The Only Time You Should Over Hire
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Summary
- One time, my company, Prestige Labs, was about to launch our supplement line, and our customer service head said we needed 20 reps.
- It turned out we only needed six reps. One of the reps even told me she worked 7 hours with only one email to respond to. She felt bad getting paid to do nothing.
- The manager hired for a short-term spike, missing that we would only have 50 tickets a day after two months compared to the initial 250 tickets a day.
- Hiring is a tough decision to undo and often irresponsible if not handled well.
- Always hire fewer people and adjust based on demand rather than overhiring, which leads to complications once the initial demand decreases.
Video
How To Take Action
Implementing Smart Hiring Practices for Your Business
I would suggest implementing a thoughtful hiring strategy to avoid overstaffing. When launching new products or scaling up, start with fewer hires than you think you might need. For instance, if you estimate you'll need ten new employees, consider starting with five and then adjust based on real demand. This helps lower costs and avoids the hassle of letting people go later.
A good way to manage hiring for short-term spikes in demand is to bring on temporary or contract workers. This allows you to scale up quickly without committing to long-term employment contracts. You can always extend the contracts if the demand remains high.
I recommend using analytics to better understand your customer service needs. Track how many customer inquiries you receive over time so you can adjust your staffing accordingly. If you're seeing 250 inquiries a day at the start, but expect it to drop to 50, plan for that decrease instead of hiring too many people upfront.
Another simple and low-cost action is to cross-train your existing team to handle different roles. This adds flexibility and enables you to shift employees where they're needed most, without having to hire additional staff.
Finally, always communicate with your team about workload and expectations. Encourage them to report when they're underutilized so you can make quick adjustments. This keeps everyone productive and ensures you're getting the most value out of your team without unnecessary costs.
