How to Find the Perfect New Hire for Your Coaching Business
Updated: Aug 2, 2022
As a coach, one of the most important decisions you will make is who to hire to help you scale your business. It's defining what kind of person is going to work alongside you and make your vision of a small, but mighty team, all the more real.
More than that, delegation is essential for any business owner, and when it comes to coaching, hiring the right people makes all the difference. In fact, finding the perfect new hire is the key to taking your coaching business to the next level.
Reverse Engineer Your Success
I use a 5-step framework when I'm helping my clients find their perfect hires—here you're really reverse engineering your success, and it starts with your mission, vision, and values.
Why - mission, vision, values
What - strategic plan
When - project management
Who - employees, contractors, etc...
How - SOPs, action plan, tech tools
Sit down with yourself or a trusted expert, and work through each step above. Figure out your mission, your vision, and your values for your business. Then, create a goal and a strategic plan for how you'll achieve it.
Decide how you'll manage each project or client as they begin to work with you and what types of team members will be the best fit for your business (employees, contractors, etc...).
Hire Based on Values
My suggestion is always to hire based off values. If you can find people who share your values, then you're already ahead of the game. Some values I suggest my clients look for are:
Integrity
Passionate
Hardworking
Dedicated
Creative
Add to that list as needed—Brené Brown's Dare to Lead values list is a great resource if you're struggling to define yours and need ideas. You may want to find someone who is dedicated to their work and takes pride in their results. Or it may be more of a priority to you to find someone who is flexible and adaptable.
(You aren't looking for mini-versions of yourself, but someone who complements you. Fills in the gaps, is strong where you are weak, who loves doing the tasks you despise.)
Think about what the most important values are to you and your business and hire around those.
(People can be trained to do most anything, but most values can't be taught.)
Which values will propel you and your business forward?
Which values personally resonate with you? Which are non-negotiable?
Are there any values you want better represented on your team?
These questions help create a well-rounded, diverse, and inclusive team that will better support your coaching business—and you.
Use Personality and Skills Tests
Personality and skills tests are often used by my clients to help them find the right fit for their business. Because finding the perfect new hire for your coaching business is more than finding someone with the right skills and experience. Certainly that's important, but I find it's even more important in my opinion to find someone who shares your values.
Those are the hires that tune into your mission and help you bring your vision to fruition.
Two tests I recommend for new hires during the hiring process are:
These tests are good choices because they give you a more objective way to evaluate potential hires. They help you understand not only what a person's strengths are but also how those strengths might play out in the workplace.
For example, the Clifton Strengths Finder helps you identify whether someone is a strategic thinker or an analytical thinker. It also helps you understand how that person might approach problem-solving or working on a team.
The Kolbe A test is another good option because it measures a exactly how someone approaches work naturally. This is important for any business owner, but especially for coaches who need to be able to pivot quickly as their business grows.
Both of these tests can be a valuable addition to your hiring process.
Finding the perfect new hire for your coaching business can seem daunting, but it's essential to delegate in order to scale up. By reverse engineering your success and using tools like personality and skills tests, you can find someone who is a good fit for both you and your business.
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