Many startups stress optimizing productivity especially when cash flow is tight. Staying as streamlined as possible in a financial sense is something that founders need to go as investors expect them to do it. While some founders might think that hiring a multitude of new staff will jumpstart growth, at times it can do the opposite. If productivity is optimized a startup might find that they are more comfortable with the staff that they have than they had previously thought.
Overworking is different than optimizing as processes can always be improved but the staff has to be open to changes. Resistance to change can be a huge problem as new processes can frustrate staff. When instituting new processes it is important to do this slowly (possibly with a small portion of employees) to see if these processes truly do improve productivity as a way to gather data.
This will reduce resistance as there is data proving these processes will work and staff won’t be willing to complain when there is concrete evidence. The following are ways to optimize productivity with the current staff in order to avoid over hiring.
Why avoid over hiring?
Over hiring can cripple a startup as training new employees costs money that a startup might not have. This money that it costs to train the employee does not guarantee that the employee will produce at a satisfactory level or will not leave the company once offered a new job in the near future.
Startups can have a bit of downtime as business is not always booming or there could be a slower part of the year. Keeping a small staff also allows those who have worked at the company for extended periods to climb the corporate ladder. Bringing in managers can hurt morale especially if the current staff does not see anywhere to go as far as their career path is concerned.
Hire those with a versatile skillset
Hiring employees with a versatile skillset can help a startup avoid hiring for quite some time. These types of people are often used as extra help in a variety of departments. At a startup, this is invaluable as when one department has things under control another could be in need of help.
This helps the startup stay on track without hiring a person in a panic that might not work out at all and will need to be trained. These are the types of employees a startup needs to keep around as there is not always a need for a new employee but instead having an employee that can be put anywhere and be a success.
Automate everything possible
There are plenty of processes that can be automated especially when it comes to generating leads. Online questionnaires can help gather information on customers as well as qualify the customer in terms of seeing if they have enough budget to even start a project.
These can be filtered to certain people in the sales department instead of manually sending over leads which leaves the possibility of a few being missed due to human error. Look for the processes that can be automated as this can give the current staff additional time to be productive in the areas they are proficient at.
Outsource work that will save the company money
There is no need to fill every department that a large corporation has as this can be extremely expensive. Accounting, for example, can be done by an accounting firm but make sure to pick one that deals with small businesses. Bookkeeping services for small businesses can help a startup keep accurate records of finances and even point out liabilities.
A dip in cash flow due to lack of knowledge about current account balances will all but be eliminated. Outsourcing other departments like that of the marketing department need to be done with care. The wrong digital marketing company can do more harm than good as there are right and wrong ways to take on a digital marketing campaign.
Set up a great internship program
There is going to come a point where a startup is going to have to hire. Improving quality of hires can be done by setting up an internship program that really tests the interns. Company culture is important and an internship can be much of a working interview for those in college.
The reason college students intern is so they can be hired right out of college so make a habit of doing so. Once word gets around that the startup hires their interns after graduation if they perform at a high level a few things will happen. The demand for internship spots will increase as will the quality of interns. The possibility of having a good job right out of college can make the startup’s internship a coveted position for most college students.
Take time to look at current processes and workflow to see where time can be saved. This will help the startup avoid the risks involved with over hiring and optimize processes that can be scaled up later. Optimize now while the staff is small and it will benefit the business in the future!