When it’s time to start growing your small business, it may feel like you have too much going on to worry about getting the right hire for every little task. After all, labor is labor, right? Well, maybe not — research shows that companies with a strong sense of team unity among employees are 50% more productive than those without it.
A good management strategy is only half the battle toward getting your small business to run efficiently. Unity among employees makes up the other half, and the only way to accomplish this is to hire the right people.
Hire a Diverse Workforce
A full 90% of millennial employees believe that diversity in the workplace encourages collaboration. Diversity doesn’t just mean having a varied group of ethnicities.
It also means inviting unique talent into your group. While hiring people for more than just the mundane may end up taking your business in an unforeseen direction, it can stimulate creative ideas as well.
And just because an applicant doesn’t have the degree you are looking for, don’t throw their application in the rejected pile just yet. If you like the look of their qualifications, give them a chance to showcase their abilities.
Create a Comprehensive Application
A comprehensive application doesn’t have to be ten pages long to give you the information you really need. Educational qualifications and work history are important, but even more important is the talent, ingenuity, and flexibility that a prospective employee can bring to the table.
Give applicants a way to demonstrate these skills, so that you can cull out the ones who don’t quite have the skill set you are looking for in the creativity department. One more thing is to make sure that such can be seen on their resume; this way, you’re able to gauge and see their history.
Use Your Current Workforce to Find the Right New Hires
Whether your small business has 30 employees or three, they can be an invaluable tool in the hiring process. Put together a hiring team to help you conduct interviews.
Social compatibility interviews can ensure that your new employees will work well with the old hands. When your employees get along, productivity is higher, workplace morale is more positive, and communication is more effective.
Place a High Priority on Communication
The old model of cubicle office spaces is rapidly giving way to open office plans that encourage employees to work together. This concept can also encourage movement, which stimulates creativity.
You can further encourage communication by assigning tasks to teams instead of individuals, allowing employees some freedom of choice in the teams they wish to be on, and creating written processes that are more interpretive.
You will be amazed at how productivity can soar when both new and old employees are encouraged to work together and come up with fresh ideas.
Promote from Within
When you are looking for a manager or other higher level position, try to give preference to your current employees.
Few people enjoy being told what to do by someone they have never met; and when you promote from within, you are showing all of your employees that there is opportunity for personal growth for everyone.
You will end up with a manager who already knows how to work with your company and your employees, and you will be able to bring in more new talent in the lower level positions.
Hiring during periods of high growth doesn’t have to be a tedious chore. Diversity and communication in the workforce can go a long way toward growing your small business.
In the long run, creating a team that can work together instead of simply doing what they are told individually will benefit both your employees and your business. Companies with a collaborative mindset are the only ones that are able not just to survive, but to thrive.
