This is the third post in the 5-part Growing Your Team series. To read the first post, The 4 Phases of Growing Your Team, click here and to read the second post, The Planning Phase of Growing Your Team, click here.

Now that you have a solid plan in place, it's time to get hiring! If you’ve been worried about the logistics of hiring, then this post is for you.

Maybe you’ve been wondering where to start, what to do, or where to find the best person for your team. In the second phase of Growing Your Team, we’re going to focus on the hiring process and some of the common fears and questions that come up during this phase. 

This post is the third in a five-part series on Growing Your Team. You can check out the first post here and the second post here before diving into this one!

You might be feeling overwhelmed by all the unknown parts of the hiring process, but I’m here to break them down for you today in a smart and simplified way. I believe that you don’t have to be an expert in hiring to do it well, but that you do need a strong foundation to help you get started.

Here are a few mindset shifts to consider to help you get in the hiring flow:

Hiring...

• helps me learn how to ask for help and build trust with others.

• creates opportunities for me to rest, rather than burn out.

• allows me to expand my capacity to work on higher-level tasks.

• helps me learn how to communicate more clearly and effectively.

• makes growing my business with more ease possible.

Now that you’re in the right mindset to get started hiring, let’s talk about the mechanics of what to do and get you on the right path.

Keys Questions + Resources for the Hiring Phase

1. Where should I start?

First things first – where to start. Assuming you’ve completed the Planning Phase of the Growing Your Team process, you’re now ready to move onto the Hiring Phase.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to build a strong foundation and intentional culture for growing your team. That means having a clear vision, mission, and values for your business, it looks like creating the business that you set out to build (but may have gone off track recently.

This episode I recorded with Nicole Aboud on the Leaders Love Company podcast goes into great detail about how to create an intentional culture that will help you attract the right people to your team!

And this episode of The Lawyerist Podcast is a great foundational conversation around all things hiring! While this podcast is geared toward lawyers, the concepts I share apply to all industries. I highly encourage you to give it a listen.

2. What is my plan and timeline?

Once you have your foundations in place, it’s time to take a look at the full hiring process from start to finish. A common problem I see business owners making regularly is not setting enough time aside for the hiring process. This is usually because they don’t know what all is included and how much time it really takes to hire well.

Too often, business owners wait to hire until they’re desperate for help. Which leads to hiring the first “warm body” that comes along who seems like they can do a decent job. This is a disservice to you as the business owner and to the person you hire. You both deserve better! A truly thorough and thoughtful hiring process (from planning through the new hire’s first day) could realistically take about 6-8 weeks. I don’t say this to scare you, but to share the reality of what you need to be planning for when it comes time to hire.

Our FREE Hiring Roadmap outlines the exact steps that we use with our 1:1 clients here at SproutHR and a general timeline for what to expect. This is a great tool to help you get really clear on exactly what needs to happen and when, so you can be prepared and plan the time into your calendar.

3. What do I need to know that I don't?

While you might be thinking that you’re ready to hire, chances are high that you’re going to face some fear, doubt, or uncertainty throughout the process. It’s important to remember that it’s okay to be a beginner. We all make mistakes when we’re new at something, and you’re probably going to make a mistake or two as you learn how to hire the right people for your business. That’s why I wrote this post about Why You Should Embrace a Beginner's Mindset When Hiring – to give you a little peace of mind as you begin this journey.

4. Is a job description really that important?

Writing a job description is a step that most folks do or want to skip. Don’t. 

I know it can feel overwhelming, tedious, and unnecessary. It can also feel super corporate-y. But it’s one of the most important documents you will create in the hiring process that will support you in the hiring process and beyond. 

A quality job description will not only help you clearly communicate your needs and wants when hiring, but it will also help you set expectations and keep your team on track once they’re employees of your company.

Job descriptions are so important that I wrote a whole post on the 5 Ways Quality Job Descriptions Help You Hire Right, so you can learn about some of the key benefits for why you need one! I’m confident you’ll be convinced at how valuable these documents are by the end of this post.

5. How do I make sure to hire the right person?

One of the biggest concerns I hear all the time is about hiring the “wrong” person. First, I want to make sure we’re clear on one point: people aren’t wrong or bad. Just because they’re not the best fit for our team or the position, doesn’t mean there is anything inherently wrong with them. In fact, the responsibility lies with us as business owners and leaders for making poor hiring decisions about 99% of the time (there are always those outlier situations, but they’re the exception – not the rule). 

The way to increase your chances of hiring the right person for your team begins with proper planning, creating a strong foundation and building an intentional culture as we discussed earlier, getting clear on who you need to hire first, and then writing a high-quality job description for the role. Notice that these are all things we’ve already covered. That’s intentional. My goal is to help you hire right from the start. Not have to backtrack later on! And that means that every step I recommend you take serves a specific function and purpose in the hiring process.

In addition to these steps, it can also be helpful to learn some tips on finding the right people in a tough hiring market, which you can find in this article by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that I contributed to earlier this year.

Once you have these pieces in place, hiring the right person for the job becomes so much easier!

Final Thoughts

Something to remember as you begin the hiring journey is that ambiguity breeds confusion which leads to poor decision-making. The clearer you can be throughout the planning and hiring phases, the better the outcome and the higher your chance will be of hiring the best, right fit for your team.

And if this all feels like too much, don’t panic. I’ve got you! Just because you're a solo business owner doesn't mean you have to figure it all out on your own or be the expert in everything. If you've been putting off hiring help for way too long, I’d love to help. With our Hiring VIP Day, I’ll help you go from overwhelmed to “oh yeah” and take massive action toward hiring your dream team member in just one day! Learn more and apply to work with me here

In the next post in the Growing Your Team series, we’re going to dive deep into the third phase of the process, which is the Onboarding Phase. I can’t wait to share all the details with you about this important part of growing your team!

Authored by Ashley Cox, PHR, SHRM-CP