Six Signs It May Be Time to Hire Again
Running a business can be stressful at the best of times, but if you risk missing deadlines, or your workforce is under increasing pressure, it can be particularly challenging. If your operations aren’t managing the workload, it may be time to consider hiring additional employees or looking into efficiency strategies. Here are some signs you may need a few extra pairs of hands.
1. You’re Not Making Deadlines
If you’re already struggling to make deadlines, you may be reluctant to take on new orders, which will impact sales moving forward. Although it may seem counterproductive for your budget, taking on new staff members will boost capacity and increase your chances of working within desired time frames to provide a better service for customers, and ease pressure on employees. In the long run, it will offer you a better platform for growth and more return for your investment.
2. Errors are Too Prevalent
Employees who rush to get things done and work through endless lists of tasks are more susceptible to mistakes. Errors affect your reputation, cause further delays, and can have a negative impact on morale as a company. With an influx of new hires, work will be tight as training progresses, but ultimately employees will eventually be able to devote more time to each job, enabling them to produce a better standard of work.
3. Your Employees are Working Overtime
Employment contracts outline expected working hours. If your employees are working overtime to meet deadlines, this is a clear sign that you need more hands on deck. Most people might not mind working a couple of extra hours now and again, but if overtime is a consistent feature of their work day, you could lose employees and productivity.
Studies suggest that working longer hours can contribute to reduced output. There is also a risk of burnout and poor mental health associated with working too much and increased stress and pressure at work. Statistics suggest that up to 20-50% of employees quit their job because of burnout.
4. Employees are Saying They Need More Help
As an employer, you have a responsibility to look after your workforce and ensure that they have the support and resources needed to do their job to the best of their ability. Your employees know the tasks at hand, and how long it will take to complete them.
Improving efficiency can make a difference, but if your team is asking for more help, it’s important to listen. Everyone has their limit.
5. You are Looking to Expand
If you’re preparing to expand your business, you need to think carefully about how the next phase will impact staffing numbers. Figure out how many additional employees you’ll need and plan in advance. Ensure that you have your plan in place of who to transfer and have trained the new employees before you open for business.
Factor in time for new staff training, adjustments, and time to gain the trust of existing employees as they learn the ropes. When you’re hiring new employees, make use of employment screening to help ensure honesty, and use interviews to get to know candidates better.
6. You are About to Launch a New Product
Launching a new product is incredibly exciting, but it can also be daunting because you need to get it right the first time around. If you’re preparing to add to your product range, make sure you have the staff available to take and process orders and serve customers.
Planning ahead can help to ensure that you make the right first impression and that you get off to a flying start. You don’t want to lose out on orders or receive negative reviews on your new product because of delayed delivery or incompetence.
Hiring new staff members is time-consuming, and there are lots of steps to finding and training, but there are significant advantages to adding to your team. If your employees are working overtime, making mistakes, and your company is missing deadlines, you end up suffocating your business in the long-run. Especially when launching a new product, or expanding, investing in more employees will help you keep up with the demand, improve morale, and provide a better service for clients.