How to build a team for a small business

What sort of staff do you need and how should you go about building the right team for your business? This blog aims to help.

What staff do you need?

Before you recruit for any roles for your team, you should decide what positions you need to fill and, importantly, how many people you need to hire.

Do you need dedicated salespeople, for instance? Or perhaps you need people to help you offer new services and processes, which will allow you to expand your offering to your customers?

Understanding your needs and how you want your business to grow can steer you in the right direction when it comes to deciding on the right people you should hire.

You could employ staff to support areas of weakness in your business. For example, you might feel your company networking or sales skills aren’t as strong as they should be. Employing a dedicated sales person could underpin this area. Or you might be opening a new showroom to showcase the products you sell, meaning you’d need to hire a team of sales staff to run it.

What level do you employ at?

Another consideration is the level of seniority and experience you’d like to employ to make up your team.

Do you want staff who can fit straight into a role and start work immediately? Or do you prefer to train up staff to fit into your specific ways of working?

You might decide to hire people with more experience, or you could take on someone as an apprentice, who is new to your industry.

Alternatively, you could opt for a mixture of both experienced and entry-level staff in your team. This can allow you to have a level of senior staff in place, who can oversee training and management and help grow and develop your workforce over time.

Once you know what roles you need to fill, you should do some research, look at how job sites advertise roles and what employers want to see from candidates. Do they ask for a CV, for instance, or also request examples of previous work or professional accreditations? Once you have this information, you can begin advertising the roles you require and accepting applications with an understanding of what you should look for in your potential new employees.

What’s your budget?

Another deciding factor on how you build your team, from the level you aim your recruitment at, to the number of people you’re able to employ, is your budget.

You should be aware of how much your business can afford to pay in salaries.

Obviously, experience and level of responsibility often equates to certain expectations, in terms of what someone believes they will earn in a role.

This might mean that you can only afford to hire a small number of people, meaning making the right decision – employing people with the right level of experience to help you achieve your goals – is crucial.

You should ensure that your salaries are competitive to attract the right calibre of people. It’s important to also understand that you’re not only investing in a person, but in the continued growth of your business.

How can FSB support your new staff?

FSB offers a variety of packages which provide a range of services that can benefit your business and your staff. These services include:

• Employment protection
• Health and safety
• Workplace pension advice

The packages that we offer are suited to either new businesses, already established companies, or those looking to connect with other fellow business owners. To take a look at our packages and the benefits they could bring to your business, please visit our Package Comparison page.