SINGAPORE – While you might not be able to do everything yourself, as the boss you set the tone and direction of the organization. You are in control of hiring the right people who share your values and buy into the ethos of your company and believe in what you’re doing. So how should you go about building this kickass team to grow your business?
As an entrepreneur or a business owner, you’re required to wear many hats. From sales to operations, marketing, delivery and after-sales service — how can one person do it all?
The straight answer? You can’t. One of the hardest things for a proud business owner to admit is that they can’t do it all. As the saying goes, no man is an island. We all need reliable, skilled people around us to get things done, and this is especially true for small businesses.
While you might not be able to do everything yourself, as the boss you set the tone and direction of the organization. You are in control of hiring the right people who share your values and buy into the ethos of your company and believe in what you’re doing. So how should you go about building this kickass team to grow your business?
1. Knowing What Your Business Needs
This should be commonsense, but sadly it isn’t. According to Social Science Research Network, 65% of startups failing are due to poorly fit teams created. Hence it doesn’t matter even if you are a venture capitalist with money to spare if you can’t hire the crucial basic roles. According to BusinessNewsDaily, the critical roles in a startup business are the CEO, Operations Manager, Product Manager, Technical Officer, Marketing head, Financial officer, and a Business Manager.
Hence, you should be looking out for people searching for business executive jobs, content marketing jobs, web developer jobs, etc, you get the gist. You can consider throwing in a Digital Marketing executive job opening if you are planning to market yourself online.
Once this most important step is done, check out the other equally important hiring tips below.
2. A Team that Executes Your Vision
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All business owners have a clear plan of where they want their business to go — otherwise they shouldn’t be running a company in the first place! Next, recognising that having the right employees are critical to executing your business plans is the first step to building the right team.
Many employees want to feel like their work is making a difference, and joining a small business team offers a rare opportunity to see the fruits of their labour taking shape. Business owners set the plan and objectives, but your team are the people who focus their energies on completing it. Hence, it is imperative that the team you hire share the same vision as you, and not just
3. Look Beyond Job Sites
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One big mistake many small business owners make is to be passive in their search for the right person. Many of us are content to send out hastily written posts on online job portals, sit and wait for applications, hoping to land the right candidate by chance.
The truth of the matter is the right candidate can come from anywhere, and jobseekers who are on job portals may not be the best fit for your business. Many small business owners also miss opportunities because they’re focused on finding someone who fits their profile of the right hire, rather than keeping an open mind.
Hence, be proactive in looking for the right employee – whether using multiple platforms, using your company Facebook account, or hiring a HR staff to actively search for potential employees. You need to set a goal of a number of hires to be achieved by a certain date and work towards it.
For instance, a business owner who might not have a big budget to hire for a new position might only look at fresh graduates with little experience, rather than considering other options like more experienced part-timers or freelancers who might be more than capable for the role.
4. Don’t Just Focus on Skills
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When it comes to hiring, many managers and business owners are concerned about whether the person can do the job. However, unless you’re hiring for a specialist role with a niche skillset, chances are the skills needed for your job can be taught or developed over time.
Now, we’re not suggesting that you can pluck anyone from the street and teach them how to excel in a new role, far from it — what we’re simply saying is that how well a new hire’s character and personality traits fits with your organization is a larger indication of potential success than their skills or qualifications.
For instance, a digital marketing career would require candidates to be analytical, observant, and comfortable with working with numbers. Even if a candidate has no experience, if they have the right traits, their skill level will accelerate once given the right training.
Company culture is another important aspect of a company’s success, and group dynamics play a big role in small businesses. If you add someone to the team who does not get along with others, it could affect efficiency, communication, and even work results. For instance, a chatty extrovert can make a quiet group of introspective thinkers feel uncomfortable and work productivity is reduced.
Hence, hiring people who not only have the right traits, but also people who mesh well together matters in whether they are able to accelerate your business goals.
5. Find a Way to Trigger Intrinsic Motivation
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If you sell running shoes, hire runners who are enthusiastic about running shoes and keen to talk about them. If you run a hobby shop, you want the person tending the shop to be a hobbyist that shares the right information. The bottom line is, hiring employees who buy into your company will get you a team that’s motivated to help the business succeed.
However, finding someone who is both interested in what you do and wants to work for you is the equivalent of discovering a unicorn. While there may not be the perfect employee for your business out there, your position as a leader is crucial to turning good employees into great ones.
Employees are intrinsically motivated when they feel the systems they work in support their passion and growth. One way to do so is to give your workers autonomy, show trust in what they’re doing and give them room to flourish. Short-term perks like one-off bonuses or monetary rewards are great for a boost in performance, motivation or morale, but is dangerous and ultimately harms the business if your employee’s only motivation is the money.
Parting Words
As a small business owner who is assembling a kickass team, your goal should be to find people who share your values and working style. Employees who buy into what you do and are invested in the company’s success — who are given autonomy, trust and support to excel at their roles. The hiring process may be tough and there’ll be times where you might be tempted to just find a body to share the load, but taking the time to get your hiring right will pay off when your whole business is filled with people that can kick ass.
