Hiring a team is an exciting but complicated endeavor for leaders. The right team will help you reach big milestones and accomplish hefty goals. It can also help you serve your clients better and produce high-quality outcomes while generating a source of employment and opportunity for individuals. However, creating a team is not necessarily intuitive. Instead, hiring a team takes some self-reflection, trial and error.
This blog covers the top considerations you’ll need to make when starting or growing a dream team to fulfill your mission.
Where to start on your hiring
The beauty of leading a team is that you get to decide what you want or need to be doing and hire a team to handle the rest.
Approach your search from one of these angles:
- Personal preferences. Sometimes, the choice can be as simple as asking yourself what you enjoy doing daily. From there, you can offload the things you don’t enjoy, take too much time, or distract you from your core services. For instance, an operations strategist may decide to focus on strategy and consultations and hire someone to handle the logistics of creating client workflows.
- Priorities. If your to-do list feels like a mile long and you keep pushing the same tasks around because there’s just no time, start by hiring people who can do those. Admin support, data entry, and bookkeeping are examples of this hiring approach.
- Skill set. This one is a no-brainer. If you need technical or specialized skills, like a software developer or marketing technology specialist, start by hiring those.
Diversity in hiring
Diversity hiring, and diversity in general, has become a buzzword. We hear it so much it’s started to lose meaning. But in reality, hiring a team with people from different backgrounds and with different experiences gives you priceless access to new perspectives.
Our backgrounds and culture shape our understanding of the world, and being open to others’ perspectives makes you better equipped to understand and connect with your audience.
In addition, representation matters. A diverse team can make your company appealing to prospects. It shows that you value other points of view and are open to learning and considering perspectives besides your own. And in many cases, people want to work with others who feel familiar, so you may attract a broader audience by representing a range of cultures.
One way to hire a diverse team is to use a variety of channels to reach prospective contractors or employees. This will increase your odds of finding a range of talents. If you don’t know where to start, ask for referrals or contact niche-specific organizations. For example, if you’re looking for a bookkeeper, reach out to your local business bureau or find online communities for these providers. And if you’re open to working remotely, use platforms like Freelancing Females or professional Facebook Communities to reach international, highly-skilled candidates.
Clarifying your needs
Whether you do it intentionally or let it happen organically over time, it can be intimidating to hire a team. But it is essential for you to know your goals and needs when doing so.
First, you’ll want to decide if you need occasional or hands-on support. You also need to scope your workload for this person to set clear expectations on both sides.
And finally, analyze whether you’re ok working with a more independent contractor who works as a service provider and may have their own workflows and management style. You may prefer a more malleable employee who adheres to your structure. There is no right or wrong answer; it’s a matter of finding what works for you and the person you bring on board.
Finding a balance between hard and soft skills
A common mistake people make when they have little experience hiring a team is focusing too much on a list of skills or traits. Prospects are more nuanced than a checklist, and it pays to evaluate aspects like soft skills, work styles, and the hard skills you seek.
Someone who’s not all there with skills but is resourceful and has a can-do approach to work will be way more helpful than someone who checks all the technical boxes and is indifferent. Training technical knowledge is easier than instilling a sense of urgency, collaboration, or organizational skills.
Learning to lead
Effective leadership is paramount for hiring a successful team. Before doing any hiring, you will need to find the right mindset and develop your leadership. To achieve this, focus on a few key aspects:
- First, identify your priorities. What are you hoping for your team to achieve? You may want support on certain tasks or prefer someone to take ownership of a project and get it entirely off your plate. Both approaches are valid, but they require different people and systems.
- Second, work on your soft skills. Especially if you’re going from a one-woman show to a team, soft skills are essential. Clear communication, active listening, and building trust go a long way toward your team’s success.
- Third, learn to let go. One of the most common hurdles for people hiring support is the ability to let go of a fixed way to do things. Of course, you can have standard operating procedures and success criteria, but bringing others means embracing their unique skills, ideas and methodologies, elevating your work.
- Fourth, decide when you want to be a leader or a manager. A manager runs the show — assigning tasks, checking progress, and ensuring processes are followed. Conversely, leaders can build relationships with their team, create a culture, and inspire their teammates to realize their potential. Both are essential, so you must strike a balance between them.
Finding a middle ground: Hiring an outsourced team
Hiring a team is a powerful growth strategy. It frees your time and lets you focus on what matters. It is also not a one-size-fix to your organizational issues. It can be expensive and bring more headaches than solutions without the right preparation and systems.
And let’s face it. Sometimes you just want someone else to handle things while you grow your business. Is it time to grow your visibility and impact without taking on yet another miles-long to-do list? Beyond Business Solutions is a trusted full-service marketing agency that operates like your marketing department — without the hassle of you managing teams and projects internally. Instead, we work together to craft your strategy and take the implementation off your plate. Schedule a consultation below.
