Many businesses will begin with a single idea and a single employee. As the founder of a business, you’ll have a lot on your plate and as your company grows you might eventually decide to take on additional staff. This will likely prove a major decision in the development of your company. Firstly, you’ll have to trust someone else to take care of your business for the first time, which will be a gut-wrenching decision. And secondly, you’ll have to make sure you get the hiring process right.
As your organisation expands you may well fill it with a broad spectrum of roles depending on your particular industry. However, in the early stages of growth, here are some of the most essential positions that you’ll need to hire for.
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Someone to handle financial matters
If your finances are mismanaged then it won’t be long before your business goes under. Although you may be able to personally handle monetary matters while your business remains small, as you grow things become more complicated.
A good accountant could save your organisation a great deal of time and money by getting your finances in order. The right candidate will be someone that is trustworthy, detailed, efficient and with the necessary qualifications. It’s also a good idea to employ someone with strong digital skills as many of today’s accountancy solutions involve IT software.
Although you might assume that a financial employee will chiefly help with internal matters, like employee salaries, this isn’t necessarily the case. Payroll recruitment is vitally important if your company is to meet staff expectations, but good financial management will also be of importance to external partners and clients too.
Human resources
Human resources covers a broad spectrum of company processes and represents one of the most important areas for business talent acquisition. Crucially, your HR department will be involved in all of the subsequent hiring decisions that you make, so getting this one right counts for a little extra.
The human resources team will be responsible for posting job advertisements, setting staff salaries and also dealing with employee departures. In addition, any employee disputes will also be handled by HR, meaning that they provide a vitally important role when it comes to creating a trusting and friendly atmosphere in your company.
It is also worth remembering that a good HR appointment will also remove some administrative burden. They will handle tasks like managing holiday requests and issuing employee contracts, giving you more time to focus on continuing your company’s growth.
A marketing specialist
Marketing is becoming increasingly broad in today’s business world, which is why hiring dedicated staff is so important. There’s SEO, social media, emails, content distribution and many other facets to consider. In the early stages of your company, therefore, hiring a strong marketing generalist will stand you in good stead.
In particular, look for individuals who can produce a clear marketing strategy for your business, rather than someone that simply knows how to use all of the modern marketing tools. Having a clear plan in place will help your business prepare for long-term development rather than producing marketing materials off the cuff.
Also, business should value flexibility in their chosen marketing employee. This is a field that has changed a lot in recent years and will continue to change in the years to come. That means that organisations would do well to hire an individuals that can adapt to new technologies and isn’t too set in their ways. You may find that this person has graduated with a degree in marketing or is an enthusiastic amateur based in a different field altogether – you can never really tell where you’ll discover the right person for any job.
Regular maintenance
If your business has its own premises, you’ll need to find some help to maintain it. Cleaning will need to be carried out regularly and to a certain standard, particularly if you work in an industry where hygiene is of added importance, such as a restaurant.
In addition, you’ll also need to find a trusted employee to carry out repair work when needed. You never know when something is likely to go wrong, but if things aren’t fixed as quickly as possible your customers could be affected – and they will have little time for any excuses you may have. Find a contractor that has a history of quality work and fast response times and strike up a solid relationship. That way, when all your electrics fail a few hours before an important client meeting, you have someone that can come to your rescue.
An IT specialist you can rely on
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Many businesses, even those that aren’t directly part of the IT industry, use computers and other forms of digital technology. While this has brought a host of benefits, no form of technology is completely fail-safe. With this in mind, an IT specialist is likely to be top of your list when it comes to the hiring process.
Initially, you may want to hire IT staff to help with troubleshooting – dealing with those classic IT problems that often revolve around “turning it off and on again.” Although often trivialised, these issues can really hinder productivity if left unchecked.
What’s more, over time IT personnel can take a more active role in your business. They can critique software options, advise you on the purchase of new hardware and, if they have the coding skills, even create new digital tools for your business.
Customer support
A business is nothing without its customers, which is why you may want to consider hiring a dedicated member of staff to look after them. Although you may have multiple employees that are customer-facing, a customer support manager will oversee all interactions and look to improve relations between business and customer.
They will primarily deal with the majority of customer queries that get sent to the business and look to bring any issues to a quick and suitable resolution. The money you invest in your customer support staff is likely to prove worthwhile, because it is much cheaper for businesses to keep existing customers happy than it is to seek out new ones.