Building a Team Around Your Business

Your business as it is

Whether it’s your first hire or your 100th, you have to have clear expectations and goals going into the process. We talk about this a lot because it’s the common thread that will hold your business together – but it always comes back to your ‘why’. In this case, you need to understand how hiring will ultimately get you closer to your end goal. 

• Do you need to fill a skills gaps?
• Do you need more hands on deck?
• Do you need a senior hire or would you benefit from an apprentice? 

Consider all this before you even start to put a job advert together so that you, and anyone involved in the hiring process, is clear on what the objective is. 

The next thing that should help guide your recruitment, is making sure you’re living your values and communicating them throughout the process. Your values will help you express your culture and attract the right people – and just as importantly, will put off the wrong people. 

Use these as your guiding principles for setting out an EVP (employee value proposition). It’s a clear outline of what makes your business the right place for the right people. This is the ‘why’ for people who are thinking of joining you! It’s just as important to answer their questions as it is to question your own thinking. 

All of this should run through your recruitment strategy – keep coming back to them throughout to make sure you’re aligned with your core intentions. 

Structure

Before you make a move to find the right people, think creatively about where they fit within your organisation. At FD Works, we have 2 teams with a mixture of experience in each, but ultimately people are responsible for their own work. They don’t have managers watching over their shoulders and are trusted to be the experts within their role. 

Speaking of roles, have you thought about the roles within your organisation? Splitting everyone’s responsibilities down to roles instead of job titles can help provide clear accountability within a team and make sure everyone is acknowledged for the work that they are involved in, rather than what their job title is (which, let’s be honest, varies wildly from business to business). Understanding who covers what roles in your business could help you identify the skills and resource gaps that you might have, or highlight areas which are lacking. As you grow, having a clear picture of this will support your recruitment with a better perspective. 

If someone fantastic comes along that doesn’t fit into your predetermined recruitment need then are you in a position to hire them anyway or nurture a relationship with them and find them a space further down the road? People are three dimensional and you can’t always rely on finding the exact right person at the right time, but building a team around your business can open up opportunities you hadn’t previously considered as long as you maintain your values throughout the process. 

Hiring

Recruitment is clearly a skill that takes time and expertise. There’s a reason why recruiters can charge so much! Whether you’re taking on the task yourself or briefing someone to drive the search for you, the work you’ve done around setting your intentions and goals will help guide this process. But you still need to be deliberate about how you advertise and interview. 

Here are some things to consider: 

• Where are you advertising? You need to think about where your ideal candidates spend their time – is it LinkedIn, industry websites, or Facebook? 
• Are you being inclusive in your search? Are you certain that the role you’re hiring for needs a degree, or that they need to be in the office full time? If you are flexible on these kinds of matters then include that in the job advert. Don’t assume that people live the same lifestyle as you and take into account varying priorities. 
• Your business has a tone of voice – use it. Don’t change up the way you communicate just because it’s a job advert. The face you’re putting out into the world should match the one behind closed doors. 
• Can you provide some case studies of team members who have already joined? If not, tell your own story. When you can see it, you can be it and people want to hear from real people. Relating to team members who are already a key part of your business or understanding your personal journey will win over a bullet point list of benefits every time. 

Be Aware of Your Own Limitations

You are one person with one point of view – who else can you get involved in the hiring process? Business owners are notorious for not wanting to hand over the reins, but you can’t do everything yourself, and sometimes you’re not the best person for the job! 

If you are in the very early stages of hiring a team then of course your input is vital and you might not have anyone in your team to soundboard with. This is where a recruiter or trusted peer could provide support. Alongside your individual perspective you also need to be conscious of internal bias which might come into play. Having a reliable second pair of eyes could save you a lot of trouble down the line. 

Don’t Wait 

Ultimately, the best way to build a team is by nurturing ongoing relationships so that whenever a need arises or a skills gap presents itself a name instantly pops into your head. This is where your network is valuable – it’s not just about what people can do for you, but what you can do for then. Reaching out to help a student with a project, offer some work experience, or organise peer accountability sessions with someone you respect could offer benefits that come back to you over years. 

At FD Works we run a school outreach programme where we offer presentations about the finance industry, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship to schools. We’re passionate about supporting young people and encouraging them to find a career they love, but it also provides us with a recruitment pipeline in the future, full of young people who already know what we’re all about. 

Don’t think of recruitment as a task to tick off your list. Integrate it into your day to day and the challenges will dissipate over time.