There comes a point in every business life cycle when the amount of work seems to surpass the number of hours that existing employees have to do the work. Employees will approach supervisors and say, “I have too much to do.” Supervisors will approach management and say, “We have too much to do. We need to hire more people.” Management will ponder and, far too often, respond, “Okay. Let’s hire some more people.”

      1. Why Hiring Isn’t Always the Answer

      The next time an employee or manager comes to you and says, “We’re too busy,” remember these three words: “Busy is good.”

      Busy is good. Busy means that you are obtaining value from your investment in human resources. When employees are not busy, it means that you are paying for time that is not being fully utilized. Certainly there is a gray area between not being busy enough and legitimately being so busy that the quality of output begins to suffer. Adding additional staff at the proper time is somewhat of a science. It pays, though, to err on the side of caution for the following reasons:

      (a) Human resources are a substantial investment for most companies. They represent a significant portion of your overhead costs. More overhead means less profit. Small companies sometimes have a tendency to view human capital as a measure of their success. The more employees the company employs, the more successful the company must be, right? Not necessarily. Using growth in employee numbers to represent growth in your business success is a dangerous exercise. Employees add cost. If revenue is not surpassing the added cost of additional employees, your business is not growing. Growth is only measured through profit.

      (b) Human resources represent a significant potential liability to your company. It is no secret that labor laws have become increasingly stringent and that employers frequently feel themselves stymied by restrictions that apply to their hiring, promotion, disciplinary, and dismissal procedures. Make the wrong move and you could pay for it — dearly.

      (c) Unless your need for additional human resources is real, you may find yourself facing an uncomfortable downsizing or layoff situation. Being overstaffed could mean that you will be in a position where you have to cut costs to maintain the margin you need to survive as a business. Cutting costs frequently means cutting employees. There is no more difficult task for any businessperson than letting valuable people go.

      2. Alternatives to Hiring

      Let’s assume that one of your company’s supervisors has come forward with a request for additional staff. Your company takes a reasoned and cautious approach to the addition of new employees, so you decide to explore other alternatives to adding a full-time staff person. What might those alternatives be?

      2.1 Reviewing work processes

      First make certain that the work that is being done is critical to the production of your company’s end product or service. Frequently, as companies grow, jobs begin to take on a life of their own, with the jobholder determining what needs to be done. That individual’s belief may or may not reflect what the business owners believe needs to be done. Continual review of work processes and close contact with supervisors and managers to ensure that employees are using their time most effectively and efficiently to contribute to the goals of the organization are the best ways to maintain a smoothly running operation. (See Chapters 9 and 15.)

      In addition, whenever a request is made for a new hire, you are presented with an opportunity to critically assess the nature of the position and the work that is being done. Even if there is currently a person in the position and the request is simply for a replacement, it is wise to take the time to evaluate the need for the position as well as the need for each of the individual tasks and assignments that make up the position.

      Reviewing work processes is an exercise that should involve employees, supervisors, management — anybody in your organization with an awareness of the position and how it is currently performed, as well as people who have a close understanding of the company’s overall business goals and objectives. Some questions to consider during this process:

      • Does this task need to be done to meet the company’s goals and objectives?

      • Does this task need to be done by this position?

      • Could the task be more efficiently accomplished in some other part of the company?

      • Could the task be streamlined through technology or job restructuring?

      • Is this a long- or a short-term need?

      2.2 Hiring temporary workers

      Temporary workers have assumed an important place in the ongoing personnel strategies of many companies, large and small. The cost savings of staffing with temporary employees can be attractive to many businesses, especially in an atmosphere of downsizing, restructuring, and cost cutting. Hiring temporary staff should not be done casually, however. Many companies simply call a temporary agency and say something like, “Send me someone who knows Windows.” They may not realize that they have the option of interviewing temporarycandidates just as they do when hiring an employee, and they should certainly take advantage of this option to ensure a good fit (see Chapter 2).

      The human resources department plays a critical role in defining the relationship between the temporary worker and the organization. In addition to selecting the most appropriate candidate,