1300 363 128
The holiday is over! The good news is that your emails and messages show very positive signs work has resumed and business confidence is up. There are more needs that your product or service can meet.
In the midst of getting some order in place, one of your staff members calls you aside to tell you they’ve had an enlightenment over the break and decided to throw in their job for..travel, a career change, moving interstate or going to a developing country to help raise their world vision child, open an orphanage or another charitable conquest.
Herein lies the problem. With current staffing levels you were already stretched prior to Christmas and now your head is spinning. You have a great opportunity to grow your business with the opportunities that have presented themselves but you are hamstrung by a pure lack of resources..of the human kind!
So before you get yourself in a tizz..take some time. I know you’re thinking “But I don’t have any time!” With the jobs, the work, the resignation. However the best time to consider where your business is going is with a clear mind. Whatever you were about to start. Stop! This is priority number one! Do it now before the fog of the everyday clouds your vision.
Here’s how to start.
First, consider the people you require to get your business humming, both now and into the future. You can start with your recent resignation. Is this the role you want/need? Look at the work. Look at the gaps and start filling in positions. Also, look at the work you are doing. What do you want to do? What parts of your job, if taken away tomorrow, would you not miss at all or would allow you to grow your business. This will take some time but it will put you in good stead as you start to see your business with much greater clarity. I have outlined the process of resource planning in my book “Bodysnatchers – Unlocking the Secrets of the Recruitment Industry”
With the roles required, it’s imperative you determine which roles to insource, that is hire yourself and which to outsource or gain as a service from a supplier. Not all roles and positions need to be directly hired. Key positions that affect the sale or delivery of your product or service are usually the essential in-house roles. However supporting roles such as administration, marketing, book-keeping, accounting and IT have a plethora of means by which you can source talent.
If you consider the core of what your business is and does, everything else is non-core. The best thing I did from day one in my business was refuse to do my own books. That would just bog me down and get in the way of me servicing my clients. This is an easily outsourced function and there are many accountants and book-keepers that can keep your finances under control. The same goes for IT support. The time it takes you to figure out an IT issue can paralyse you from moving forward.
If budget is limited, start looking on freelancing websites such as 99designs for graphic design. Here you can engage designers direct or put your job up as a project where a number of designers can develop designs and bid for your project. You only have to engage the winning designer. Similarly freelancer and Upwork can give you a host of support staff at a fraction of the cost. I use a gentleman from India to replenish my database which costs me $7 per hour.
Now you’re left with the key in-house role. Don’t delay! Now is the time to hire. There are many job-seekers that surface in the New Year, be they recently graduated or finished school, return to work parents or those that are seeking a new challenge. Go out and get the people you want and make this year your best year ever!!
