All businesses have periodic needs to grow their staff. Even if you’re fully staffed for work needs now, attrition could leave you without sufficient staff, or sufficient staff of the right level. Plus, if you’re business itself is growing, you will definitely need to grow staff.
You also don’t want to be caught with a staff that can’t fulfill the business needs. So you need to watch for signs before the situation becomes critical. What are those signs?
There aren’t enough people to do the work
The first sign is that there simply aren’t enough people to do the work that needs to get out the door.
You may notice that production quotas are not being met. You may be scheduling or approving overtime far more than is usual. Or, your people may be complaining that they can’t get the work done, or feeling stressed about the amount of work that is piling up.
You feel like you’re micromanaging
A second sign could be fielding questions from your employees about things you feel they should already know. The questions might concern how to do tasks or which task to tackle first. These could be a sign that they need additional or steady training that they haven’t received.
It could also be a sign that a layer of supervision might be needed to keep things running smoothly. Chronic questions from employees about basic elements of their job can be a sign that the staff needs to grow to have someone to field these questions.
Work quality is going downhill
A third sign that you may need to grow your staff if a noticeable decline in the quality of work. This can become visible in several different ways. Items produced may be of lower quality. If there is a quality control function, they may be noticing far more items that need to be redone.
If you are meeting production quotas, there may be an uptick in delays meeting them. Customer service departments may receive complaints about unfulfilled orders. Customer service departments wait time may become very long.
These are all signs that both the number of employees and the management level may need to be grown.
On-the-job stress is rising
Overwork or assignments that can’t be filled on time often results in climbing stress levels, both for managers and employees.
Do you notice signs of stress? This could be increased absenteeism, lack of punctuality, or frequent arguments. It can also be shown in rising turnover, as your employees look for employment than is less stressful.
Staffing Firms Can Help You Grow Your Business
Whether you need more employees or a different level, staffing firms can help your business when required. We have networks of top employees and can help strategize what you need to keep on track. We’re happy to help. Contact us today.