You know your business needs employees to function. Ideally, all of your employees enjoy their jobs and are good at them. However, there is more to staffing your business than just hiring people. There are some personnel decisions you’ll need to make that can have a serious impact on your business.
How Many Employees to Hire
One of the basic decisions you’ll need to make as a business is how many employees you want to hire. If you don’t hire enough, you’re going to have a hard time meeting deadlines. Your employees will be stressed and more likely to suffer from burnout, which means your productivity as a business will suffer. On the other hand, you’ll have a hard time controlling your labor costs if you hire too many. You may not have enough hours to give out to employees, which could result in them leaving for other employment. Find a balance between costs and production that makes sense for your business so you can be properly staffed.
How Much to Compensate Employees
How much you can afford to pay your employees is often one of the determining factors in how many employees you can hire. The more you pay people, the less room you may have in the budget for more hires. That said, it’s important to be fair in how you’re compensating your employees. You should always pay your employees for the risks they are taking on the job. You should also take into consideration the level of responsibility and the output any given employee has. If you lowball them, or if they feel they aren’t being paid fairly, they’ll look for a job elsewhere.
What Benefits to Offer
There’s more to compensation than just paychecks. You’ll need to decide if you’re going to offer additional benefits, and if so, what they’ll be. Employer subsidized health insurance, retirement benefits, PTO, and sick leave, and vacation time are some of the most common benefits employers offer. Employees greatly value lifestyle-related benefits, so find ones that make sense for your business to offer. You may find that some employee benefits can benefit you as a business as well.
Small businesses can’t afford to be lackadaisical when it comes to hiring or making vital personnel decisions. Deciding how many employees to hire, how much to pay them, and what benefits to offer can have a deep impact on your effectiveness and the employees you’re able to attract. Make your decisions carefully to create a mutually beneficial relationship between you as a business and your employees.
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