My Ultimate Guide To Hiring & Firing Post COVID-19
The world is starting to reopen, and people are hopeful the economy will recover. But due to the devastating impacts of COVID-19, many companies have little workforce left.
If you’re a small business owner, you may be considering hiring again. But how do you mitigate risk in an uncertain environment? Since starting my own business 12 years ago, I’ve scaled up and down a few times. Below, I share some strategies that have helped me balance “people” with “P&L”.
Know what you can afford
Payroll can push you over the edge. Speaking from my own experience building a content agency, the responsibility has driven me to the brink and back. Questions I now ask myself to minimize the chances of this happening again include:
“Do I need help at a practice level (a copywriter) or an operational level (a manager)?”
- If they’re at practice level, I try to bill them out at an average of 3x their salary.
- If they’re at operational level, I try to set KPIs that increase business capacity and income.
“What realistic billable/non-billable targets should I set?”
- If someone is a copywriter, I give them a high billable ratio, i.e. 80% of their time should be on client projects, 20% should be on internal responsibilities.
- If someone is a manager, I give them a low billable ratio, i.e. 80% of their time should be on generating revenue or building efficiencies, 20% should be reviewing client projects.
“What’s a fair and reasonable salary that sets the right tone?”
- I don’t want to start too low — they’ll feel demotivated from day one.
- I don’t want to start too high — I’ll become resentful if they don’t knock it out of the park.
To successfully implement and measure the above, I invest in time-tracking. We use Harvest; my employees know they should be logging 37.5 hours per week, broken down into billable and non-billable tasks (which management sets in the system).
While time tracking relies on staff being honest with how they spend their day, I couldn’t live without it. Irrespective of whether my employees are telling the truth, the numbers don’t lie. Data will show whether someone is being efficient or not when completing their work — and this provides a foundation for team performance reviews.
Build your personal and professional brand
Speaking of salaries, it’s hard for small business owners to attract talent when budgets are low. How can we compete with bigger firms with bigger pay checks?
I tackle this challenge by building my profile and showcasing the business’ personality via Instagram, LinkedIn, and the “Team” page on the Avion website.
- By presenting business managers as mentors, role models and industry leaders, potential employees feel reassured of their professional development.
- By using social media as a window into our team culture, potential employees can look forward to being part of something that’s more than just a job.
Let go of any hope that you’ll find a clone
Small business owners wear many hats. But that doesn’t mean your employees should. It’s important to accept that hybrid roles just don’t work — trust me, I’ve tried. If you want a writer, get a writer. If you want a salesperson, get a salesperson. You might be working across all functions of the business, but that’s only because you have to.
My advice is that if you don’t have enough work to fill a full-time role, create two separate part-time roles. It’s almost impossible to find a unicorn that can contribute multiple skill sets in equal measure with outstanding results.
While people are adaptable, even the most skilled staff will default to what they’re more comfortable with. They’re also likely to feel stretched and be less productive as they switch back and forth into different modes of thinking.
Avoid rushing into a decision
I was a solopreneur for 4 years before I hired my first employee. Lucky for me, Alexandra was a dream. But this gave me a false sense of security; I thought hiring was easy (just find someone you like and then train them, right?).
Looking back, I realize I often wore rose-colored glasses. Just because they were a great person didn’t mean they’d be a great fit for what the role actually required. I think this is particularly important to be aware of today because right now, a shocking number of talented jobseekers are available. The coronavirus pandemic has opened up an employer’s market. My advice? Beware. Rather than being blinded by the shiny stuff, conduct at least a few relevant (but fair) tests or trials before making your decision.
Alternatively, if you’re pressed for time and need to fill a role straight away, get out your rolodex and see if there’s a subcontractor you can call. Even if their fees are on the high end of the spectrum, you know what you’re going to get — and that could be cheaper than going through the recruitment process twice if things go wrong.
Check their heart is in it
Hiring and firing can be a business owner’s worst nightmare. So, you want to do everything you can to keep the right people on board. Part of this is checking their heart is in it.
I imagine there’ll be some churn post COVID-19 as desperate jobseekers snag whatever they can until a better role comes along. To keep this from happening to you, a couple of tricks I use that may inspire you include:
- Calling them by surprise and seeing if they remember applying for the role (extra points if they know my name or can recall information about my company)
- Asking them why they want to work at Avion (ideally their response is based on something unique — not something they could rattle off to any employer)
- Critiquing their resume in the context of the role and getting them to explain how joining the team will help them achieve their life goals
- Quizzing them on their values with real-world examples of how they live them (because our values are the heart and soul of our business).
Have your processes down to a tee
Building a team from basically the ground up presents the perfect opportunity to create something magical. You’re not as constrained by old ways that may have held you back in the past. So, develop a fresh suite of onboarding tools. Create ‘pre-arrival’ and ‘first day’ checklists if you don’t already have any. These materials will be crucial post COVID-19 as employees start new roles remotely. They’ll need all the guidance they can get.
Australian mental health organization Beyond Blue emphasizes the importance of structure in How managers can lead the way to healthy work environments:
“Work design — which is the content and organisation of someone’s work tasks, activities, relationships and responsibilities rather than the aesthetics of a work space — is key here. Think role clarity, recognition, feedback and task variety. When it’s done well, it protects workers from exposure to psychological hazards by addressing them before they arise.”
Celebrate their arrival, too. You want to make sure they feel welcome, albeit virtually. A side note: you don’t always have to start new employees on a Monday. I’ve found that starting a contract mid-week can give someone a few days to settle in without feeling overwhelmed.
Understand personality types
I sometimes upset employees with flyaway comments when I’m frustrated. I can also appear dismissive as I rarely dish out verbal recognition. This behavior stems from the fact I’m not a “words of affection” person. I’m an “acts of service” person. And this being more mindful of this is something I’m constantly working on.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, do yourself a favour and take The 5 Love Languages Quiz now. While it may look as though it’s for family and romantic relationships, personally it’s transformed how I express gratitude (and interpret gestures from others) at work. In addition, I can assess how different team members will get along. After all, when people are happy, they’re productive. And that makes for good business.
Other questions you might want to ask yourself (if you haven’t already) include:
- which DiSC® type are you?
- which Jungian archetype are you?
- which Myers-Briggs type are you?
- are you a high self-monitor or a low self-monitor?
Don’t wait too long before letting someone go
This strategy is a real killer. I hate losing people; it’s even more painful than trying to find them in the first place. But whether you need to lay someone off due to poor fit, poor performance or simply a lack of income, do it quickly. If not, you risk your business (and the livelihood of other staff) if you go under.
I’ve made this mistake before. From experience, I can tell you that keeping employees on unnecessarily pushes everyone to the limit. They become stressed addressing gaps (because who you have isn’t what you need) and you lose your mind trying to bring in more income to cover company expenses.
What I’ve found helpful is reminding myself it’s not personal. If you need to fire someone, do it gracefully — preferably at the end of the day, not in front of others, and first and foremost with empathy.
About the author: Natalie Khoo built her business in Australia off the back of the 2008 recession. Having made all the mistakes since day one, she’s passionate about sharing her learnings with other business owners on a similar journey. Natalie’s career highlights include taking a 3-month scuba diving vacation in 2019 and not checking her emails once. She travels between Melbourne, Australia, and Austin, Texas, with her partner James.
To find out more: Visit the Avion website or follow Natalie on Instagram.
