Staffing Your Start-Up In Line With Your Business Goals
You’ve got your business idea, and you’re at the point now where you need some help with getting your business off the ground. Who is going to help you put your plan into action? When picking the line-up for your dream team, it’s important to think about your long-term and short-term goals. You can approach the matter with a little help from your business plan. If you’re at this stage already but you don’t have a plan to work from, you may find it useful to start one in order to help you make these important decisions. Read on to find out how a business plan can help you with the recruitment process.
What Should You Look For In An Employee?
If you’re wondering where on earth to start with your hunt for staff, start with looking at your business plan. To find the right people for your business, you need to go back to basics and remember what your goals and values are, and find people who fit in with these. What skills will employees need if they are going to help you to secure a big sale, or bring your product to market? Take a look at your SWOT analysis – what are your weaknesses, and do you need a new staff member to help plug this gap? If you’re struggling with the financial section of your business plan, do you need someone who’s good with numbers on your team?
Where Can You Find Staff For Your Start-Up?
You may not be able to offer much in terms of benefits or high wages at first, but getting in on the ground floor of a business can be exciting, and it’s an experience some candidates will want to be a part of – you just need to know where to find them.
Should You Hire Temporary or Permanent Staff?
It may be helpful to turn to your local college or university for potential candidates, especially if you need staff on a part-time or temporary basis. Speak to a lecturer who teaches in the relevant department and ask them to put the word out to help you find talented candidates. Temp agencies are another good place to find new recruits, particularly at short notice. Use your business plan to guide you – what are your short term goals? Do you need staff with specific skill sets to help you with these goals on a temporary basis, until they are completed? Or do your long-term goals require knowledge or experience that you don’t possess, requiring you to hire someone permanently?
Should You Hire Your Friends and Family?
Hiring your nearest and dearest as employees may sound like a potential minefield, but turning to friends or family for help may work out well for you. If there is any work that can be completed remotely, this may be a bonus because they could fit it around their other commitments. If you’ve bounced ideas off friends and family members already, they will already be familiar with your business and could prove to be a valuable asset when it comes to problem-solving.
Friends or other people in your network who are enthusiastic about your business would also be a great asset as they may be more passionate and dedicated than other potential employees, and they will be keen to see you succeed. Enthusiasm and passion are essential qualities when hiring staff for your new business – start-ups require hard work and dedication. Ideally, your employees will share your vision for your business, they’ll be determined to succeed, and they won’t disappear at the first sign of difficulty. This is where your business plan comes in again – what is your vision or mission statement, and are your candidates on board with these?
Finding the right staff members is just one way in which you can use your business plan to guide your decision making. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of having a business plan, or you need someone to help you to write it, contact cbm. We look forward to helping you!