When you decide to hire someone before defining what you really need the new hire to do, you put yourself at risk of wasting time, money, and energy. Before offering the job to the first available person in hopes of lessening the load, consider the following reasons why taking the time to define the role could help you avoid a very costly outcome and create a huge opportunity for your business to grow instead.
1. You can be much more strategic about delegation and task management
As part of evaluating all the tasks you need to delegate, add, or replicate, based on your business goals, you can look at outsourcing, automating, and even eliminating certain tasks to narrow down the scope of the new role. Once you are clear on the results you want from your investment in a new hire, you can determine the most valuable activities to prioritize in your hiring effort and evaluate candidates for the best fit.
2. You can protect your brand
The people you hire are an extension of your brand. If they will be required to directly interact with customers, vendors, or team members, it is especially important to define the tasks, approaches, and tools required for the new hire to communicate and deliver within expectations. Even if the new hire will only be working with you, the impact they have on your energy and ability to deliver on your promises is critical to your brand.
3. You can avoid having to let a great person go
If you hire someone and then attempt to figure out the role as you go, you might find out that the person you hired is not up to the task. While personality and attitude are important to evaluate in a new hire, developing an emotional attachment to someone based on the candidate’s personality or a past personal history can cloud your decision-making. When you define the skills and problem-solving approach necessary for the tasks required of the role, you can be much more objective about whether a candidate will be successful. You can also avoid the conflict, stress, and disappointment that can occur if you hire someone you really like and then need to let them go.
The bottom line is that putting the time in upfront to define an open role improves your ability to select and onboard a new team member who can really shine in their role and support your business goals.
If you’d like some additional tips on how to get clear on your hiring needs and attract great candidates, grab our FREE Job Ad Checklist at: jobadchecklist.leadwithharmony.com
Andrea MacKenzie, Founder of Lead With Harmony, is an MBA, multi-certified coach, Kolbe-Certified consultant, and leadership and team-building expert with over 20 years of combined experience in corporate roles and business consulting. Andrea enjoys working with growth-oriented business owners and executives who advocate for the advancement and well-being of the people they serve, hire, and inspire.
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