The words ‘top talent’ often tend to crop up when it comes to hiring in any business, usually as the ONLY way to see true business success, growth, and functionality. Hence, the majority of us do whatever we can to attract individuals with the most experience and the best portfolios. And, we do it all without really questioning whether that is, in fact, the best possible path for our businesses.
Unfortunately, for small businesses, in particular, this quest for the best can prove detrimental in ways that don’t even necessarily come to the fore until later down the line. Of course, finding promising candidates is still, and always will be, imperative. But, it might be worth dropping those more superficial expectations of employing the industry’s best, especially when you consider these potential pitfalls of doing so.
1 – Floundering finances
Experienced and in-demand candidates naturally seek the highest salaries and best benefits packages. While there is an argument that experience pays for itself, these initial outlays at a time when small businesses are already seeking loans from companies like ChangeFi for a stock investment and other focuses, can push the boat out just a little bit too far. By instead seeking more reasonably salaried, but still promising clients, it’s therefore far more likely that you’ll be around for long enough to enjoy the benefits of those great hires in the first place.
2 – Less room for learning
When you seek the absolute best that your field has to offer, you also largely limit your opportunities to teach. As well as leading to potentially incompatible operational styles, this is a problem considering that the heart of a small business generally comes from employees who are fully cemented, invested, and loyal to the company in question. Experienced candidates fitting an already extensive skill set onto what you do are, by comparison, far less likely to shape themselves to your brand, or even to stick around long enough to create the loyal, familiar brand family that you deserve.
3 – More risk of internal disruptions
In an ideal world, employment should make your business more manageable, but even this isn’t guaranteed when you keep your eye on the highest employment prizes. Candidates with more experience than you can be especially problematic as they struggle to respect your authority. As well as creating a negative working atmosphere, this can lead to defiance, questioning, and even disobedience, all of which risks both your operations and the reputation that only you can know how to build. And, it’s something that you’re never going to get with employees that are on your experience level, and are always respectful of what you do.
It makes sense to want the best for your business, but sometimes that isn’t going to look how you might expect. In light of that, keep these pointers in mind during your employment drive to determine whether the ‘best’ person for the job might not necessarily be the best that your industry has to offer.