Employees often know workplace needs intimately and can make valuable suggestions about personnel needs. A new hire is a serious and costly investment for a company and is not undertaken without a compelling business case. To maximize your chances of success in creating a job, think like a business owner and put together a credible proposal. Enlisting other employees in the process will add weight to your suggestion.
Prepare an analysis comparing the costs to the benefits; this will determine the return on investment. Compare one-time and ongoing items separately.
If the comparison shows a negative return on the investment (that is, the new employee will cost more than he will contribute), there is little purpose in going forward with your suggestion. You have gained some valuable insight into how employers make workforce decisions. If the comparison shows a positive return on the investment, continue on to the next step.
Gather information about the value of anticipated contributions the employee will make. These might include such things as increased production, increased speed to market of new products, improved customer relations, improved morale and improved processes. Consider both the advantages the new employee would bring and the risks that would be avoided by hiring an additional employee. To the extent possible, assign dollar values to these benefits. Divide the benefits into one-time and ongoing benefits.
Plan your approach. Put your analysis together into a professional-looking and clearly understandable report. Practice your verbal presentation to ensure it is objective and to the point. Get feedback from other employees and/or include them in the planned presentation.
Ask the human resources department for the costs of employing someone in the position you are proposing. Costs will include recruiting, salary, benefits, overhead and training. Divide the costs into one-time and ongoing costs.
Deliver your proposal as practiced, being careful to keep your tone and dialogue calm and professional; remember that you are suggesting a solution, not making a demand. Listen reasonably to your manager's response. If he requests time to consider or get approval at a higher level, ask to schedule another meeting and follow up to make sure it takes place.
Ask your manager to schedule a meeting so that you can discuss an idea for improvement, choosing a time when the manager is not under time constraints or extra stress and will be able to give you her full attention.
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