building a team Archives

Depending on how big you want your social media business to grow, at some point you are going to need to consider hiring a team. You’ll also need to manage that team. It takes time and energy to manage people, so it’s important to know your options and choose the one that best fits your needs.

Here are three hiring options to consider when building your social media marketing team:

Outsource to freelancers. This can be a great first step in building a team. If you’ve never managed people, you will need to learn how to direct them, hold them accountable, and be a productive and positive authority figure. Managing freelancers will allow you to hone those skills on a smaller scale because you won’t have the added stress of managing benefits, hours etc.
Hire part-time contractors to “try before you buy.” While business is growing, you’ll need to delegate tasks so you don’t get overwhelmed or over capacity, but you don’t need the extra overhead, plus cash flow may not be steady enough yet to justify a full-time position. Part-time contractors can be a great solution as they can get a job done, and if it works out you can hire them full-time. If they aren’t a good fit, you can save a lot of hurt feelings and awkward moments by simply thanking them and telling them you’ll call if another project comes up that is a good fit for them.
Hire full-time employees when cash flow is consistent, and the workload justifies it. Don’t hire your best friend because you think it would be fun to work together. That almost never works out. Hiring quality people is critical to success, and also often comes with a higher cost. Only hire when the workload is there to support it, and they are an asset to your business vs. a liability.

No matter what the size of your team, you will need to account for time spent managing them individually, as well as conducting team meetings.

Once you consider all of the costs and benefits of each option, you’ll be able to make a smarter decision about the direction that’s right for your company.

Have you tried one or more of these options and have an experience you’d like to share?

When you start your social media business and you begin to build your team and hire new talent, you will need an employee handbook. However, in these early stages of scaling a business, things are exciting and you are focused on all of the positive reasons why you’re hiring new people. And you will probably think you don’t need an employee handbook, until you do.

You see, the problem is, this is how many businesses think. It’s like the classic “pre-nup before the wedding” argument. When you’re all happy and in love, you would never think that your love would turn on you and you would never think you would have to protect yourself. But the moment you realize you do, that’s when you regret not having an agreement in place. Bad things can happen if that relationship sours. You need to protect yourself not only in love, but especially in business.

Employee handbooks are critical, and can save you a ridiculous amount of heartache in the long run. Consider these 4 important benefits of having an employee handbook for your business.

Introduce Company Culture, Mission + Values. An employee handbook is one of the first documents your new hire should review and sign. Starting off on a positive note sets the stage for your entire relationship moving forward. Welcome your new employee by showing them that they are now part of the team, and get them excited about what that means exactly, in terms of culture and values.
Set Expectations. An employee handbook sets expectations for the work environment. Employees get a clear understanding of what is expected of them as they take on the responsibility of their job and a representative of the business and the brand.
Save HR Resources. Employee handbooks cover everything from conduct to compensation to vacation and personal time. Many of the questions that often get asked of HR can be answered in the employee handbook. What if you don’t have an HR person? Who does the responsibility of answering those questions fall on? Chances are it’s someone that you don’t want to have to pay to answer questions that can be answered quickly by a document.
Avoid Lawsuits. When you have everything in writing, and all parties involved have signed on the dotted line, it gives you ground to stand on in case you need to fire or reprimand employees for violating the rules outlined in the handbook. This can also be your line of defense in an unemployment lawsuit.

There are a lot of reasons why companies don’t have employee handbooks, but it always comes down to that sense early on in a relationship that the person you are hiring is amazing and “they would never do you wrong so why do I need to protect myself?”. But employee handbooks aren’t just to cover yourself if you need a reason to fire someone. They set the stage for a positive work environment and provide valuable information that can be found quickly so you can move on with your day and focus on what matters: growing your business and servicing your clients.

For these reasons, we’ve included an Employee Handbook Template in our Launchest Resources. Customize the template to your own company culture and policies and start hiring and managing your team like a pro! Your employees will appreciate you for it, and your team will be stronger as a result.