How to Build a Successful Team
Top HR tips for solopreneurs and start up founders
At PMP-HR we talk to lots of solopreneurs and start up founders who have been slowly trying to build their businesses on their own, and have finally reached a stage where they are thinking about hiring their first employee. This is an exciting time for any new business, but it’s also pretty terrifying. There’s often so much work to do, but not enough time to think about how to build a team or money to fund all of the roles needed. Then there’s the worry that you might recruit the wrong person, what if you get stuck with them? In our experience, all businesses make some mistakes in the beginning… follow our top tips on ‘How to Build a Successful Team’ to make sure your first recruit isn’t one of them!
Identify all of the key roles and responsibilities your business needs, then prioritise the skills that are most important. It’s easy to jump straight to thinking you need one specific role without thinking through the impact of that recruit fully. For example, you might want a business development person to bring in new business, but if you don’t have the capacity to deliver on those sales you aren’t necessarily going to be able to grow. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But many people skip this point. By thinking about everything you need, you will be able to make a balanced decision about which roles are going to have the greatest impact on you and your business.
Take into account your strengths, weaknesses and your ambition for the role in your business once it’s more established. All founders start off having to do everything – and they’re not necessarily good at it all. When you’re in a position to hire some team members, make sure that you start to shift your role so you are playing to your strengths.
Be realistic about your budget. Don’t forget that you will need to factor in an induction period where new starters are learning the ropes, so initially they probably won’t be contributing as much as you would like to the growth of the business. Don’t forget you will have to pay in to a pension for them and pay national insurance, along with any other benefits you might have offered. You’ll also have some start up costs like a computer, phone and stationery which all add up.
You don’t have to employ all of your team members. Sound odd? It just means you don’t have to put everyone on your payroll. It makes sense that you will want some team members to be employed - for client continuity and ensuring a great service, through to building a culture and growing your business. However, how to employ someone might be via freelancers, contractors or outsourced solutions. Usually this applies to roles that don’t directly impact your customer, or where there isn’t enough volume of work to justify the additional cost of employing a team member. For example, finance, HR and often marketing.
We hope these top tips have given you a starting point in thinking about what makes an effective team and hiring for a small business. If you need a bit more support, our Build a Successful Team Workbook is aimed at solopreneurs and early stage start up founders who are thinking about forming a team, but aren’t sure where to start. You can find out more about how this can help you on the Build a Successful Team workbook page.