As an employer, wouldn’t it be great to have deep pockets? Unlimited budgets, the coolest workspaces, corporate memberships, catered meals, all expenses paid trips, bonus packages to die for…
Reading about giant companies with all this are less stories and more fairy-tales.
The reality for most employers is quite different. A constant see-saw of balance. A game where every pound counts and every decision made revolves around making the biggest possible impact with the smallest amount of financial resource.
This lean mentality is key to survival, but when thinking about head count, there is such a thing as too lean.
Investing in staff is expensive, but NOT investing in your team can be even more costly. Trying to do too much with too little is damaging.
Here are 5 signs that it’s time to grow your team.
Burnout.
A hard-working team is great, but make sure they are not working past their limits.
Is your team telling you that it’s difficult (or impossible) to get all their work done?
If the answer is yes, then they are working beyond their capabilities. There are too many responsibilities and not enough people to complete them.
You must look out for non-verbal cues too.
Are projects going uncompleted?
Are tasks taking too long to complete?
Can your team still make and stick to objectives and goals?
Are ordinarily positive “can-do” team members stressed and irritable?
Ask yourself these questions. These are all signs of team burnout. If it isn’t dealt with, your staff will leave or need to take medical leave. It will lead to low morale and a smaller workforce. If your team is unable to complete tasks at full capacity, how will productivity fare with even fewer hands on deck?
Are you in a management vacuum?
Are you constantly fielding questions and approving requests on matters both big and small? Perhaps you are left wondering why!
You hired great people, but now you are suddenly being overwhelmed with questions about everything, all the time!
If this has become the case, they probably need more oversight, training, and support than you alone have time to provide. In this instance, a strategic management hire will be invaluable.
Your team will function better. By putting someone in place to keep an eye on processes and handle all those day-to-day questions and decisions, your time will become your own again.
Filling the middle void will enable you to pick up the strategic tasks related to running your business. You can look at the bigger picture once again.
Saving money is costing money.
Penny pinching and waiting too long to hire can end up costing you money.
Have you seen a rise in the amount of overtime pay in your monthly pay run? Are you authorising more ‘time in lieu’ requests? Have you got consistent rota gaps? Are the same people filling those missing shifts?
These are all indicators of an under-resourced team.
Overtime can get costly, and it isn’t a long-term solution. Although some may be eager to pick up extra shifts in the beginning, this will lead to burnout in the end. And when those keen employees have met their need…paid off that credit card, or settled the balance on their holiday, their will to meet YOUR need will end.
Losing overworked and disgruntled employees is also a financial loss. You have invested in that individual. You have put money into resourcing them, hiring them, and training them. You will need to find their replacement, and who will do that?
You are spending money and energy filling a role you already had, meanwhile still not hiring the help you really need.
Perhaps you are having to turn down contracts because you simply don’t have the numbers needed to do the work. If this is the case, it will be tough to grow your business. In situations like this, hiring someone can empower you to capitalise on opportunities and drive new revenue.
Customer service is slipping.
The signs you need to grow your team may not be coming from inside your walls. Have you noticed an increase in customer complaints about product quality, their experience, or getting in touch with you when they need you?
Customer loyalty is not the only issue at stake here. What about your clients? Are their deadlines being met?
If this is a persistent issue, then this is a sign that you need to hire before the situation deteriorates and customers start to get unhappy.
Adding new team members means that nothing falls through the cracks. Customer queries are met, stakeholders get timely responses and client projects meet deadlines.
High-value employees are doing low-value work.
If this is a situation you can relate to, then you are wasting the talent you are employing. If you hired your employees for their unique skills and expertise and they are spending time and energy on admin or entry-level work, then you are throwing your money away.
It is time to bring on some support staff to free up skilled employees to do the work you’re paying them to do. These hires will be invaluable. They represent an investment in your company’s future. By bringing in entry-level workers, you may uncover new talent that will benefit your business further down the line.
If you fail to do this, your skilled workers will get bored and look for a role and company where their skills and talents are respected and upheld. Most likely they have invested time, energy, and money in upskilling…they want to use those talents to grow their career.
In conclusion, businesses of all shapes and sizes need to be careful and not spend beyond their capabilities. However, not hiring or taking too long to hire can be a costly mistake.
When done strategically, growing your team means growing your business. Investing in new hires can help you both save and make money!
If you are looking to hire new tech, digital, or data professionals and wish to grow your team, we can help.
We build digital careers and have supplied the tech talent which has allowed our incredible clients to scale and grow.
See how we work. Get in touch today.