Why You Don't Hire

It happens over and over again; when a financial services professional adds an employee to their business, it creates growth and increases revenue in more ways than they initially thought. So then, why do so many financial services professionals delay in hiring? It boils down to three barriers: not enough time, too much money, and it's hard to find the right people. Overcoming these barriers requires a combination of seeing beyond them and having a strategy to leverage good people to achieve the desired results.
 

No Time

Does the thought of hiring make you cringe because of the time it will take to find and train a new person? When a financial services professional doesn't have the time, it usually is a sign that your business does, in fact, need you to hire, and soon. It's true, hiring takes time, but should be seen as an "investment" of your time with an expected return for your business. With an investment mindset on hiring, you are more likely to see what your business would gain: increased sales, more opportunities, less stress, more time, and more freedom. A new hire's time can also be an investment for your business. Consider the role your new employee can take in helping you build the processes for work they will be doing. While you're training them, they can be documenting "how" the work is done. It's a good way for them to learn, and it sets you, your future employees, and your business up for success.
 

Too Costly

A new hire may increase expenses in the beginning, but all positions in your business should be designed to be profit centers. The cost of hiring and the return on that investment is not an exact science, but with the right strategy in place, every position should enable your business to be more profitable. This allows your business to carefully weigh the long-term needs against the short-term cash challenges. By not hiring, you could be risking your business's ability to grow, or causing issues in the ability to service your clients.
 

Can't find the right person

We acknowledge great employees can be hard to find, especially if you don't know what you're looking for. Having a clearly defined set of skills, behaviors, characteristics and attributes for a position is necessary. This is accomplished by creating a top ten list of behaviors, attributes, or characteristics you want to hire - remember skills are beneficial but they can be learned. When you have a defined list, then you can easily see those characteristics in people when you are at the grocery store, community meetings, and social events. When spotted, you can orchestrate a conversation to see if they might be interested in a certain position. In addition, knowing who you are looking for will make the interviewing and selection process more efficient.