An enterprising managing director good at what he or she does will grow a business more quickly than good talent can be recruited. This creates a skills vacuum that needs to be addressed so as to not slow down growth. It is a task that is easier said than done though.
What about your company? Are you missing key skills in your business because your current talent pool is not keeping pace with growth? If so, I can recommend a number of key strategies to help you right the talent ship. These strategies will serve you very well now, and also pave the way for a better future.
Start with Organisational Vision
In the early stages of business development, staffing is, by necessity, forced into multitasking. Without the resources to hire the largest possible staff, companies work to bring on employees who can wear multiple hats. While this is a good strategy for start-ups, it does not represent a sustainable model for long-term growth. At some point, multitasking must give way to a higher division of labour. But that requires a clear organisational vision.
Management must set out a clear vision of how the organisation is to evolve. That vision should include short-, mid-, and long-term organisational goals. And only with that vision in place can the company successfully transition from multitasking to the higher division of labour that will propel it forward.
Hire with Growth in Mind
Companies that find themselves in the midst of a growth-fuelled skills shortage tend to fall into the trap of hiring new staff from the perspective of filling current gaps. Filling those gaps is obviously important, but looking only at the here and now is a short-sighted approach that will never solve the skills shortage problem. A better way to approach hiring is from a perspective of growth. In other words, staff should be hired based on their ability to fill current gaps and their potential to contribute to future growth.
Along with hiring for growth, a company can help its own cause tremendously by maintaining a good pipeline of potential candidates. This means recruiting even when there are no open positions to fill. It means opening channels with recruiting agencies that maintain an ongoing database of strong candidates. The bigger the pipeline, the more talent available when it comes time to hire.Tying everything together is a decision to create a development plan for key staff members. Those team members who will be most responsible for future growth and success need to be developed along the way so that they have the skills to contribute at every stage of growth. Companies failing to develop key staff members ultimately find themselves battling a skills shortage in the future.
As an expert in business growth and development, my team and I can assist your business in addressing a skills shortage. We offer support in key areas that will ultimately help you make the most of your recruiting efforts.
To discuss how your company can create value through a more effective Customer Engagement strategy, contact David Orren at the TVBA Technology Business Growth Practice, on 0/+44 7914 223 691.