Seriously. The stone-faced aids, the cornea-burningly bright board room, the elaborate challenges – Alan Sugar makes a mountain out of a molehill with this whole hiring thing. Just ask Adam Butler and Tracy Irwin, it’s as easy as 1, 2… Oh. That’s it!
1. Finding them by Adam Butler
I’m often asked what the basic salary should be for an experienced telesales person. I usually say £20,000 and more often than not the person asking for advice will immediately jump to the conclusion that this makes hiring a £20,000 risk to them personally. It’s not. At all.
When you hire a great sales person, they should start paying for themselves very quickly, and as a result you should be ‘up on the deal’ within a very short space of time. Have a look at the chart below:
Worst case scenario – it doesn’t work out and after 90 days you let them go. It’s cost you £500. However, whilst you’re not hiring ‘the worst case scenario’ you’re also not hiring any superstars.
Imagine now if you found 2 or 3 sales superstars. What difference could that make to your business next year? So, the only question remaining is how to ensure you get those really great sales people that can make all the difference to your business? Here’s where I discreetly slip a briefcase over to you in a dimly lit bar, or a busy train station, as the next bit is some real insider information. So read on, but do so nonchalantly…
We use our very own 3 stage model to ATTRACT, SELECT & MANAGE the best. We call it SalesDNA.
Step 1: Attract
Use Multi Media Advertising and Head Hunting to locate the best talent in your location or industry.
Pre-qualify your Candidates based on an assessment of skillset, fit and culture match to your specific requirements.
Step 2: Select
Make sure that your selection process is aligned to your original specifications and base your process, interviews and questions in line with the culture of your business and overall goals.
Try a different approach to selection, such as using an assessment centre allowing for more accurate candidate representation than traditional interviews, as well as multiple candidate hire at no extra cost.
Step 3: Manage
Have a well designed 90 day Business Development / Induction Plan that is in line with your original business goals.
Make sure you have the following in place to get the most out of your new recruit: KPI review, Target setting and Probation Monitoring, and mentorship even if you have to outsource to an expert who can help you.
2. Paying them by Tracy Irwin
I need to show them where the toilet is. What was that update email from HMRC about last week? Do they have everything they need? Where’s all that PAYE stuff? Did I show them where the toilet is?
Just a selection of thoughts that can go through your mind when you’re welcoming a new member of staff to your team, whilst trying to remember how to set them up to be paid correctly.
The truth is, payroll is a ‘£10 per hour’ job that you shouldn’t be doing. Whether it’s your accountant or a payroll specialist, there are people out there who can take the reigns and deal with all HMRC queries, calculate holiday pay and assist in budgeting for sick pay or maternity/ paternity pay, meaning that you won’t have to worry about keeping up to date with constant changes to the PAYE scheme.
That said, here are two changes that HMRC have made recently that are worth knowing about:
1. Last year HMRC brought in the Real Time Directive (RTI – Real Time Information) which saw businesses having to notify HMRC of their liabilities at the time or before they make payment to their employees.
2. Over the next few years all companies will have to register for auto-enrolment – this is going to be an added liability to all small business. All employers will be legally required to automatically enroll certain staff into a pension scheme and make contributions.
This advice might not get you a show on BBC One, but it will get you a great team.
