How to Tell When your Small Business is Ready to Make a Hire

How to Tell When your Small Business is Ready to Make a HireHow to Tell When your Small Business is Ready to Make a HireHow to Tell When your Small Business is Ready to Make a Hire ConlanThink back to when you first launched your geschftlicher umgang. Did you ever imagine a time when youd need to bring new people on board? Now that your company is growing, you may be wondering, is now the right time to hire?While timing is everything, positive growth can be a source of stress. After all, change can upset the balance youve created up until now. But if you want your company to get to the next level, its best to acknowledge any concerns you have about bringing on more people. You have to be careful when hiring, says Allison Bonin, co-owner of Advanced Graphic Engraving, a printing and engraving company based in Broussard, Louisiana. If we hire somebody too soon and have to let them go, the cost to train them is on us, and thats a burden. And theyve missed out on other opportunities.How can you be certain that its time to bring on a new hire at your small company? Fortunately, as our experts show, there are a variety of ways to verify your instincts and time it rightand keep your geschftlicher umgang humming.Map Your Companys GrowthThe biggest indicator that its time to hire is to forecast your companys growth, says Jodie Shaw, chief marketing officer at The Alternative Board, a peer advisory board service that provides advice to growing businesses, headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.Many business owners make the mistake of growing first and hiring second, she says. The truth is, it can take six to 12 months to get a new hire up to speed on your business and allow them to acclimate to your culture.Shaw recommends mapping out your companys milestones. Be realistic about your growth targets that you expect your business to reach in the coming year. Once youve completed this task, plan to start your hiring process about eight months before that resource will be ne eded. When youre ready to hire, a Job Adcan help you quickly find the talent you need.That way, the impact of this growth on business operations and the people within yourorganization will be seamless, and your business will be ready to handle the growth, she says.Take Note of Employee WorkloadsAnother sign that its time to hire is when you look up and notice that your employees are busyreally busy. Perhaps you were too busy yourself to notice.If so, your next step is to verify that the elevated levels of work youre seeing are sustainable. If you confirm that the boom will last, then its time to hire.Once we see an increase in job orders over an extended period of time and are using a lot of overtime, we keep a pulse on the whole team, Bonin says. If theyre happy taking overtime, we buckle down and get it done. But sometimes its too much.Here are some of the signs that you and your staff are overworkedA significant or even subtle drop in the quality of workAn increase in customer is sues that need to be addressed in a timely wayYoure unable to grant employee requests for time offRegular overtime has surpassed seasonal boomsEvidence of employee burnoutirritability, absenteeism and accidentsIf you find that youre experiencing two or more of the circumstances above, it may be due to growing pains. It may well be time to hire a full time employee.While you determine if the increased demand youre seeing represents a new growth stage for your business, consider bringing on temporary employees or contractors to help pick up the slack.Account for the Value of Your TimeAs a business owner, you take pride in being a jack of all trades. Yet its all too easy to get bogged down in operational details which will distract you from focusing on business development and lead generation.If thats a familiar scenario, then its a great time to hire, says Will Staney, founder and principal consultant at Proactive Talent Strategies, a recruitment strategy consulting company in Austin, Texas.If youre the CEO for a growing startup, you need to take things off your plate that are not generating revenue for your company, says Staney.As a business leader, focus your time on things that will grow the business, not administrative or operational tasks, Staney says. Think about what your time is worth as CEOare the things youre spending time on worth that much?The solution? Consider hiring someone who can handle tasks at a lower pay grade, allowing you to work on crucial business development.Listen Carefully to ClientsYour customers are a valuable source of revenueas well your canary in the coalmine to help you determine when its time to hire a new employee.Heres how it works. If customersor potential customersconsistently ask about services they wish you provided, or request large orders that you just dont have capacity for, its an indication of greater demand for what you offer.While this is a good problem to have for a startup, there comes a point when its time for yo ur business to expand to fulfill present needs as well as projected ones, says Christina Boudreaux, owner and senior talent consultant at Talent Made Simple, an HR consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.As part of your startup checklist, regularly communicate with clients to ask whether theyre looking for wider service offerings and how you can meet those needs. Keep track of these requests to determine when its time to bring on a new hire.Monitor How You Feel About Your WorkYour own stress levels can tell you whether its time to bring someone else on, says Mori Taheripour, principal at MT Global Strategies LLC, a business consulting group, and a faculty member at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches negotiation and conflict resolution.Taheripour suggests that you ask yourself a simple questiondo you still enjoy being a business owner? If the stress you feel could be mitigated by someone else handling a portion of your workload, its time to find that person.If youre no longer able to enjoy doing what you do because youre so busy being stressed and catching up and worrying, then thats a sign, she says.Remembergrowing pains are natural outcome for any company. How you handle that growth will, in large part, determine your companys success. Take the time to assess your decision to hire. You should feel both confident and proud about hiring new team members. And remember to keep the process as simple as possible by using one of Monsterscustomizable job descriptions.

