As your business grows, you will need additional skills and resources to handle increasing workloads or accelerate business development. You have to decide at what point you should hire full-time or part-time staff. However, you should also consider other options, such as working with contractors or freelancers or outsourcing certain functions to trusted suppliers. Outsourcing production to contract manufacturers, for example, or hiring a freelance marketing specialist increases resources without committing funds to permanent expansion.
Hire employees – The decision to hire employees is a difficult one. You will be responsible for paying regular salaries and benefits, as well as managing the complexities of payroll and employment taxes. You should hire employees when you need to fill key positions that require commitment and regular availability.
Identify key positions – The need for full or part-time employees varies at different stages of business growth. In the initial stages, you may need people to concentrate on sales or administration. Later you may need full-time staff to handle customer service and support, or financial management. Developing a recruitment plan, integrated with your financial projections, helps you match affordable staffing levels with business growth.
Hire contract and freelance staff – Working with contractors or freelancers can help you fill gaps without the cost and effort or recruiting and retaining employees. A freelance bookkeeper, for example, or an IT contractor can provide essential services to the businesses when it needs them. If you work with contractors or freelancers, ensure they sign confidentiality agreements to protect your business information.
Outsource important functions – Outsourcing gives you access to essential skills and resources without investing in your own. Outsourcing production, for example, can increase your production capacity without investing in new plant or production staff. Using a virtual call center lets you offer a higher standard of customer service without setting up your own call center.
Set up virtual teams – In the early stages of growth you can control employment and premises costs by setting up “virtual teams”. Team members are based at home or other locations and work together using collaboration tools such as video conferencing and file sharing. Virtual teams are suitable for service businesses but they can also be used to provide support in areas such as technical support or product development.
Partner with suppliers – Suppliers can supplement your resources by working with you on joint product development projects. They provide specialist skills and knowledge that can accelerate product development and get new products to market faster.