How to know if your company is ready for an internal rent | Entrepreneur

Every company owner touches a point where they think, I just need someone who is dedicated to me. Someone who gets it. Someone who is completely busy with this company. And the natural next thought? It is time to hire someone in their own home.

The logic is logical. If you are deep in the weeds, wear every hat, it feels that someone is fully focused on your company as the golden ticket for exemption. But most founders don’t pause to ask: Can your company actually afford it?

Hiring in-house is an important milestone and a serious financial and operational obligation. The truth is that many founders make the leap too early, driven by emotion and overwhelming, without looking at the numbers.

If someone who has hired hundreds of team members and has consulted for nearly 500 owners of small companies, I think you should start with the figures in making the decision about how to get support.

Related: 4 things that every entrepreneur must consider before they hire their first or next employee.

In-house recruitment: the insight into the attraction and risks

It is easy to romantize the idea of ​​an internal team member. They are “yours”, right? Ideally, they are fully committed to you, and they are immersed in your brand, in your mission, in your daily activities. If this is how you feel, you are certainly not the only one.

There are real benefits to accept in -house. In-house employees offer more control, greater consistency and deeper investments in the long-term vision of your company. At the same time, hiring in-house takes on an enormous responsibility. You are now responsible for their wages, but also for training, managing, integrating and maintaining.

You also take on the heavy burden to find the right talent, performance management and possibly let people go.

Ultimately, the decision of how much support to be used is quantitative.

The most important KPI of the CEO: Income per FTE

One of the clearest indicators you are ready to hire is your income per full -time equivalent (FTE). These measures measures how much income your company generates per full -time team member. Experts recommend companies to strive At least $ 500,000 in turnover per year Before hiring a full -time employee.

Let’s break down mathematics: if you earn $ 500,000 per year, at least 25% margin, leave UU $ 125,000 to pay your employee, which is sufficient in most markets.

If you bring in less than this, consider strongly not to bring anyone to your own home.

Let’s view the options you have before we bring someone to your own home.

Related: Starting a business or growing? Here is how you can know when to hire your first employee.

Your options before hiring full -time

Before you look at adding team members, look carefully at how your time is spent. First look at the removal or automation of tasks that are time -consuming or repetitive, but can be systemulated. Instead of resolving inefficiency with staffing, refine your processes before handing them over.

If you are not sure where to start, take a specialist who can help create and optimize your systems. A generalist recruitment is generally not equipped with the right skills to do optimization work, so first investing in a consultant is a great way to set up your future internal rent for success, while avoiding a salary.

Once you are optimized, you look at options for part -time support. This support can be internal part -time support or outsourced support. This support may, for example, look like a freelancer, a project -based consultant or a part -time assistant.

This gives you flexibility and expertise without the long -term financial commitment of a full -time salary. With this you can also test what kind of support you really need before you build an internal role around it. Finally, you offer the possibility to flexibly increase or reduce your support without going through the more intensive performance management process with an employee.

When hiring fractional, you strive for someone with at least five years of experience in the specific position for which you hire. As a founder at an early stage you do not have the capacity to train someone completely and you do not have the margin for having someone who is not at the top of their game.

Finally, research Show that searching for attitude and work ethic is more important than experience when it comes to predicting the fit of the job. Look for someone who shares your business values, has a proven working ethics and has a positive attitude, even if they are only a temporary fractional consultant.

Related: hire versus outsourcing: how you can recognize the right moment to add talent to your team

Look at hiring hiring as soon as you make a profit

Remember that this is not a sturdy line. But once you have optimized and let you flow, it might be time to look for an internal rent.

A lot of ego is tied up in accepting. We want someone who is “of us” and who gives as much about it as we do. But in the end the most important question is not whether someone is full -time. It is whether your company has the structure, profit and direction to support them.

If you are not there yet, don’t panic. Continue to build, simplify and practice in small ways. And when it’s time to build your team in -house, you do it in force from a place. That will set up both you and your new rent for success.