5 signs it is time to recruit

 

I am often contacted by clients who are considering whether to make a hire and want to sound me out on the market and the costs involved.  It ranges from people who set up their own business who are teetering on the brink of taking on their first employee to those who already have a team and are wondering whether to expand further.

Having been there myself and whatever your own situation, it feels like another brave step to take and one which always does attract an element of risk. How do you know when the time is right to recruit?

 

What are the signs you’re ready to recruit?

 

Recruiting can be overwhelming. It’s important to know when your business is ready for that next step so that you are invested in the process, but what are the signs that you’re really ready?

 

 

• Work life balance disappearing

 

If you are finding that your work days are starting earlier or finishing later. If you are even squeezing work into your weekends and dare I say it, holiday time then you are probably trying to cope with a work load that is too much for you.

You may also find that you can’t go a few hours without checking work emails and frequently taking calls when you are supposed to be having some down time.  If you haven’t noticed this, your partner definitely has and there will come a point in time soon when your very understanding and patient other half, will want to throw your smartphone into a nearby river!

 

• Growing inbox

 

There seem to be two sorts of people in this world; those who ensure that their emails are empty and efficiently responded to and filed away accordingly and others who think nothing of sitting on an inbox of 500 emails, some read, some not.

Whatever category you fall into, you won’t help but notice when the task of ensuring they remain empty feels like a relentless one, likened to the popular game “whack a mole”.  Or when the usual 500 has grown to 700 – now could be the time to cry for help.

 

• Team maxed out

 

Another tell tale sign that the time has come to add to your growing business is when the team you already have are reaching their tipping point.   If work isn’t being completed, despite everyone working hard (and smart) and you are sensing stress and feelings of unrest among your staff, it may be that the workload has outgrown them.

There should always be a little slack in order to allow for holidays, sickness and other unforeseen developments and if one person being out for a few hours causes shock waves as opposed to ripples, a new hire could be on the horizon.

 

• Targets unreachable

 

Sometimes it can be a case of simply drilling down on the target and growth you want and a seemingly physical impossibility of doing that without adding resources.

If you have a clear understanding of the activity levels required to achieve your given target and your team could not physically do any more to increase their output, the message is clear that the only way you can achieve growth in your numbers is to bring in new talent.

 

• Compromising on quality

 

Your marketing and sales funnels are working successfully, the orders keep coming and the clients can’t wait.  You need to fulfil your promises in a timely way but is the quality of your process being compromised?

Is compliance, standards or service slipping in order to keep things going?   These things have ‘disaster’ written all over them and the cost attached to getting something wrong could far outweigh the investment of increasing your head count.

 

It is always best to be well prepared in business for anything that you want to do and recruitment is no exception.  Don’t wait until you are at breaking point before you decide to look as occasionally it may take a little time to find your perfect person.

Here at Elite, we are always prepared and ready to recruit. We enjoy helping our clients  grow and thrive through new people.

If you’ve read these signs and agreed that you are starting to fall into these categories then it’s time for us to talk.

Elite can help you:

• Get back your work/life balance
• Manage your inbox effectively
• Give your team some breathing space
• Reach your targets
• Stop compromising on quality

Get in touch and let us get you there!