Your team is your greatest asset. They serve your clients, they represent your business and they help you achieve your goals, so here we take a look at things you should consider when expanding your team, writes Kitomba’s Izzy Castle.
It’s important that every team member you hire is a great fit for your business. If you’ve recently had someone leave, or you’re finding there’s too much work to go around, you might be looking to add someone new to your team. Hiring a new team member is an exciting opportunity, but if you get it wrong, it can be a huge source of stress for the future. So go about it the right way by following these helpful tips.
Start with a hiring strategy
So you’re wondering if you need to hire someone new to join your team. How do you know when it’s the right time, and who it is you’re needing? Do you need another stylist, apprentice or a receptionist? Start by figuring out your hiring strategy so you can assess if it’s the right time to hire someone and who that new hire should be.
First, think about specific tasks that need doing – these might be tasks that you don’t enjoy doing, aren’t very good at or don’t have time for. Perhaps some tasks that you’ve been struggling through or neglecting altogether could be done easily and quickly by someone who specialises in them.
Next, consider if you’re turning away potential business. Do you have regular clients who are waiting longer than they should for their next appointments, or walk in clients that are being turned away due to full columns?
If you have tasks that aren’t getting done, or you’re turning away clients, it might be time to think about hiring someone. Carefully consider the specific tasks you need help with and the types of services that are filling up quickly in your appointment book. This should give you an idea of the skills and experience you’ll be looking for and whether you need someone full time or part time.
Write a job description
Once you’ve decided on the tasks your new hire will be responsible for, consider how you value a new hire’s personal attributes versus their current skill level, then write your job description to match this ratio.
If you really need the new hire to be competent in certain skills, list them. But try not to get so caught up in imagining the perfect candidate that you create a job description that nobody could possibly fill. It’s better to get a number of applications that you can look through than to struggle to receive any because you’ve set the bar too high. You might want to look for someone who fits in well with your team, has a great attitude and aptitude, who you can then train to meet the standards of your salon, spa or clinic. You’ll need to describe your team and what you’re looking for in terms of personality traits. Make sure you’re showing your team culture in your ad so that it will appeal to the right person. Remember it’s not just you looking for the perfect fit, job seekers are also looking for a workplace where they’ll fit in and thrive. So a bland ad that doesn’t show your salon’s personality may not grab the attention of the type of candidates you’re after.
Advertise the position
If your business is growing and you need a new staff member you don’t need to be shy about it, spread the news far and wide so that every potential candidate is aware that you’re hiring. Start with your current team and other industry contacts: ask if they know anyone who would be a good fit for your team. Advertise where potential candidates are, that means everywhere! Add it to your social media, Facebook community pages, or advertise in local papers, you can even put up a sign on your front door.
Once you’ve received some applications, start creating a short list of people who meet your requirements. It’s good to have a quick chat over the phone for an initial screening before arranging to meet with them for a face to face interview.
Interview
Plan to spend a good amount of time with each of your top candidates, you may even want to meet them on more than one occasion or in a social context versus their current skill level, then write your job description to match this ratio.
Don’t fall into the comfortable trap of automatically choosing the person who seems the most similar to you or your current staff. The key to a happy and productive team is not sameness, it’s having a great balance and diversity of skills and personalities. In the same way that hiring a team with a wide range of skills makes for a better service offering, hiring with diversity in mind will mean your team will better reflect the clients you serve, and you’ll have a variety of personalities and life experiences contributing to moving your business forward.
Invite your favourite candidates to meet the rest of your team, observe how they interact with everyone, and think about how each candidate’s personality would work with and enhance your current team. After the interviews and introductions, if there’s more than one candidate that you’re happy with, refer back to what you decided was most important, their current skills or their attitude, then offer the position to the person who is the front-runner in that particular area.
Whether you’re replacing someone who is leaving or you’re expanding your team, make sure you follow your hiring strategy and hire someone who is a great fit for your workplace culture. That way they’ll quickly feel like they’re part of the team and be motivated to succeed.
To learn more about what Kitomba can do for your business visit www.kitomba.com
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