I’m sure you’ve heard the quote, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” by Benjamin Franklin before. Maybe you’ve even used it a time or two yourself. 

Unfortunately, when it comes to hiring, planning isn’t top of mind for many small business owners.

Developing a business strategy, creating a marketing plan, and outlining financial goals are typically the focus. And while yes, these are all very important for business growth, having a strategic hiring plan for growing your team is equally, if not more, important!

Planning to Reach Big Goals

If you have a goal to grow your business to multiple six- or seven-figures (and beyond), then you’re going to need some help getting there. That’s when planning for your team becomes just as essential as coming up with the trendiest new product or most captivating social media campaign.

However, most business owners put off planning for this vital part of their growth strategy until they’re drowning in work and quickly realizing their mistake. 

When a business owner says, “I need to hire yesterday!” what they really mean is, they should have hired months ago.

Not having a plan for how you’re going to strategically grow your team (and all the steps it’s going to take in order to find and hire the right person) often leads to being overworked and feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

When you try to hire from a place of frustration and overwhelm, you make costly and time-consuming mistakes like: 

• Not being clear on what you need,

• Trying to hire too quickly,

• Choosing a candidate who’s the “best of the worst,” and

• Not having enough time for proper training.

All of which leads to chaos, confusion, and more frustration and overwhelm. Let’s help you avoid all of that today by planning ahead for your team - right now, while things are still relatively calm! 😉

3 Smart + Simple Steps to Help You Plan for Hiring

STEP 1: Get Clear on Your Vision + Big Goals

It’s important to first get clear on your vision and big goals you have for your business before planning for your team.

Ask yourself the following questions for each goal you have:

• Will I need certain tools or programs to reach this goal?

• Am I going to have to invest in a specific product, service, or program?

• What kind of support will I need in order to reach this goal?

• Is there a specific skill set that someone on my team will need to have?

You must know what your goals are and what tools, programs, and skills will be needed in order to reach those goals before you can determine who you need to hire.

This allows you to make smarter, more strategic and proactive decisions when it comes to hiring that will help your growing business and team thrive.

STEP 2: Align Your Business Plan and People Plan

Now that you have a clear Business Plan in place, it’s time to get to work on your People Plan.

A People Plan outlines who you’re going to need on your team in order to reach your vision and big goals, when you’ll need to bring these employees onboard, and how you’re going to attract, hire and keep them around long-term.

Simply put, a People Plan is about making sure you have the: 

• Right people, in the

• Right jobs, delivering the

• Right results, at the

• Right time!

And it starts with first knowing and getting clear your goals.

These plans should work together to help you reach your goals. When they don’t, your quality of work suffers, projects are delayed, and customer service becomes subpar – all of which are detrimental to small business success.

STEP 3: Consider Your Company Culture

Finally, you should start thinking about the kind of culture you want for your team before you ever hire the first person. I talk about culture all the time, including this CEO Nation blog post, this Fupping blog post, and on the Leaders Love Company Podcast. Yes, it’s that important!

Developing an intentional company culture now, even when you’re a team of one, will help you guide your business and your team with more clarity and purpose in the future. It will set the stage for who you want to hire, how your team will work together most effectively, and will also make leading a happy, productive and profitable team much easier.

Final Thoughts

By planning for your future team now, you’ll be able to take a more thoughtful and strategic approach to the hiring process. Will the plan change? Perhaps. But you’ll at least have an idea of what you’ll need in the future and can start taking steps now to reach those big goals you have – and attracting your rockstar team.

We believe that growing and leading your thriving team should be fun and easy – and planning ahead is the best way to help that be your reality!

Authored by Ashley Cox, PHR, SHRM-CP