The Hiring Strategy We Suggest for the 2023 Climate
Episode 717: Show Notes
Today we are talking about hiring in the current economic climate. The biggest layoffs since 2008 are taking place at the moment, and layoffs in the technology industry have actually surpassed those that took place during the Great Recession.
The common trend that we are seeing amongst business owners who have been operating for more than four years is a collective desire to move away from being the “doers” in their business and shift towards a leadership position where they can focus more on strategy and creative direction. This means needing to hire people who can take up the “implementer” type of work. A lot of the work we are doing with our clients is around how to make this pivot as smooth and successful as possible! It’s a challenge, but it’s such an important move to make if you are going to take your business to the next level.
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Achieving Stability With More Ease
2022 was a hard year for pretty much every person we talked to, so going into this year, it makes sense that business owners are looking to grow their businesses without putting additional strain on their lives. You have to protect your mental health and wellbeing in order to sustain your business because if you get too burnt out, you may not have a business at the end of it. So many of our clients aren’t seeking revenue growth or exponential leaps, but rather they are aiming to keep making the same amount of money but with less effort, and we think that is a beautiful place to be in!
Dealing With Unpredictability
Hardly anything in the world is predictable right now, so you need to be doing things that shore up the amount of control that you do have in your business. When you’re making big leaps, you need more support. We would suggest that you focus on hiring technically skilled, niche contractors that can take over certain parts of the client delivery aspects of your business. This will free up your time (or a member of your staff’s time) to focus on other elements of the business! When you’re wanting to pull yourself out of the “doer” space, you need to bring in bodies to take those deliverables off your plate.
The Beauty Of Contractors
Contractors are paid on a per-project or a negotiated hourly basis. So, they aren’t paid unless there is work and you don’t have to go through the whole onboarding and training process which takes up a lot of time. As a business owner, it’s so important that you have access to these kinds of skilled people so that you don’t necessarily need to hire a whole new full-time team member when you don’t have the capacity, so be sure to keep some contractors in your back pocket so you can reach out quickly when the need arises!
We have a client who knew that she needed a few more clients to get to the next stable point in her business but she didn’t have the time or resources to take them on because one of her team members was on maternity leave. This is a scenario wherein hiring a contractor is the perfect solution! In this particular case, 24 hours after this client hired a contractor, she brought on three new clients.
In this climate, contractors are a much safer move for you and a fairer move for everyone involved, because at the moment it is impossible to say how businesses will be faring even just three to six months down the line!
Go Slow!
This year, make a concerted effort to slow down. We are saying this to protect you. The economy may be struggling, but it is possible to sustain your current income and customer base if you think everything through a little more deeply than you normally would and bring in additional people to support you along the way! We’re doing it, so we know you can do it too!
Quote This
It’s easy to think, ‘I’m not going to bring this person on until I need them.’ That’s a huge mistake.
Highlights
Achieving Stability with More Ease. [0:15:05]
Dealing with Unpredictability. [0:16:41]
The Beauty Of Contract Workers. [19:40]
Go Slow! [27:10]
Today’s Guest:
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:
Hiring, Economic climate, Stability, Pivoting, Leadership, Strategy, Contractors
