When is the right time to expand your team?

In most cases, when you’re looking to grow your impact, reach and results; you’ll need to grow your team.

When it comes to planning for how to achieve this, it’s important to think strategically about the right time to expand.

By planning ahead for growth, you can set your organisation up for success while ensuring that you offer the best possible employee experience to the people who make up your team. This can help you achieve meaningful long-term development, rather than just a temporary boom. 

Effective workforce planning means finding the right people with the right skills at the right time and doing the right things to achieve your organisation’s goals.

Is now the right time to add someone new to your team? Learn to recognise the signs, avoid mistakes and plan for where you want to go.

Hiring for the future

It’s not enough to limit your thinking and hire for your organisation as it is today.

If you want to chase true, meaningful growth, you need to hire for the future you’re planning. As a leader, you must make decisions that prepare your organisation for what it will become.

When you’re considering whether or not to expand your team, look beyond the now. Think about your 5-year plan. Understand your organisation’s growth trajectory, and make choices that prepare you and your team for what’s in store.

If you are strategic today, you can be successful tomorrow.

Recognising the signs

In the financial year to June 2022, 31% of Australian businesses had trouble finding the talent they needed. If you think that a new hire is on the cards for your organisation, it’s important to look for early signs and plan well ahead.

You need a specific skill set

Is there a skills gap in your current team? Do you lack the experience and expertise to complete certain tasks and projects? Can you identify additional opportunities you could pursue if you had support from the right person?

Your employees can’t be experts in everything. Sometimes, you need to hire someone new based on a specific skill set that will support growth or even a new venture. Skills expansion is an investment in what your organisation can offer. Your new employee could even support learning and development for other people in your team!

Your team is overworked

Are you noticing the signs of burnout in your team? Are your people overworked or spreading themselves too thin? Do you expect one person to wear too many different hats in your daily workflow?

If your answer to any of these questions is yes, it might be time to hire some more helpers! You need a team that is large enough to serve the needs of your organisation as it grows. Hiring someone new could reduce the burden on your current employees, improving workplace morale, enhancing employee experience and even driving better retention outcomes.

You can’t keep up with projects

Are your people having trouble keeping up with professional projects? Have you noticed anyone falling behind on deadlines? Are even your most productive employees struggling to stay up to date with demand?

In this case, you may need to welcome someone new who can help to lessen the load. Expanding your team can help you increase productivity with more hands on deck. A new hire will be able to take over some of the responsibilities that have fallen by the wayside. This can put your organisation back on track while reducing stress for everyone involved. 

You’re missing growth opportunities

Have you had to turn down an opportunity that might have helped your organisation grow? Are you unable to say yes for fear of not being able to keep up with demand? Do you feel that a too-small team is holding your organisation back?

Team expansion can support organisational expansion! By hiring a new employee, you can improve your overall productivity and ensure you have the resources you need to pursue ongoing development. This can help you, as a leader, feel confident in saying yes to opportunities, knowing you have a team that will help you achieve your goals.

Avoiding a mistake

While it’s essential that you recognise the need for team expansion, it’s also important to know when hiring another employee might not be the best idea.

Short-term changes to the way your organisation works rarely call for a new permanent hire. It’s best to consider the duration of demand.

Do you have a temporary gap in your team due to someone being away on vacation or sick leave? Are you noticing a seasonal uptick in work that you expect will fade away before long? Do you have a one-time project to complete with a specific skills requirement? In these scenarios, avoid hiring a permanent full-time employee. Instead, consider hiring a contractor for the short term.

Need hiring support?

If you're a leader looking towards the future and would like to talk about your future workforce needs, please get in touch.