calendar to handle all the steps. Your time and intentionality are just as vital as the process.
If you are trying to hire a new team member but don’t have a process in place to produce results (and reduce your time and frustration), consider our Smart Hire Solution™ process and let us be your virtual hiring team. We handle guiding you to clarity on what you are hiring for; crafting and placing an ad that attracts qualified candidates and weeds out unqualified ones; receiving and reviewing resumes in a systematic, consistent, timely fashion; conducting phone interviews to further qualify candidates; and assisting you with a decision after your face-to-face interviews. Click here to schedule a complimentary 30-minute call to discover if it’s time to add to your team.
Molly Hall
