How to hire great support staff
By Andrew May
It has been another 12 hour day which is at least less hours than you worked yesterday. Your other half is upset (again) that you missed dinner - again. Your kids can’t remember what you look like. The dog barks every time you walk up the drive way. You’re exhausted and after the 1,000th time you’ve heard ‘why don’t you get support in the office?’ But now what? How do you even begin trying to figure out what someone should do? Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as you think. Below are 4 steps with specific actions to take to ensure you find the right person and get the most bang for your buck.
Paddy Reynolds, one of my mentors once told me ‘do what you do best and outsource the rest’. This is a great mantra to have when it comes to boosting productivity and output. Spend the majority of your time doing what you do and making great money.
1. Create a job description before they start
The biggest mistake I see over and over again is business people simply hiring someone and throwing them at the problem. This is like just grabbing any plug to try and stop a leaking bath. You need to make sure the plug is the right fit. If you are not clear about what you want this person to do for you, how are they supposed to know? Your great new assistant anxiously wants to help out, but can’t because you have no clue what to ask them to do. With a little planning, you can be prepared to answer the magic question, “what should I do right now?”
Your actions
Start by creating your own job description. Make a list of everything you are currently handling. Things like writing proposals, making phone calls, sending out invoices. Once you have your complete list, circle or highlight the things that only you can do. The rest are items to add to your assistant’s job description.
Tip
It will take time to get use to delegating. You have to get over the mind set that you do everything best – you don’t! Great support staff are much better at typing, organising, filing and many other follow up duties. Invest time putting together a specific job description and you will save hours, days and months in the future.
2. Show me the skills!
Now that you have this comprehensive list of tasks and responsibilities, break it down into the skills needed to perform those tasks. For example, if you need someone who will be making lots of phone calls, you will be looking for someone with a good phone voice. Maybe someone who has telemarketing experience.
Your actions
Define what skill sets you are looking for, not just skills such as typing and budgeting, but ways of thinking, and personality traits such as honesty, integrity, creativity and being a self-starter. Write a list of opened ended interview questions and at the end of your interview look to see if the person has the skills and traits you are looking for.
3. Write an ad that sizzles!
Turn your wants and needs into an ad. You are more likely to get the kind of candidates you want if you specify what you are really looking for. An ad that reads, “Admin Assistant” is liable to get a range of results from someone looking to work full time for $50K per year to someone looking for $10 an hour part-time gig. If you are looking for someone to work 5 hours a week for $20 an hour, make sure you state that. If you don’t specify these details, I guarantee that the perfect candidate will be in your pile. But, they will want a whole lot more time and money than you can afford.
Your actions
Create a clear ad that includes what the job is, how many hours, the approximate pay, where the position is and what you are looking for. Place the ad in your local paper. You might also want to try recruiting agencies. I have found these very helpful in sourcing high level candidates with a varied skill set. But you will have to pay anywhere between 12 and 18% of annual salary as a recruiting cost (meaning if you employ a PA on a $60,000 p/a package, @ 12% you will pay the recruiting company $7,200).
4. Create an atmosphere of success
Now you’ve got the right person. Set them up for success. Create the behind the scenes processes you want them to follow so that you know they are completing things the way you want it done. And remember, document, document, document, (did I say document?) what they are doing. Setting aside time each week to create and sharpen systems is a habit worth getting into. I honestly save my self at least half to a full day every week by having great systems in the office.
You never know when an emergency is going to come up. Save yourself time, energy and frustration by capturing all that they do so that it is easily passed on to a replacement. You will have turn over - count on it. But it won’t be a big deal if you set yourself up for success by having documented processes and systems. This results in not having to recreate the wheel every time you bring a new person in.
Your actions
Create systemised, documented processes and procedures that can be followed and passed on should your new person not fit the bill or choose to leave. Better still have simple checklists that explain clearly what needs to be done daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly.
Before you actually start paying someone, check with accountant to make sure you are paying the person correctly. There are specific regulations regarding the difference between independent contractors and employees. Good luck and happy hiring.
Andrew May is is considered Australia’s leading expert on performance and productivity and is the author of the bestselling book, Flip the Switch. Andrew speaks at conferences across the globe, mentors CEO’s and senior managers. He is published throughout national and international media, with regular segments on 2UE radio, Mix 106.5 Body and Soul and Channel Nine’s TODAY show.