We know that the state of hiring is less than ideal at the moment. Amid economic uncertainties, it can be tempting to lay low, stay the course, and avoid spending. But there are a handful of signs that will tell you that waiting to hire is simply not worth it in the long run. Here are 5 signs that it’s time for you to hire new people as soon as possible:
1. Everyone's overwhelmed
You might have just gone through a series of layoffs or people might be quitting under the increased pressure to perform. Either way, when morale has hit a low point and you’re seeing the signs (increased burnout and turnover over too much work) it’s time to hire right away. Whether you choose to bring on a freelancer or a full-time employee is up to you, but the benefits of bringing on additional help will show your team you value them. Even better—consult with your team on the exact help they need and search for people with those precise skills. You’ll be boosting morale in addition to helping streamline that large workload.
2. You're missing out on new opportunities
In times of recession/soft landing, and inflation, it’s not enough to simply stay afloat. Your company needs to keep up with the competition. So if you’re having to turn down opportunities to improve, that’s a red flag that you need to hire new people, stat. A diverse workforce brings new ideas and fresh skills to the table. Of course, you’ll need to spend money on hiring, but the returns on innovation will be more than worth it. You simply cannot afford to let revenue remain stagnant—and new people can help bring revitalizing energy to those challenging projects on top of better financial returns over time.
3. There's a decline in performance all around
This sign is often tied to the first sign we mentioned—overwhelm. But it’s also not a sign to begin layoffs, either. The cost of hiring too many new people, plus onboarding them, is not a way to move forward—it could actually set you back. The better way forward is to conduct surveys or have honest one-on-one conversations to ask what your employees need specifically. Encourage them to reflect on what went wrong so that you can help make it right with either freelance support or a few new hires. You might also be surprised to discover that the issue does not stem from your team. For example, members of your team might ask for HR to step in and bring on an on-site therapist instead of, say, a new junior designer. If you’re not sure, it’s best to survey your team before hiring.
4. There are gaps in communication and productivity
If you have too many vacancies or communication is getting worse within teams, that’s a strong sign that you need to bring in new people to fill those gaps. If you notice that there are bottlenecks in productivity, ask that team exactly what type of help they need for the team to run smoothly. Again, it could be that they need both management help as well as a freelancer to help pick up the pace this time of year. You might be surprised to see you have many options on how to fix productivity issues and you can work together to improve these setbacks with your new hires.
5. Long hiring cycles are prohibiting growth
Maybe you’ve already started the hiring process, but the length of this process is now causing all of the above! What can you do to streamline it? Make changes to your process by reevaluating the type of person you truly need for this job. For example, your job description might state too many requirements, causing your pool of applicants to be too small. Work with a recruiter to refine your job descriptions and redefine your requirements versus your “nice to haves”. Then examine which rounds of interviews are necessary and which ones you can forgo for this position. Try to limit and group people together in interviews to make the process more efficient for all involved.
Do you need help with hiring? At Artisan, it’s what we do best. We’ve helped countless companies across the U.S. find top-tier talent.
