When making the decision to expand your staff, it typically means you are experiencing sustainable growth or that someone has left your company. This process can be stressful. It leaves you with the decision between hiring a new employee or promoting a current one. You also could get rid of the open position and spread the responsibilities among other team members. However, this runs the risk of burning them out. It’s obvious that there is a lot to consider when filling an open position. It’s also all based on your situation. Below are 4 tips to help guide you in your decision making process.
Know what you need for the position
Like stated above, this is all situation based. Your business might be growing and you need to bring on a new employee. You also might have an employee on maternity leave. Which leaves a temporary open position. Lastly, there may be more responsibilities arising, but doesn’t seem like enough to open up a new position for it. This is why you need to know what you need for the position before diving too far in. This can help you determine if you need a full-time employee, spread the work among current employees, or hire a freelancer.
Is there a way to fill the position with a current employee?
Before you start posting about an open position, you need to talk with members on your team. There may be a way to rework existing positions or promote an employee. If an employee doesn’t have every skill needed, but you feel they could excel, you can train them. There are a variety of different ways to help existing employees gain the skills they need. You can create a mentoring program so they can learn from each other or utilize training videos and live webinars.
Something else to consider is if the responsibilities of the position can be spread between existing employees. Do you need a new position to cover these responsibilities or can you spread these among your current employees? This also raises the question, can you afford the salary of a new employee? While this can be hard to determine, you should talk with your employees about it. If you aren’t paying for a new employee, you can use that money to give those who take on the extra work a raise.
Can you hire a freelancer?
Going off of filling a position with a current employee, you can also consider hiring a freelancer. The benefits of a freelancer are clear cut for a small business with limited resources and smaller budget. Employers can also determine what they really want in an employee by testing out the position with a freelancer. You can find freelancers through websites and services designed to help employers find experienced freelancers with the skills they need.
Know what you can and can’t afford
If you are looking to find and keep top talent, you might need to offer more than just a competitive salary. This certainly isn’t required though. Many professionals look for companies that offer retirement plans, paid time off for vacations, holidays, and family and sick leave. However, you need to make sure that you don’t put yourself in a hole by making promises you can’t keep.