A little thought of benefit to outsourcing your hiring is that candidates will tell third parties things they won’t tell you.  I tell candidates that they should think of me as a representative for the company, but for some reason that isn’t what they hear.  Outsourced hiring services not only save companies time and money, but can give you information about candidates that they work hard to hide. 

Often this results in stories about previous employers or coworkers that start off with, “Don’t tell anyone this, but…”  Sometimes the information we get from candidates is much more positive than what they shared with you.  “From the minute I walked in it seemed like the perfect fit!  I can see myself going to work there everyday and loving it!”

Either way, this extra information can be very valuable when you work to make your final hiring decision!

Stability

Smaller businesses are often perceived as less stable than larger corporations.  The impression of instability can be especially daunting to employees during economic downturns.  However, if your company is stable, being open and honest about the business’s financials can gain your employees confidence. If you know that your employer has consistently grown every year, it will help calm fears of downsizing. 

Stretch

As with owning your own company, when you work in a small business you often have to become an expert in marketing, accounting, mind reading, playful banter, and counseling.  Again, this is one of the best parts of working in a small business.  But remember that your employees are not super heroes.  While the best ones will seem to do the impossible, no one can do it all.

Everyone likes to feel important…

Status

For small business employees there can be a constant struggle to balance our inflated egos.  We tell ourselves, “If I am not there the world will crumble!  What will they do!”  And other times we say, “My job doesn’t really matter.  If I wasn’t doing this would anyone even notice?”

There is also the “Where do you work syndrome?”  I make important decisions that change lives and businesses everyday, but lots of people don’t take my career nearly as seriously as they would if I worked for “Fill in the Blank Big Corp.”  I personally know that my job is much more influential than it would be if I worked at a place like that, but I have an ego, like we all do!

I know it isn't easy, but it is important!

Autonomy

When you hire someone, you are giving up a piece of your business.  If you aren’t ready for that then you aren’t ready to hire a top performing employee.  If they have to run everything by you then they will not be happy.  And isn’t the best situation for you either. 

Another potential pitfal...

Communication 

New employees don’t have anywhere to go to find out “the way things work here” and my guess is that very few small businesses have an FAQ up on their intranet about things like dress code, holidays, birthdays, and other seemingly unimportant things.  Be mindful of the fact that if you haven’t told them, no one else probably has either. 

Sometimes the things we love, can also cause issues…

 Lack of structure

Create processes where you can.  Even those of us who love to have the freedom and flexibility to do our own thing like to have some structure occasionally. 

Over the next few days I am going to point out some of the unique issues that employees of a small businesses often face.  As with most things, just knowing what these issues are is beneficial.  Acknowledging them and being open to doing what you can to resolve them will go a long way in keeping employees happy.  Also, addressing these issues in an interview will help paint a realistic picture of the position and help candidates make an informed decision before the accept.

 Lack of a peer group

There just isn’t anyone to cover your shift.  Typically with small businesses there is no one else who is doing exactly what you are doing which makes it difficult to really develop a true peer group. Yes, small businesses tend to be very close knit, but that doesn’t happen over night and it is like a “family” not like friends.  You just don’t build a professional network in the same way that you would in a larger company.  So encourage your employees to get out and network.  Even if business development isn’t part of their job description.  It will still benefit your company and it will definitely benefit them.

Many small businesses think they have a disadvantage when it comes to hiring, but there are a few key “selling points” that small businesses can maximize to ensure that you get the best candidates possible.  Design your positions to take advantage of these areas and you will appeal to top performers considering your company and keep them there once they have joined your team!

Level of responsibility – Make it a big job – Make your employees important parts of the company.  The more important you make them feel, the more likely that they will be important parts of the company!

Variety – Get employees involved in marketing, accounting, sales, or anything they may want to know about!

Growth - Don’t hold on too tight.  Give your employees the freedom to get out in the community and network on their own.  It is for the best that you are not the only face of your company.

Lack of Bureaucracy – Top performers like to get things done.  The more you do to help them get things done, the happier they will be.

