Convincing a company it needs to hire more help

Q: How do I evaluate and make the case for hiring, particularly in an organization where they love to squeeze blood from a stone? My team is working long hours and I’m worried about burnout and maintaining quality.

— Katie, 46, managing director, retail-focused company

A: Direct your pitch to your decision-maker’s most compelling problem and prepare thoroughly for the inevitable objections.

Your first step is to lay the groundwork through a careful analysis of the current situation. Assess your capacity with the business volume you currently have, looking person by person at their ability to handle current work and take on additional work.

Next, go into problemsolving mode. Learn everything you can about your executive team’s vision, goals, and current pain points. If you can use your team to help your executives sleep better at night, your case for hiring just got a big boost.

That said, you will need to lay out a compelling case. For example, your company may be in cost containment mode because customers are dissatisfied and sales are down. You could use the approach that upgrading the customer experience through additional resources would increase return business.

Be specific about how that would play out. In the example above, if all the team is able to do is to meet the basic customer requirements, increasing staffing levels and perhaps adding expertise may allow you to deliver at the customer delight level.

And be ready to tell the story of what happens if you don’t get more resources. Will you have to turn away business? Outsource or use contractors? If so, document the cost for that.