Are you working overtime trying to meet your content deadlines?
Stressing out over the amount of time you have to write captions or create Instagram Story posts?
Struggling to market your services because you’re always working in your business?
If you answered “Yes” to one or more of these questions, it’s probably time to outsource work to team members.
But how do you bring on new team members seamlessly & set them up for success from day one?
By avoiding these 5 common mistakes we’ve seen social media managers make when working with team members… 
Mistake #1 | Not having systems & processes in place
It's cool if you can get by with your whole business living “inside your head” when it’s just you -- but it’s super important that you establish real systems & processes before you bring new team members into the fold. Taking the time to get these systems in place will create a sense of flow in your business & give you peace of mind as your company grows - not to mention help your team members feel supported & set up for success!
Here are the 3 systems your social media business will need to set up before you bring on team members…
Mistake #2 | Not setting measurable goals & expectations
Once you’ve established streamlined systems in your business, you’ll want to set clear goals & expectations around the tasks your new team members will be taking off your plate!
Whether you’re outsourcing community management, caption copywriting or content curation, it’s important that your team understands how to complete each task from start to finish, what their deadlines are, how to communicate when they’ve reached completion, etc. For example: If you deliver content calendars to your client on the 15th of every month, you might want to set a deadline of the 8th for your team member who curates the content and the 12th for your team member who writes the copy.
Mistake #3 | Not establishing a channel for regular communication
Chances are that you won’t be chatting with your team members every single day, but setting up a recurring meeting to catch up on their workload, your business goals, any client requests, etc is crucial for the success of your business & the morale of your team. Depending on the size of your team & their responsibilities, this might look like a meeting once a week, twice a month or even just once a month.
We also recommend setting up an open channel of communication for your team via Voxer or Slack -- these are some of our favorite channels to communicate with both team members and clients.
Mistake #4 | Expecting your team members to perform a task exactly as you would
You know that old saying “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”? That no longer applies here! Scaling your business requires letting go & trusting in your team members–– because as much as some may try, you can’t (& shouldn’t) do it all yourself.
Your team members are not you, which means they may not always complete a task exactly as the way YOU would. It’s totally okay if their method or process looks a little different than yours, as long as they're meeting the expectations you all agreed to when you brought them on!
Mistake #5 | Not setting clear boundaries
Boundaries aren’t just something you’ll set with clients -- boundaries also apply to team members! A few of our favorite ways to set clear boundaries with your team include: establishing one channel for communication (as mentioned above), setting clear office hours when you will reply to any communication, and protecting your ideal calendar.
Boundaries are healthy & they help you stay in control, protect your energy & keep you focused on the important parts of growing your business.
Team Management, Made Simple.
