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Chosing the right people: Tips and advice

10th Oct 2013
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In my two previous blogs, I’ve written about how Gabelle was formed and challenges we faced when starting up.

But another thing we’ve had to focus on a lot both in our formative stages and ongoing is choosing the right people to come and work for us.

We’ve grown the firm from two people to 15 in two-and-a-half years, so we’ve had to put a lot of hard work into creating a good recruitment process.

Building up a strong, collaborative team is essential for any firm, especially a start-up going to market for the first time with an unknown brand.

As well as focusing my mind on tax, admin, regulation and developing our expertise in the field, I now had another challenge to face: I need more people, who (an how!) am I going to recruit?

We spent a lot of time focusing on this before we brought more people on board. In the end, we built a process structured around the Gabelle ethos, main client needs and small team structure.

What we came up with was a three-stage recruitment process. We decided to keep it structured, so that candidates know what to expect.

We always have been on the lookout for good talent and potential opportunities, so we decided to use a mixture of agencies and headhunting as we find that this brings the best results.

Candidates must meet a series of requirements before we consider them, including having solid technical expertise and a good, professional, client-facing manner.

Given the technical nature of cases Gabelle deals with, we also look for people with an ability to distil complex legislation and issues into easy to understand English.

We’ve still got a relatively small team here, so anyone new would need to fit in with the existing team and have the ability to ‘muck in’ - there’s a relatively flat structure in the office, so employees need to be able to play their part.

Other qualities we’ll look for in candidates are, I imagine, essential to all kinds of businesses: we look for those keen to learn and develop their range of expertise, as well as to realise and grasp new opportunities.

Although we have specific vacancies that we are trying to fill we are always on the look out for talented tax individuals. One of the great things about being a small organisation is that we can respond quickly if an opportunity arises.

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By tracey2412
11th Oct 2013 13:33

It is good to know that there are ways of choosing good people - am hoping to recruit my first person sometime next year - but am scared silly about getting it wrong as that could be disastrous to my business.

As a one-woman show, all my clients chose and continue to work with ME - and introducing my replacement, I have to be more than sure it's the right person.

Would you perhaps share some more about how you overcame the hurdle of THE FIRST ONE??

or perhaps you already have & I missed it? Many thanks

 

 

 

 

 

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Replying to sarah douglas:
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By Paula Tallon
17th Oct 2013 14:49

The first one

Employing staff is always tricky and taking that first one on is the most difficult. There is always the fear of getting it wrong but making mistakes helps us make better decisions in the future! If I am not sure about someone I take them on a temporary basis for a month or so and that will give you a good idea about their skills and how they fit with your organisation. Also make use of the probation period and if it's not working out then don't confirm the contract after that period. Sometimes it can be that a great person simply doesn't fit the role you have. Making a decision and moving on is the best way to deal with it. It's hard but you have to be commercial. As for your clients they will appreciate that's there is someone else they can go to if you are not available. You can still deliver a personal service but with support. To grow your business you need to be well supported and that will make you more efficient. Clients like a growing business!  If you are unsure why not take someone on a temporary basis and see how it goes. Remember they won't do everything exactly like you but provided they have the right skills (and attitude!) and can maintain your client relationships  the rest will follow! Good luck !

 

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