Why is it so important to find the right staff member? Three things that may happen if you get it wrong!

Most of us as small business owners have been there.  We have worked hard, logged god-knows-how-many sweat equity hours and then, the business starts to take off.  The time comes to expand and that means recruitment.  Recruitment means costs.  Not just financial costs, but cultural costs.

For most of us, we have worked for and with other people in the employ of another company and we have seen the mechanics of HR at work.  Every company has staff who are either one of two things.  The first group are guns at their jobs – they know every little detail about their role and their execution of it is flawless. They hit every KPI and exceed every target.  But they just don’t quite fit in, sometimes its just a personality clash, sometimes it’s ego, sometimes it’s a bit of both. The second group, are average to good (or sometimes even below average) at their job but they are the company’s ray of sunshine who make every one on the team and the customers feel as if they have been touched by some sort of happy forcefield. They are “too nice to let go” as they make the team gel, get everyone onside and help everyone involved with the business love the culture.
Finding someone who can execute their work flawlessly, be emotionally intelligent and robust enough to learn from mistakes, be a team player and that ray of sunshine is like finding a Golden Ticket for Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

But why is it so important to find the right staff member who “fits”?  Well, quite honestly, the cost to your company culture will end up costing you financially if you don’t get it right.  Here are three things that may happen if you get it wrong:

Your brand (and customers) may suffer

Ever dealt with a company who you are happy with but you “avoid dealing with Maria unless you have to”?  Well that could be your company.  That could be your customers saying that about one of your staff.  Now, “Maria” might be great at her work but might be touchy on the phone, snappy, or just lack personality which leaves your customers and her workmates feeling flat in her presence.  Ultimately your brand, and everyone that works within it, should be one that customers want to interact and work with.  God forbid they only start calling back when “Maria” is not working that day.

Your team may suffer

“Maria” might be the strongest person on the team, but she might rub everyone the wrong way by knowing (and saying) how good she is.  Before you know it, you have lots of unhappy staff who may start falling into that negative vibe, or just leave altogether.  Or she may simply lack the personality to fit in or the emotional intelligence to handle constructive criticism needed to stay the course.  A strong team needs to gel, work with each other, treat each other with respect and align themselves with your business goals.

You may suffer

Remember that sweat equity we mentioned earlier?  Nothing is more upsetting than investing that much time and energy only to see a bad hire undo everything you have worked for. Some business owners are able to act quickly and swiftly, removing the problem or at least squashing it before it becomes and issue.  But not all are like that.  Ultimately you will suffer in some form, whether you need to rehire for the position, terminate someone or simply have some very awkward and uncomfortable conversations with them.

With so much at risk, maybe there is an opportunity for your business.  Why take the risk and hire another staff member?  Take this opportunity to outsource the work to us here at Adminovate and let us take care of that additional work for you, without the risks to your brand and business culture!