Challenges of Small Biz Hiring

This coaching tip was originally published in the Coaching for Excellence newsletter.

Many founders are great at their craft, but lack experience in scouting, hiring, training, coaching, and retention. On top of that, a catch-22 occurs with resources, time, and money.

Common Hiring Challenges

• Need for tier-one talent, but tight budget.
• Need for self-motivated generalists, but don’t know how to identify them.
• Need help yesterday, but no candidates to interview.
• Need autonomous individuals, but lack time to train.

Recommendations for Hiring

Define what success looks like in the role. Be specific and include measurables. Use these questions to get started.

• What task when delegated will help pay for itself (generate revenue)?
• What evidence do you need to know they are self-motivated?
• What evidence do you need to know they can wear multiple hats?

Start documenting your processes and saving your templates in a knowledge management system.

Create a Talent roster

Be proactive instead of hiring out of desperation. Similar to identifying potential clients, do the same for hiring. In your day-to-day interactions pay attention to who does great work. Identify those who provide the quality of service that upholds your brand standard. Add their contact information to your potential team member roster, before you need to hire. Then when you’re ready to hire, you have a list to reference.

Clarity sets you and your team up for success. Knowing who you need, why you need them, and what they need to do to be successful makes it easier to identify your ideal team members.

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