How to Make the Most of an Informational Interview

How to Make the Most of an Informational InterviewHow to Make the Most of an Informational InterviewThe informational vorstellungsgesprch is the perfect tool to use when you feel stuck in a job search rut or want to explore options before fully committing. Whether youre still in college or are a seasoned professional, the informational interview gives you a sense of whats out there and a chance to build relationships that will open doors in the future. Read on to see how you should prepare, what to expect and follow-up steps to ensure a successful informational interview.Where should I start? A good place to start is within your own network. Is there an old colleague or classmate working at a company that interests you? Reaching out to someone you are comfortable and meeting them first will make future informational interviews less nerve-wracking. Send an email expressing that youd like to meet for coffee or a quick lunch and that youre on the lookout for the next opportunity and you re interested in their company or department. Be clear with your purpose for meeting in the e-mail. A lot of people will feel like youre tricking them and will wonder what your motives are if youre vague and might decline your invite from the get-go. If youre ready to reach out to someone outside of your network, its best ask a mutual contact to make the introduction first. Check out the person youd like to meet on LinkedIn and see if you have any mutual connections. Then, kindly ask your mutual contact to make an introduction and always give a reason why. Although cold-emailing someone is less likely to get a response, you should at least try if its someone you think will give you valuable information and advice. Like we mentioned earlier, always state your reason for meeting and keep it short and simple. You also might need to settle for an informational interview over the phone versus face-to-face with someone you dont know personally.What should I expect?Informational interviews are usually 15-30-minute exploratory meetings where you ask the questions. The biggest mistake most people make is not preparing the right questions. Even worse, a lot of people show up to informational meetings, and the only thing theyll say is, I just wanted to pick your brain on how you got to work at Company XYZ. Before the meeting, create a list of specific questions that will bring to the light if a role or company is right for you. Questions that you would ask at the end of a regular interview are a good starting point. Informational interviews are usually casual and conversational, but preparing a list of questions will foolproof the meeting from any awkward silences. What should I do after the interview?At the end of your informational interview, its smart to politely ask if there is anyone that they think you should meet. Ask them if they are willing to make an introduction. This way, you might already have your next informational interview lined up. If youre searching fo r a specific role, ask them to keep you in mind if anything related pops up. Like a regular interview, thank the person for their time and send an appreciative e-mail following up on anything you discussed.

Lactation Accommodation Policy for the Workplace

Lactation Accommodation Policy for the WorkplaceLactation Accommodation Policy for the WorkplaceTo assist the transition of women from maternity leave back to work following the birth of a child, lactation accommodation is provided. Lactation accommodation allows a nursing motzu sich to express milk periodically during the workday. The American Academy of Pediatrics, long time advocates of breastfeeding, recently updated their research and findings of the beneficial impact of breastfeeding on the health of both the mother and the child. It is in the best interests of the employee, her workplace, and the potential health of her child that the workplace hilfestellung lactation accommodation as part of our efforts to help employees experience work-life balance. Lactation accommodation also allows your company to provide equal employment opportunity to employees with family responsibilities who desire to breastfeed their child. Added in March2010 If you have questions, as an employer, ab out the current requirements for breastfeeding mothers, this fact sheet from the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) updates you on the break time requirement for nursing mothers in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). They took effect when the PPACA was signed into law on March 23, 2010 (P.L. 111-148). This law amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Additionally, as you update your lactation policy, note that state laws supersede the Federal laws if your states requirements provide more for the breastfeeding mom. So, do check your states requirements, too. An excellent resource is provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Another resource about breastfeeding is available from the United States Breastfeeding Committee. Lactation Accommodation Goals Lactation accommodation goals are to Ease the transition of mothers who return to work following the birth of a child.Enable mothers to breastfeed past the time off a llotted by company PTO policies and the Family and Medical Leave Act.Assist mothers to attend work rather than having to take time away from work to express milk.Help control healthcare costs by providing the opportunity to develop a healthier infant.Ensure that women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy know that breastfeeding will be accommodated by their employer. Provide a motivating, employee-supportive work environment for all employees.Assist employees to experience work-life balance. Lactation Accommodation Policy All women who breastfeed their child, and who need to express milk during the working day, will work with their supervisor and Human Resources to determine how best to accommodate the needs of the mother while still accomplishing the performance of her job. Time for Lactation Accommodation Supervisors may consider flexible working arrangements. Women may use their break and lunchtime to express milk. PTO hours can also be used to express milk if needed. Br eaks to express milk should not last longer than 30 minutes. If an employee needs to take more than two breaks during the workday to express milk, the employee will need to use personal time (lunch, PTO, and so on.)The Environment for Lactation Accommodation Human Resources will work with each nursing mother to determine a private area in which they may express milk. Milk should be placed in cooler-type containers and may be stored in company refrigerators. Disclaimer Susan Heathfield makes every effort to offer accurate, common-sense, ethical Human Resources management, employer, and workplace advice both on this website, and linked to from this website, but she is not an attorney, and the content on the site, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality, and is not to be construed as legal advice. The site has a world-wide audience and employment laws and regulations vary from state to state and country to country, so the site cannot be definitive on all o f them for your workplace. When in doubt, always seek legal counsel or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct. The information on this site is for guidance, ideas, and assistance only.