Growing the business means building the team

Growing to the next level requires new skills and additional capacity to deal with the expansion of the business.  This can be achieved in several ways:

• Training, developing and giving more responsibilities to existing staff.
• Recruiting new people to bring new skills and experience to the business. 
• Sub-contracting work that can be performed more effectively by external suppliers.

Developing existing staff

Before embarking on a recruitment exercise the first option should be to consider whether the skills of the existing staff could be developed so they can take on more responsibilities. 

This potentially offers several advantages over external recruitment.

• Investing in the skills of current employees not only boosts morale and loyalty but also capitalises on their existing knowledge of the company's products, processes and culture.
• Promoting from within demonstrates a commitment to employee growth, potentially attracting and retaining top talent in the long run.
• Existing staff members may also require less time to become fully productive in new roles due to their familiarity with the organisation.
• This approach can be more cost-effective and time-efficient than the often lengthy and expensive process of external hiring and onboarding.

However, if after careful evaluation the required skills cannot be developed internally within a reasonable timeframe, external recruitment may then be considered as a necessary step to fill critical skill gaps.

Bringing new people to the business

Before jumping to define job titles and salaries, it is essential to analyse the business requirements to avoid jumping to conclusions and ending up recruiting the “wrong” people. 

The capacity of the business to train and integrate new recruits must also be considered carefully to avoid hiring too many people too quickly and ending up disrupting an already very busy workforce. 

Recruiting requires careful preparation.  Here are a few suggestions based on my personal experience.

• Define the essential must-have requirements for the initial selection of CVs.
• Be prepared to be flexible on the nice-to-have requirements as candidates matching your exact requirements may not exist.
• Arrange more than one interview and more than one interviewer to get a wider perspective and a balanced assessment of candidates.
• Ensure the interviews and the recruitment process are a high priority for everyone contributing and that interviews are carefully prepared.
• Check the skills and experience of candidates using relevant and objective assessments (technical interviews, psychometric tests, references, confirmation of qualifications, etc.).
• Make sure candidates appreciate what is unique and exciting about your company, its culture and values.
• Keep the momentum and make decisions quickly as time is of the essence to avoid losing the best candidates. 

Integration and personal development

Recruiting is only the first step.  Building a successful team requires careful management and integration of the new recruits when they join the business. 

This starts with agreeing and communicating their responsibilities and authority to give them the freedom to contribute without having to be micro-managed. 

Beyond the initial integration of new recruits, supporting and monitoring the development of the whole team and its individual members requires constant and consistent attention.  This should be a high priority for the business. 

I can help you

I work with overstretched leaders of Engineering SME’s to help them prepare their business so they can achieve profitable growth. 

For a free 30-minute chat to explore how I could help you please use the link below to book a time in my diary. 

http://tinyurl.com/HerveJardonCalendar