Let’s talk about standalone roles. If you’re hiring one, or think you might, read below.

Standalone roles can be essential, particularly in smaller businesses.

Purely because you don’t need a whole HR team, a full marketing department or sales fleet… whatever the function may be, sometimes just one is enough.

Standalone roles can be a linchpin in your business – you trust this one person implicitly to come up with all the ideas, strategies and execute them efficiently. You don’t teach them their role – they own their area… as they should.

When you throw those words into a job ad, they sound appealing. You’ll get plenty of applications.

Let’s say in this instance, the role is for a HR Manager – no doubt you’ll have many HR specialists/coordinators/advisors popping up in the sea of CVs.

You think, “Great- hungry candidates climbing the ranks”.

The majority of the time, these candidates want to build a career in their chosen discipline. They’ll say this is the step up they’ve been waiting for.

BUT

6 months in, when they see there is no progression, they’re going to be on the phone to me, saying that they miss not having a mentor in the space, learning has stagnated and they’re not really going anywhere.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t hire these candidates (because they come equipped with some great skills), but you need to be mindful that your job might have a shorter shelf life for someone like this, if you can’t offer growth.

If you can, amazing. However, if you know the role “is what it is” for the foreseeable, you need to find someone who is anchored to that.

We’re doing just this for a client at the moment. He’s looking for an Ops Specialist for his business, and he won’t be growing the business tenfold over the next few years – because he doesn’t want to. He’s ambitious, super-smart and likes operating a boutique and highly credible business.

He wants someone who has perhaps had the big career, been there, done that, worn the t-shirt. Or perhaps, they simply don’t want to progress anymore as they have priorities outside of work, and are happy to settle into their long-term “work home” – because the thought of rehiring this role in even 18 months time is giving this business owner the chills.

Sorry, I’ll get to the point along with my two cents…

Standalone roles can be absolute gold for your business, but only when you match the right person to the right set of expectations. Be crystal clear on:

– What the role will look like in 6, 12, 24 months down the line
– Can you offer ACTUAL growth, or is it a ‘set and kinda forget’ position?
– The type of person who will embrace that role (and formulate interview questions to uncover this)

When you truly nail that match, you’re not just hiring the gap in your business, you’re hiring longevity and peace of mind. Because let’s be honest, the recruitment treadmill can get pretty tiring after a while.