How to Know if It’s Time to Hire in the New Year
The new year can be daunting when it comes to planning upcoming goals and initiatives and determining if you’ve got the right team in place.
There are current projects that need to be wrapped up before fast-approaching deadlines as well as incoming requests and undertakings.
This article examines the benefits of proactive planning, team evaluation, and if hiring could be a benefit to keep things on track!
How to determine if it’s time to hire in the new year
By taking the time to ask yourself some clarifying questions and taking a few steps to understand your — and your team’s — upcoming needs, you can determine if it’s time to shake things up in the new year by reorganizing your team or hiring new employees to fill unfilled needs.
1. Identify your initiatives for the new year
Taking a look at what projects are currently in flight and what is coming down the pipeline will be step one.
In looking at current projects — are they on track? Will they overlap with other initiatives?
Being clear on this is a great way to see if you need new talent and if those resources should be contractors or full-time employees.
2. Talk to your team about the new year
Your team is your most valuable asset.
Being transparent with them about upcoming projects and initiatives gives them the opportunity to find solutions.
One of the best things you can ask them is, “What are you excited and nervous about in the new year?”
This is an amazing way to have a better understanding of what they would like to accomplish.
3. Assess the current workload and new year workload
Asking team members how they are handling their current workload, including how many hours they are typically working each week is a great insight into whether or not more resources may be needed.
If your team is overworked and support isn’t brought on, managers run the risk of losing core members increasing your turnover.
4. Determine the risks of hiring in the new year
By understanding your team, whether or not there are real risks of hiring new resources in the new year should be clear.
Having a resource brought on that isn’t being kept busy is one thing, having an overworked team and risking the loss of full-time employees is another!
Signs it’s time to hire in the new year
Important upcoming projects in the new year
How will these overlap with current projects? What are the skill sets that the current team lacks for these projects?
If you see any serious gaps in the workload and the workforce you have available to handle it, it’s time to consider hiring help to fill those needs.
Low team morale going into the new year
Nobody works well with a bleak outlook on the new year.
A good manager asks questions about how their team is feeling and WHY they may feel low morale. Often this is based on fast-approaching deadlines!
Once you’ve got a pulse on how your team is feeling you can assess if hiring a full-time person, or even contractors, can be the answer to free up some of the pressure on your team.
Unreasonable workloads
Being overworked as companies approach deadlines can run rampant around this time of year causing burnout, resentment, and higher turnover.
The good news is, this could be a great time to bring in a contract resource to help ease the stress on your team.
How to hire for the new year
Prioritize upcoming projects in the new year
New year, new projects!
Rolling over projects from the previous year can hurt morale and continued extension of deadlines will lead to frustration from stakeholders.
Bringing in consultants can be a great solution to bring in talent quickly without affecting the overall headcount.
Determine roles needed in the new year
What projects are coming up? What skill sets does your team lack?
Proactively clearing these questions up is key to understanding WHO you need to bring on.
Few things are more frustrating to candidates than coming out of interviews without a solid understanding of what needs to be delivered.
Assess urgency in the new year
What are the most urgent and fast-approaching projects and what are the deadlines for them?
Being clear on WHEN you need candidates helps to limit the heartbreak of losing candidates after the final stages.
In such a fast-moving environment, candidates often move forward with the roles that move the fastest.
Having an idea of the day that an offer should be sent out assuming all goes well is a great way of combatting this.
Consider a staffing agency for hiring in the new year
Staffing firms can be an amazing solution for quickly delivering top talent when it’s needed the most.
Here at Mondo, we see an uptick each year around the holidays to ensure projects are wrapped up before the New Year!
Overhaul your team in the new year
It’s extremely easy to take our foot off the gas as we approach the holidays.
This makes it one of the most important times in the year to set our teams and projects up for success.
Pushing deadlines out, avoiding a hiring process, and “toughing it out” only push those responsibilities onto “future you’s” plate.
So set yourself and your team up for success in the new year by determining once and for all if it’s time to add some fresh faces to your team.
Looking to hire top-tier Tech, Digital Marketing, or Creative Talent? We can help.
Every year, Mondo helps to fill over 2,000 open positions nationwide.
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