How to Hire the Right Team for Your Small Business

Finding and hiring the perfect team for your small business is no small task. Startups have to be careful about who they hire, since the potential risks are much higher than a mid sized company or large corporation. You need team members who are dedicated, talented, and ready to help your company grow.

Here are 4 steps you can take while hiring your team to ensure your success.

Tailor the interview process

Your interview process sets the tone for all of your interactions with your future team, so you need to make sure it is as streamlined as possible. “4 out of 5 candidates take the interview experience as an indication of how a business values its employees,” Answer 1 reports.

One way to tailor a great interview process is to make sure you’re following your company culture. You need to make it clear from the beginning exactly what you want out of your team. This comes from having clearly defined values. Choose a word that you think thematically sums up your business and ask interviewees to define what it means to them. You’ll get some stellar insight on how they think, and how they fit into your business.

It’s wise to have several rounds of interviews as well, especially if you’re looking to fill a crucial role on your team. Take time to really get to know your candidates. This will also give them time needed to figure out if your company is the right fit for them.

Make your team diverse

Making sure your team is diverse is a smart move for a developing business. Hiring team members of different races, genders, and backgrounds will provide different points of view and new ways to approach challenges. If everyone on your team is from the same groups, you’ll only get similar viewpoints. This won’t make your work better, and it certainly won’t help your marketing efforts if you’re trying to reach different demographics.

“Firms in the top quartile for racial diversity are 35 percent likelier to have better financial results while those in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent likelier to have stronger performance compared to average companies,” reports McKinsey & Company.

Keep this in mind in the hiring process. It’s especially important if you’re trying to attract Millennials, who will make up more than half the workforce by 2020. Millennials want their work to make a difference in the world, and diversity is an important part of that. “Create a workplace that actively works against racism, sexism, and homophobia, and your team will become better people and better leaders,” says SmallBizClub.

Look for attitude, not skills

When you’re hiring, of course you’re looking for the candidates with the most experience. However, this can’t be the driving factor in your decision. The most important quality in an employee is personal drive.

Anthony Bourdain said, “Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.” If someone isn’t self-motivated, they could have all the skills in the world, but their knowledge will eventually stall out, and so will their career.

If you have a good feeling about an interviewee, give them a chance. This is also where a longer interview process becomes useful; you can take your time to find out where their skill set is limited and where it can be supplemented by their work ethic.

Utilize outsourcing

Like we said, the hiring process is difficult. It takes a lot of time and resources to invest in the right people for the right tasks. So, make sure that you’re not hiring non-essential personnel.

Outsourcing is easier than it’s ever been, especially for small businesses. Thanks to the globalization of business, you can find the perfect service to write your copy, answer your phone, and manage financial tasks. Don’t let non-essential administrative tasks take up all your time!

Outsourcing means you can choose the best of the best for the crucial work in your business. Instead of having to spend money, training, and benefits on an in-house receptionist or copy writer, you can save your resources to make your job posting more competitive.

Find the Right Team

Hiring the right people for your small business doesn’t have to be an ordeal. Selecting your team should be exciting, not scary! Make sure to tailor the interview process, focus on diversity and work ethic, and outsource non-essential tasks to have the most successful hiring process possible.