Behind not paying themselves and their businesses not making enough money, staffing problems have got to be one of the top reasons business owners struggle.
Are you in this situation right now? It can be exhausting. Posting ads, not getting any responses, or the quality of the leads coming in are not what you are looking for.
As it gets more exhausting, it gets more frustrating. You’re left doing everything in your business, and all these little menial tasks take up all the brain power you have on a day to day basis. It’s a never ending cycle, and you are tired of it. I get it!
When you are setting out to hire new staff, following this hiring hierarchy can help you get better leads in the door, and help you get new staff hired faster. The hierarchy is as follows:
- Your current customers.
- Your current staff.
- People that you know.
- Universities/colleges.
- The internet.
Your Current Customers
Hiring internally is always your best bet. The people that frequent your business and use your services already understand your culture, and understand how things run within your business. They believe in your services, they believe in you, and they have bought into what your business is about. Bringing them into the culture is the easiest part of onboarding them, which can be a challenging part of hiring someone externally who has never been inside your front doors.
Think about your best customers. Who makes you happy? Who has a personality that would fit within your team’s Core Values? You don’t need to filter whether they have time or if they’d be interested – that is not your story to tell. Filter through who would fit into your team, and ask about their interest in exploring the opportunity more.
Your Current Staff
If you enjoy the staff that you have working for you right now (which, I hope you do!), asking them for referrals is a great way to find new candidates that would fit into your team’s Core Values. Generally they will hang around with people just like them, and so if you enjoy employing them, chances are that you will enjoy working with people just like them!
A simple message out to your staff – “Hey, we are looking to grow the team. Do you know anyone who might fit well with our team?” Get a name and a way to reach out to them, or be introduced by your team member. Referrals are the best type of recommendations!
People That You Know
The common theme you might be noticing is to start with your hottest audiences – those that you already surround yourself with. Your best customers, your team members, and now the other people within your circles!
Go through your friends list, your contacts, and everyone that you know. Ask the same question – “We are looking to grow! Is there anyone that you know that might be a great fit for ABC Cleaning?” If they don’t have an immediate answer for you, at least you have planted a seed for the next time they are conversing with their own networks, and will mention it when the topic comes up!
Universities and Colleges
Depending on the type of business you run, most universities and colleges have job boards for their corresponding undergraduate programs. Contacting the college and asking to post a job posting, or if there is a recommended list of candidates that might be a good fit for the type of position you have is a great place to start. Don’t be afraid to start this conversation! They want to help their students find career placements!
The Internet
This should be the last place that you look for a candidate. Hiring a cold lead takes time and energy, and a lot of vetting to find the right person. Far too often, business owners turn here first because it is the path of least resistance. Posting job ads on your social media and on job websites should be something you do in the background while you are taking more of a proactive approach with the above avenues. Get your ads up and then leave them while you work your way through your customers, your staff, and your contacts! Don’t rely on the internet!
This hiring hierarchy works great no matter what industry you are in. The success of this hierarchy is not dependent on where the leads are coming from, but that you are taking a proactive approach as a business owner, instead of waiting for cold leads to come to you. Instead of hiring someone who does not know a thing about your company, you can start with those you love to work with already and expand your reach from there!
Our Perfect Day Business Mentors will build a thorough plan with you to help you get the right staff not only hired, but onboarded, contracted in, and also developing through their time with you. Book a Discovery Call and let’s chat about your team’s needs!