Making the decision to hire a new person is not an easy one. However, it is something that you need to make sure that you can do successfully if you want a chance at having the resources necessary to stay competitive in your industry. The problem for many companies is to know when they need to hire a new employee.

For some businesses, it can be challenging to determine when they need additional help and when they can get by without making the investment in a new person.

Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can tell when you should think about hiring a new person. If you pay attention to the dynamic of your office and have a strong grasp of its normal workload, you will eventually be able to decide when to hire someone new.

Signs That Your Team is Overloaded

The biggest reason that companies decide to hire someone new is that their existing team members are unable to handle the workload that your company is providing them. Some of the signs of employee overload include:

• Working long hours to get the job done. When you are considering the hours that you and your employees work, remember to think about how much of this time is spent doing actual revenue generating activity. It is very possible for a professional to work long hours that are filled up with tasks that are not necessary to achieving the core mission of the company.
• Missing out on certain responsibilities. Have you or some of your employees forgotten about the tasks that they have to complete? While the best employees will be able to juggle a large workload, everyone is human, and eventually will make a mistake or drop the ball somewhere, even if it is a minor error. If these occurrences are becoming more and more frequent and they seem to be happening everywhere in your company, it could be a sign that you more people to spread the workload.
• Experiencing more customers than you have ever had before. Although in theory this is a good problem to have, since it means that there are lots of people who value your work and are willing to become customers, in practice it can cause serious issues for the business. Consider the number of customers that you currently have and compare it to your historic number of customers. If the numbers are vastly different, it is very possible that you need to hire someone new to compensate for this increased customer load.

These are just some of the more common examples of an overloaded workforce. No one knows your team as well as you do. The best leaders will intuitively know when their team is being overworked and will do everything that they can to rectify this problem by hiring someone new.

Determining Where to Hire New Employees

Even if you are getting the sense that your team is overworked, it can still be difficult to determine exactly where you need to add new employees. There are several areas that you should look at to help you determine where you need to hire.

First, think about your sales department. If you don’t have a sales department, think about the people who are responsible for bringing in new business. Do they seem like they are overworked or meeting more prospects than they can handle? Remember that if your workload is too large, it is very possible that your sales team is doing very well and working in their normal way. They may simply be closing more deals or gaining access to more customers, which can lead to strain on administrative positions at your organisation.

Another valuable asset that will help you learn about when you need to hire are your department managers. These people are the ones who are responsible for keeping a finger on the pulse of your department and learning about whether or not employees are overworked. They should be able to give you a much better insight regarding the workload of your team members, which will help you make an informed decision about when/where you need to hire new people.

Any business that wants to stay productive and meet its demands must be staffed by enough people to achieve these goals. However, it can be tough for business owners to know when their company needs more people, especially small business owners who are used to working with a certain number of people. With some attention to detail and keen observation skills, it will be easier for you to determine when your business needs more employees and where they are needed.