Unless you are in the enviable position of being in a position to fly solo while your business grows in other ways, chances are you will reach a point where the question of recruitment looms. Whereas larger organisations have the resource within them to decide what the role actually is, define it carefully, spec out the skills and experience required, the contract on offer as well as the on boarding process and ongoing reviews, for the owner run business, all of the above falls to you. If you happen to have been a recruitment consultant in a former life then, some of this will appear easy. If on the other hand the thing that you do best is fixing tractors then this list will likely feel like unnecessary nonsense. Why can’t you just employ your brother’s eldest daughter straight from school? Surely it’s family and it will be fine right?
Perhaps one of the biggest issues within a growing business is that traditional roles don’t exist. Starting off in business usually means that you do everything from thinking of the concept in the first place all the way through to invoicing the client. The likelihood is that you will also mingle this with other elements of your life like, picking kids up from school, having a car MOT’d, your dog, your mother and the latest news that hits the economy. Without the luxury of employment that offers defined working hours, paid holidays and possibly flexi-time as well as the whole responsibility ultimately on someone else’s shoulders, you navigate your way through this as well as take on the multiple roles in your company. From marketeer to cleaner you are it!
So how comfortable will a new person be in this ‘go with the flow’ situation?
The first person after you to enter your business will be the most crucial. They will need a strong desire to learn and at least some of your excitement about what it is you are doing. They will really need to be able to think for themselves and yet be open to new and ever changing situations. It’s easy to think that this ‘wisdom’ can be found in the most experienced people and sometime is can, especially in those who have a entrepreneurial spirit themselves. However most people would like to know the role they are going to be doing. Are they an engineer? a foreman? a marketeer? customer account management? safety officer? Ah, actually its more like all of the above. How do you find one of those?
In short you need to recruit the right thinking rather than what looks to be the right CV or best interview. The right thinking is not reliant on age, nor necessarily previous experience. It is a lot to do with personality and intrinsic qualities. This is not to say reach for the first psychometric test you can find but rather who is your person? How do they show up on the rugby pitch at the weekend? Do they stop to help and chat to the elderly person in the shop who drops something? Do they thoughtfully park their car? Do they automatically make you coffee and toast when they walk in noticing that you have been in for hours already? Do they make every client feel special, listened to and heard? In the 20 mins before finishing time on a Friday do they clean the van out or tidy the stores? Because these are the things that make a business successful, and of course a very good sense of humour.
For more information on getting your first recruitment right contact us hello@monecosse.com
Also take a look at this great article on recruiting School leavers:
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