Hire Help: 1 of 5 Tactics to get more done in life or business (Part 1)

I know you have lots to get done in your life and business. That’s why today we’re talking about the five tactics you need to get more done in your business without working more.

If you know more about me, you know I’ve got my two kids and I try to stay healthy, keep my marriage alive, and run a business. I have a lot I want/need to get done in my life!

Here are my top five different ways you can get more done, why you should use them, and how you can get started. Ready?

Be forewarned, these all involve delegating! If you have any concerns or preconceived notions about that, put them aside for a moment while we go over these tactics. Trust me, it will be worth your while!

Today we’re going to go in-depth on the first one, the next blog will have the rest:

1. Hiring Employees

The first, most common way, is to hire an employee. To clarify what you need an employee for, first look at your organizational chart. Go and grab a basic business organizational chart from the internet and fill in all the different departments/areas of your business.

You may have an HR department, Finance department, Marketing department, Research and Development department, or something else unique to your business. Fill in the names of any employees, contractors, vendors, or people who are filling these roles right now. Even if you’re the ONLY one working on your business, put your name under each slot for now.

If you’re NOT a business owner but an employee of another business, you can still do this chart for you and your co-workers. Even though you might not have the power to hire an employee, you're going to see if you're perhaps doing more than your job description.

Delegate roles on your chart

Take a look at your completed organizational chart and think, “Which area of my work do I want to get rid of the fastest?” Is it bookkeeping? Is it your social media? Is it hiring? Decide which roles you need and can take your name off of and make a plan for replacing them.

For example, you could say that in six-months from now, you’re going to hire a bookkeeper. In three-months you want to outsource your social media. Then you can plan accordingly and make sure your finances match up with this plan.
Then, starting with the areas you want to delegate first, begin by setting (aka writing down) some clear roles and responsibilities. Why? Because you want to know what you're hiring for so you can write a suitable job description. Then, when they are hired, the new hire knows what’s expected of them…and you do too!

Delegate candidate interviews

In the spirit of delegating, get help to hire someone. It could be a friend or a trusted business advisor. I often have someone else do interviews with me. Why? Well, while you're sitting there thinking of your next question, they can ask a question. Also, you have someone to discuss the candidate with to see if your feelings about the person align with theirs.

Also, if you have more awkward questions to ask you could get them to help. For example, they might say to the candidate: “Diane is a very creative person. She might have ideas that come out-of-the-blue or last minute that need to be implemented. Are you okay with working like that?” That might be something odd for me to ask (referring to myself), but I could ask the other person to bring it up for me.

The same goes for financial questions if it makes you uncomfortable. Have your colleague ask what the candidate’s expected pay is.

Other hiring tips

Here are some other great tips for hiring employees:

• Train them for one hour, and then have them do three hours of work. This is a great ratio to keep in mind. Otherwise, you're not going to hire someone because you feel like you’re always training them and could get it done so much faster on your own.
• Know their value to you. Consider whether the hire is there to directly bring in new business and sales, or to free up your time to find new business. Also consider that, if you charge clients $200 per hour, and you’ve maybe hired someone for $50 per hour, then four of their hours equals one of yours. So, if it takes a little longer, that’s generally ok.
• Review their progress. Always review how they're doing. Look at how they’ve progressed and grown in the role because, trust me, they're not going to be perfect in those first few weeks. Do some goal setting with them. Ask them what kind of goals they want to set. As they get more comfortable with the tasks they do well, they’ll get faster at it. Then you can pass off more responsibilities.
• Set a probationary period. Be sure you have a probationary period, too. If it turns out not to be a great fit after the probationary period, you can let them go more easily.

I know that’s a lot more information surrounding hiring an employee. But that's just the basics to get you started. And if any of these points around hiring an employee are something that you really want to talk more about, please reach out to me and let me know.
Next week I’ll share the last 4 tactics to do more by doing less in your business.
Until next time, stay dynamic!
~Diane