How to prioritise your first hires: Roles that drive early growth

So, you've taken the plunge into the world of business. Brilliant stuff! Overflowing with ideas and passion, you're keen to make your mark on the world.

But as the initial excitement blends with the rapidly growing workload, the need for a team becomes clear.

Your first hires are more than just an extra set of hands – they'll become the cornerstones of your business and will help shape its direction.

This is an exciting stage, but it's also critical to carefully consider which roles will help your business accelerate.

Whether you're a solo founder making your very first hire or a small team looking to scale sustainably, here's how to prioritise roles that set you up for success.

Below, we explore the key roles that can drive early growth.

How to choose the right roles for your business

Every start-up is unique and your first hires should reflect that. Before diving into job descriptions, it's important to think strategically about what your business really needs right now.

The roles you prioritise will depend on the type of business you're building, the stage you're at and the biggest challenges on your plate. Here's a simple framework to help guide your decision-making:

1. What kind of business are you building?

• Product-based? If you're bringing a tech platform, physical product or app to market, your early hires may need to focus on product development, design or engineering.

• Service-based? If you're selling your time or expertise, you'll likely need support in operations, client delivery and customer success.

2. What stage are you at?

• Pre-revenue? Focus on proving your concept and building traction. You may need help refining your product, validating your market or finding those all-important first customers.

• Post-revenue? Now it's about scale. Look to hire for delivery, efficiency and growth, whether that's through sales, ops or customer support.

3. What's your biggest bottleneck right now?

• Time poor? Hire someone who can take admin and operations off your plate.

• Delivery stretched? Bring in help to execute and maintain your product or service to a high standard.

• Struggling to grow? Consider a hire who can help with customer acquisition or drive revenue.

By using this lens, you can cut through the noise and make confident, strategic hiring decisions that move the needle.

Once you're clear on your immediate priorities, it's much easier to identify the roles that will deliver the most impact – right now and into the future.

The engine room: Operations and administration

Founding a business is tough and you may find yourself spread thin. Investing early in someone to streamline operations can jumpstart your efficiency.

An office manager, virtual assistant or administrator can help you do the following:

• Create order and structure: Implement systems to manage the day-to-day operations, freeing you up to focus on strategic growth.

• Optimise workflows: Identifying and tackling any operational blockers to improve time management and productivity.

• Provide support for scalability: Handling crucial tasks to free you up to focus on the wider business strategy and contributing to overall operational effectiveness. This can include roles such as employee onboarding and payroll among other HR and other operational functions.

This role helps make sure your business's foundation is solid, particularly in a fast-growing environment.

The voice of your business: Sales and customer

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. In the early stages, it's crucial to secure and retain them to fuel your growth.

Your first hire in sales or customer service can make or break your business.

In a market where nearly half of people in the UK are considering starting their own business, competition is rife, but a dedicated sales or customer service rep can help your business do the following:

• Build rapport: Having a positive first impression on any potential customer as well as nurturing the relationship you've built with customers. Both are crucial for long-term success.

• Drive early revenue streams: Funnelling leads into your sales journey, it goes without saying really, is vital. This role can make sure the taps are turned on and contribute directly to generating revenue.

The heart of your offering: Product

Whatever your business sells, the quality of your product or service is paramount to establishing a strong reputation.

Your first product hire should be able to deliver an excellent service, drive future development and help expand your product.

Hiring someone to develop your core product offering can support your business' success by:

• upholding high standards – making sure your product or service performs consistently at a high standard to reinforce trust and quality with customers

• continually innovating – using their expertise to enhance your product offering to keep you competitive

• establishing authority in the market – demonstrating that you're committed to providing a quality product backed by expertise helps build credibility and sets you apart from your competitors

This role should encompass your core value proposition and make sure that what you have on offer resonates with your target market.

How to hire strategically to ensure longevity

Whichever roles you prioritise as your first hires, you'll build a strong foundation by focusing on these three fundamental areas:

• Efficient operations

• Customer connection

• Excellent delivery

Which specific roles you hire will naturally depend on your unique business as well as the nuances of the industry you operate within.

It's worth remembering that the people hired for these first roles will be instrumental in shaping your business's culture – another key driver for attracting and retaining talent.

How to hire the right person for the job, every time

At such a crucial time for your business, a bad hire can not only be a major inconvenience but can also lead to wasted time, money and resources throughout the recruitment process.

Leaving that person in the role can have serious consequences.

• Financial drain: From recruitment costs to time spent onboarding and training that person, to wasted salary and benefits; there's a lot of risk financially if you hire the wrong person.

• Productivity drain: If the hire lacks the right skills or motivation, or they're simply not the right fit, this could lead to inefficiencies with workload and have a direct impact on output.

• Damage to morale/culture: A bad fit can bring about negative attitudes that could erode the culture you're trying to build before it has a chance to get off the ground.

Luckily, Employment Hero has five tips on selecting the right person for the job.

1. Understand aspirations

When creating a job description, don't just think of what you need now. Think about how the role may grow and evolve over time and how a candidate can fit into the growth plan for your business and not just the role itself.

Keeping this in mind can help you filter out unqualified candidates and increase your chances of finding the right one, when the time comes. You'll also want to get a sense of the candidate's career goals.

Getting these things crystal clear will help you determine if your candidate aligns with your company's goals and allow the candidate to see if your company is a good fit for them.

2. Think about the type of questions asked

This applies to both the questions you ask the candidate as well as the questions they ask you.

The best hires will care more about the team they'll be on, who will be managing them and how they can help drive the company forward.

An example question might be something like, "What's been the most successful or unsuccessful project the business has done?" over something like "When is payroll processed?".

Thoughtful questions like this, on both sides, show both parties the intentions the person has when interviewing.

3. Ask what they're not good at

At the end of the day, we're all human and no-one is perfect. Your candidate is also human and won't be good at everything.

So, a great way to make sure you're hiring the right person is to ask them what they're not good at. Their answer will help give you an idea of their professional expectations for themselves and if this matches your assessment.

Encouraging them to articulate areas where they are weaker also gives insight into areas of progression, as well as their work ethic and goals (i.e. if they're actively trying to improve themselves).

4. Consider the hiring manager's biases

Most of the time when hiring, we rely on logic.

• Is this person qualified?

• Do they have insightful answers to questions?

• Do they seem friendly but professional?

All of which is perfectly reasonable. But it's worth noting that sometimes you may need to trust your gut instinct.

That's not to say you should only trust your gut or the practical reasons – there must be a blend of both.

5. Decide if they'll add to your company's culture

There's a big difference between hiring someone because they're a good cultural fit and hiring someone who would be a cultural add.

A person's attitudes, values and beliefs are better measured against your core values. "Cultural fit", on the other hand, is when the person fits perfectly within the existing boundaries of the business.

"Cultural add" is when you're looking for candidates who can bring new and diverse perspectives, skills and experiences to your business's culture. A candidate's background, experiences or plans will help expand your business.

Hire confidently with Employment Hero

Finding the best talent for your business, especially if they're your first hires, can be tricky if it's not something you've done before.

But with the tips laid out here, as well as expert support from Employment Hero's SmartMatch, you can skip the job ads and access potential candidates that have already been screened and matched to your requirements.

There's a smarter way to hire now, so what are you waiting for? Start your hiring journey for free today.

People also read

• How to identify skills gaps in your business

• Hiring your first employee: A practical guide for small business owners

• How to attract and retain the right talent

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