 Who are they?  What to Look for In Employees of a Small Business

The last area I am going to write about in this series is being task oriented, but it certainly isn't the last important thing to look for when hiring for small businesses.  What have you found to be important traits in your business?

Task oriented –

“The entrepreneur is not really interested in doing the work; he is interested in creating the way the company operates. In that regard, the entrepreneur is an inventor. He or she loves to invent, but does not love to manufacture or sell or distribute what he or she invents.”
Michael Gerber
 
But the employee has to do the work.  They have to not only be able to see the big picture, they also have to be able to see the little picture, and the medium picture.  This, and the other differences between an entrepreneur and an employee of a small business, can be points of frustration for business owners.  Hiring people who have these characteristics is going to mean that you are not always going to see eye to eye with the people you hire, but it also means that your business is going to have a better chance of succeeding.  Seems like an easy decision doesn’t it?

Who are they?  What to Look for In Employees of a Small Business

Another trait I have noticed about successful employees of a small business...

Commitment - I’ve found that people that really do well in small businesses have this unrealistic commitment.  We just feel like owners.  Even if there is no real reason for us to feel that way, we feel very committed to the company. 

My mother ran a day care out our home for almost the entire time I was growing up.  She is one of the most successful entrepreneurs I know because she enjoyed what she did and she was good at it.  After my sister and I grew up she decided that she had enough of doing it on her own and decided to go work for someone else at a day care center.  She ends up working for this woman who was not a savvy business woman to say the least.  She couldn’t pay her bills, she couldn’t pay her employees, she was unorganized, and nobody really liked her.  So for months my mom would laugh about how she had to go straight to the bank to deposit her pay check because if she waited until everyone else deposited their checks, it probably wouldn’t clear.  I think a lot of people would have drawn the line there.  My mom could have gone to any daycare and done what she was doing.  She could probably have left and all of the kids she was watching would have just moved to the new center.  But she was committed to it, so she stayed. 

Who are they?  What to Look for In Employees of a Small Business

Another trait that is helpful when working with a small business, especially an entrepreneurial one, is flexibility. 

Flexibility - Because you, entrepreneurs, change your minds a lot.  And it might not seem like a sudden change to you, because you had time to work it through in your mind and you’ve probably been mulling it over for a while and just forgot to mention it to anyone else. 

And even the best laid plans will change.  It is one of the things that gives small businesses such a competitive advantage, we can adapt very quickly to things that are changing.  And flexible people tend to be able to “take it.”  Because in a small business sometimes things are going to suck and if you aren’t able to suck it up for a while and adapt to the situation you will be miserable, and you will leave.

Who are they?  What to Look for In Employees of a Small Business

From being an employee in a small business and hiring people to work in small businesses I have noticed that we have a few things in common that top performers in large companies might not necessary have, or might not be as important.  Over the next couple of days I am going to share a few of these traits.

Entrepreneurial attitude, sort of -   We enjoy creating something from nothing, like entrepreneurs do.  Venturing out into unknown territory is exciting for us, just like it is for small business owners.  But we are not exactly the same. 

 “A real entrepreneur is somebody who has no safety net underneath them.”

But employees are more risk adverse.  Maybe it is only for that period of our lives because there is something going on or maybe it is a part of their personality, but if you find someone who has an entrepreneurial attitude, really instead of an entrepreneurial attitude sort of, they probably won’t take the time to stay and really contribute to your business.  It is all just too tempting to them.  Why don’t I just do this on my own?  Why am I building their business when I could be building my own?  Find out the answers to those questions before bringing someone on board.

What projects have interns successfully completed for you?  What have you done to ensure interns are successful?  Share your experiences!

Yourself

After you take an evaluation of your company, it is now time for you, the entrepreneur to think about whether you are really ready to bring someone else into your world.  And as I mentioned, this person is not you!  They will not think like you do, they will not work like you do, and there will be days when you do not like each other.  We’ll talk about some specifics later of things you need to keep in mind as you start to bring people into your world, because it is different than any kind of management you may have done in other jobs.  This is your company, so you will act differently.