Are you turning business away because you don’t have the capacity to get work done?
While the first reaction may seem obvious – hiring more employees to increase your capacity – it’s not as simple as that, is it?
Perhaps you’re nervous about taking on new staff to help you out? Did you have a bad experience hiring new staff in the past? Or you are concerned that you’ll be left having to support a higher wage bill even if the orders don’t arrive in the future?
Hiring more employees is a strategic decision and certainly not one to be taken lightly.
When hiring more employees may not fit your business goals…
I often meet concerned business owners who are turning clients away because they don’t have resources to get the new work done.
But I always tell them that, before they rush out and start hiring new employees, they need to determine where they are going in their business and whether they are tracking to meet their main business goals.
This is an important step that many business owners overlook. Consider it carefully before making any decisions about business structure or capacity planning.
If your overall goal is to run a ‘lifestyle business’, where you work for a set number of clients and do not want the stress or hassle of extra employees, you need to be happy where you are. You might turn work away but consider that the extra effort required to manage new staff is simply not worth it.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach!
Hiring more employees to grow your business
If you want to grow your business so that it can service more clients, then you need to consider hiring more employees and delegating the extra work to them.
If this is the case, it is imperative to determine what type of staff member you are looking for. It can be difficult to set out the complete set of specific criteria for determining the ideal employee.
If you don’t have any experience in hiring people, then you may need assistance with this process. The right human resource consultant or recruitment agency can find the right person to work in your business.
As with any consultant relationship, you need to make sure that they are a good fit for your business and that each party knows the terms and conditions of the arrangement.
Ultimately, surrounding yourself with the right professionals will help strengthen your networks and your business will be better for it in the long run.
