When it comes to growing your business, you will inevitably come across the same dilemma that all business owners face. Should you hire a new member of staff? You will likely ask yourself this question several times during your business life, with the answer sometimes unclear.

If your business needs change then hiring new talent may seem crucial to its ongoing success. A new person will bring new skills, knowledge, and experiencing, breathing new life into operations. But could an existing member of staff be retrained to fit the new role instead?

Hiring a new member of staff

The great thing about hiring a new member of staff is the ability to bring fresh talent into the business. Someone with new, varied experiences and knowledge might have a fresh approach or better yet, rejuvenate the whole team.

The downside is that hiring staff can be expensive and time consuming. You have to craft a job listing and, ideally, respond to each applicant. You may even want to hire a recruitment agency to find the best candidates.

There’s a risk, too, of them turning out to be not-that-great, which means starting the process again.

Retraining existing members of staff

The alternative is to train existing employees into a new role. This is ideal if you have staff who want more experience, or if the new duties are a better fit for their skills and interests. Plus, if they already have a great attitude and fit well with the team, this can be a real morale boost. And of course, it saves you from spending time and money recruiting new people.

This step does need careful consideration to make sure that you’re not filling one need, only to create another. Does moving from their previous position leave a huge hole in your business? Be wary of expecting too much from one person when you should have hired an extra pair of hands instead; it can lead to a lot of resentment towards bosses who look like they’re just trying to save money.

Listen to your team

The best approach here is to take an honest look at your team and assess whether it’s feasible in terms of your budget, the team dynamic, everyone’s workloads and training costs. The next step is to discuss this with your team. They will have a better idea of the ins and outs of what it’s like to be an employee, and what their workload is like.

The key here is to listen and consider feedback from your team, and from your business partners if you have them. Switching roles within a team, particularly if it’s a small business, can be hugely disruptive to morale and how everything operates.

If you’re about to take on your first employee, read our guide to setting up payroll, or learn more about our payroll services.

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About The Author

Christopher Jones

Forensics graduate-turned copywriter and blogger. I love turning complex topics into easy to understand, yet engaging pieces of content.

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