One of the  most costly and challenging things a business must do is the hiring process. The average cost to find, hire and train employees can be in the thousands. Here are several strategies that may help when hiring the right people for your business.

OUTSOURCE WHAT YOU CAN

When you start a business, you’re usually wearing multiple hats. At some point, you’ll be stretching yourself too thin, and it becomes obvious that your business is suffering for it. This is when you have to assess what to outsource and what to hire for.

As a small business owner, asking yourself the following questions will help in determining whether you should hire or outsource the work.  

• What are my own skills and abilities?
• What are my weaknesses?
• What duties in my business must be attended to regularly?

For many businesses, you will find that design work (such as web development and product packaging) is something that can be outsourced. Accounting is another area that can be outsourced, or even managed by software programs. And freelancers are an excellent source to tap for copy and even content.

The key here is to run as lean as possible until you have created a sustainable cash flow. Hire where you must in order to grow and prosper, and be tactical about what roles you outsource.

DON’T HIRE ON RÉSUME

While it may be tempting to choose the candidate with the impressive résume of Fortune 500 companies or years of investment banking expertise under their belt, that could actually work against you.

Those environments are highly-structured and contained. Working for establishments like that can mean the candidate is heavily focused on rules, regulations and fulfilling the functions of the role.

FOCUS ON CULTURE CONTRIBUTION

You know your business better than anyone else. 

The first approach is all about hiring on skills – they have a job description, and want to hire someone who can competently execute each of the duties required of that position.

The second approach focuses on talent. This type of founder looks at the potential of the candidate – searching for the stars who have a lot of learning agility or raw intelligence.

Lastly, there is the approach that centers around culture fit. This founder may want skills and stars, but believes that all of that is a moot point if the candidate does not subscribe to their company’s values.

Read the full article on the Toby Robbins website.

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