Why It’s Important to Map Out Your Hiring Needs

To find success, you need to map out your hiring needs. Growing a successful business involves so much forecasting and visualization. You’d almost expect to see crystal balls on the desks of the world’s top entrepreneurs with all the visualization they have to use. Just think of all they have to think about; venture funding, revenue predictions, office space. Then there is hiring…

Unfortunately, one area that’s often overlooked in the visualization department is forecasting your company’s hiring needs. Stakeholders far too often get caught up in the day-to-day work of running a business that they have to scramble to fill hiring needs when they arise.

This is not good at all.

If you’re scrambling to hire, it’s likely game over for you and your business. So, what do you need to do instead to meet your hiring needs?

Have Your Hiring Needs Forecasted a Year Out

By forecasting your hiring needs at least a year out you’ll have plenty of time to identify each role needed, define its requirements, seek ideal candidates, and whittle them down in a robust and pragmatic recruiting process.

“The hiring and training process can be expensive and time-consuming. Every stage of hiring a new employee will set up the success of the next.

So plan each recruitment strategy step-by-step and you will be more successful as you embark on the hiring journey.” – COO Alliance

Filling holes as they open often leads to compromise, quick decisions, and less-than-ideal hires. It also puts undue pressure on your existing staff who must work extra hard to fill the widening void as you go through the hiring process unexpectedly.

Make sure that you have a plan for low growth, average growth, and hyper-growth so that you’re prepared for all contingencies. 

Don’t Let Ego Be A Burden

A lot of people scoff at the idea of taking the time to have an advanced hiring plan for low growth, average growth, and hyper-growth. They say things like, “We’re an awesome place to work,” and “Great candidates will just throw themselves at us when we need them.” This is foolish logic that can get any company in a whole lot of trouble.

If your business is truly a great place to work, you will likely have a lot of great people clamoring to work with you. The problem is, you will also have hundreds, if not thousands, of other candidates throwing themselves at you as well. The process of weeding through the duds when hiring is exhausting and time consuming. You might eventually find the perfect fit, but the process will take a lot longer than you think. This will just put you further and further behind.

Don’t Underestimate the Difficulty

This is a problem often faced by young, inexperienced companies. Even if the leaders forecast their hiring needs, they often severely underestimate the difficulty they’ll have in filling vacancies with the perfect candidate. The newer the company is, the more difficult this will be.

For example, if you’re looking to hire 12 great employees, you’ll need well over 500 applicants to have a realistic chance of finding 12 absolutely great fits. For a small company without any real “buzz,” reaching that number would be very difficult.

Finding the right candidate is hard enough. You need every advantage you can get in the hiring process. This means mapping out your hiring needs in advance. Being prepared gives you a chance to recruit on your terms with no stress and no compromise. You can do things just the way you want to!

Do you have any hiring tricks? Comment them down below!

If you have questions or would like more information, I’d be happy to help. Please send an email, and my team will get in touch with you!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in November 2017 and has been edited for accuracy and comprehensiveness.