Is It Time to Hire A New Team member in 2023?
As the year comes to an end and we review wins and lessons learned, you may be looking at your schedule thinking “How do I keep it all going?” I love sharing time management and saving tips for entrepreneurs, delegation and leadership strategies, and advice for business owners and virtual assistants. However, there comes a point in every growing business where you need to add another team member. Whether you’re currently a solo-preneur or already leading a small team, I wanted to share my 2023 hiring checklist to help you decide what kind of hire is right for you.
First, do you need to add to your team?
Do you work all the time? How are your important personal relationships doing? If you're a driven, extremely busy entrepreneur who never has enough time, let’s look at 7 signs it’s time to hire a virtual assistant.
You’re less than present.
Your work hours are endless.
You work. Every. Single. Day.
Quality time looks like “Working while family is present.”
Every work email begins with an apology.
The quality of your work is slipping.
Your work is rushed, and also late.
So you want to hire a virtual assistant. Here’s how to create a description for your new hire:
Virtual Assistants come alongside you in your daily business tasks — whether they be administrative, creative, marketing, or social media, or all of the above — to give you the time and freedom to do what you were made to do.
You are probably wasting a lot of time on things that could be passed off to someone else. This allows you more time to do things only YOU can do in your business.
Make a list of things you hate doing, things that are time-wasters, tasks that are not within your special set of skills, gifts, talents - aka: Zone of Genius!
One of our clients, Business Growth Curator, recommends thinking about key performance indicators. Does having a great assistant mean that your inbox is always empty? Would this new team member make your social media plan feel effortless? Brainstorm the problems that would disappear if your new team member was crushing it, and then reverse engineer those things into your job description.
Ok, your job description looks great! It may be a little “big picture,” so now we are going to identify How to know what to delegate:
First, let’s think about all the things you COULD delegate. Here’s a laundry list of them. Then, let’s identify what you need to delegate. If you wrote that list down, put a star by any tasks you love. Put an “x” by anything you know you hate. And then take a look at how many tasks you would never do again. Are these repeatable tasks that you could train someone else to accomplish?
Now, look at those starred activities. How much time of your day do they take up? Are they easy and energizing, or are they a learned skill that you find more satisfaction in “conquering” than in actually doing? You may be able to move a few of those over to the delegation list. (And here are some delegation tips if the art of letting go isn’t working out so well…)
Finally, look at the in-between tasks. There’s a good chance you can delegate those as well. But to make sure, we need to discuss one more piece of the puzzle: Time Management.
How much time does my new virtual assistant need to accomplish all these tasks?
When I encourage our business owners to expect and/or request timesheets, it’s never with a mindset of “checking up on”, hovering, micromanaging, or distrust! Quite the opposite, honestly! We discuss that the outdated script of handholding our team members needs to be flipped hard and fast! There’s a blog post here that discusses that topic and more.
But before you bring your team member on, I recommend using a timer while you’re completing the tasks you’d like to delegate. You can explore how long they take you, and estimate just a little bit longer for a new team member.
You can also ask your new hire, if they’re experienced in the tasks you want them to complete, a few questions. Here are some examples:
How long does it take to _______? (write, edit, design, schedule, send, evaluate analytics of a newsletter, for example)
I’d like to add one more newsletter per month… how much time will I need to for that to happen?
I would like to add managing my expense account to your tasks. This will also involve uploading and organizing my receipts. What amount of time do you think it would take to complete these tasks every week or month?
Is a Virtual Assistant On Your Wishlist?
We want to help you find the virtual assistant who will perfectly fit your business. Our team is ready and waiting to support! If you’re all set to get started or you still have questions, inquire today. Let’s get you on the schedule to chat and see if we’re a good fit for your business!
