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Are You Ready to Recruit?

Advice about recruitment tends to focus on where to find employees. But if you're facing the prospect of taking on staff for the first time, there are a few other things to think about before you get down to the nitty-gritty.

Recruiting for the first time often demands a seismic shift in your vision and attitude, signalling the start of a fresh new period of growth and change.

Are you ready?

You know all the theory. Taking on staff means getting up to speed with employment law, advertising the position, interviewing and so on.

Related site on How To Start Your Own Business

Are you dragging your feet?

If you are, perhaps you have concerns about the impact an employee might have on your business.

It's a common worry. After all, you've been working hard for years to get where you are, overcoming obstacles during the planning and start up phase and coping with the steep learning curve of actually being in business for real.

And you're right to be cautious, because recruiting the right people can make the difference between long-term success and failure.

But if your business is growing (which it must to survive) then you can't afford to be cautious forever. Not only are you putting off the inevitable, but you're also missing out on an opportunity to take your business to the next level.

So, instead of feeling wary, seize the opportunity that recruitment offers to revisit your business plan and refocus your business vision.

Take a strategic approach

When was the last time you looked at your business plan? Do you even have a formal business plan anymore?

When you're planning to take on staff it's vital to have a clear picture of where you're heading. After all, it's their career and livelihood you're taking responsibility for and they will want to feel that everything's under control.

So before you start drafting that job advert, sit down with business partners and redefine your vision for the next five years.

A five-year picture

Produce a strategic business plan that outlines how you intend to grow and what changes you expect to go through as a company.

Now think about how employees fit into your vision. What do you expect from them? What skills must they have? Do you need a peacemaker or a go-getter, a trainee or a highly experienced individual? What kind of promotion prospects can they expect? Will working for you be a career for them?

Just like a start-up business plan, a strategic plan for growth should include full financials. This will help you stagger recruitment to fit in with growth spurts, and also determine what salaries you can afford to offer. Don't forget to include annual pay rises and performance-related bonuses in your calculations.

How does your business actually operate?

Once you've clarified where the business is heading it's time to clarify how the business actually operates.

In his book The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, Michael Gerber urges business owners to produce a comprehensive, step-by-step manual that explains exactly how to run your business, from the moment you start the day to the last thing you do at night. Leave nothing out.

This is an absolute must before you take on staff.

Not only does it force you to assess how things are going - are you as efficient as you could be, do you have a filing system that everyone understands, are you using the same document templates, always reproducing your logo correctly?

More importantly, putting it all into a manual gives a new employee the information they need to do a great job. It's your chance to express the philosophy of your business, explain what your priorities are and what you expect of an employee. And it gives them something to refer to while they learn the ropes.

Recruit with confidence

With a five-year strategic plan and a manual that describes exactly how the business works, you're leaving nothing to chance. Instead of feeling wary of the recruitment process you can start taking control.

There is plenty of support available to help you with the next stage of the recruitment process. Recruitment agencies and business advisers can help you draw up job descriptions, help you find the right candidates and steer you through the appropriate employment law.