How To Know When It's Time To Hire

When is the Right Time to Hire?

You may have noticed you’ve been getting busier, and it would be great to have an extra person or two to take some things off your plate. But what things? How many people? Before you throw money at the problem and hire another team member into your midst, you need to consider your systems and how they can be fine-tuned first.

1. Consider the 80:20 principle: That 20% of your activities account for 80% of your results, so you are certainly going to want to concentrate on those items and pass a hat to someone else, so you can focus on growth. Have a look around at the resources you have first, to see if this delegation can be done internally. There are also many ways you can implement technology to help you do more with less.
2. Determine if you can afford 60% of a new hire’s salary. In theory, the new hire will bring the remaining 40% of their salary to the table themselves through efficiency and capacity.
3. Consider the burn rate. When hiring, you have to factor in 3-6 months of overhead costs while your new hire is getting up to speed enough to work at a higher level (and achieve financial results for your organization). Ensure you have enough to funds to cover this transition, and that you have the training to support their development.