Working in the world of start-ups is fast-moving and exciting but also full of its own challenges. Compared to larger, more established businesses, the resources at your disposal will not be as abundant, for example. Much attention is rightfully focused on the very first steps you take when setting up a new business, but what about a little further down the line?
As your start-up begins to grow, you have to be able to grow with it. Being ready and able to scale up as you get more established is key to continuous business growth. If you do not plan for this, then you could end up stagnating or getting left behind by your competitors. One key part of any expansion plans for a growing start-up is building an outstanding team of employees to help you succeed.
Why is this such a vital element for growing start-ups?
When you first start out, you may get away with being a one-man band or employing only one or two people to help out. As you begin to get more popular though, increased customer demand for your goods or services will require you to hire more staff. This will ensure that you have the human resources in place to cope with the extra demand and make the most of it in terms of increased revenue.
It is not enough to simply hire anyone though! You must take time to build a team that is full of energy and creativity with a real desire to give excellent customer service. This will ensure that they treat customers well and that these same customers tell their friends about you. A team of talented, creative thinkers will also help you to push the boundaries forward and find innovative new products to sell or services to offer.
If you need further proof of how top talent can help a company succeed, look at Censia, led by Joanna Riley. As company co-founder and CEO, Riley has used her extensive business knowledge to recruit a team that has driven her business to new heights over time. Specialists in providing AI recruitment solutions to enterprise-level companies, Censia relies on recruiting the very best people out there to succeed. But how do you go about building a team as good as Riley has at Censia?
Be picky.
It is key in a growing start-up to only hire the best people available. It is likely that your team will be relatively small still as it grows, which means that every employee has a massive impact on how you fare. Hiring an employee who is just not up to it can really affect your bottom line negatively. Make sure that you only employ people who have good references, energy and a real desire to help you grow.
Find people who fit together well.
As above, even if your start-up is growing, it may still be relatively small in terms of staff numbers. This makes it a very close-knit team where it is key that everyone can work together well. Very often, this comes down to choosing the right personalities who you feel will blend with the existing team when hiring. It is also worth noting that it takes a certain person to succeed when working in the start-up environment. As well as being problem solvers, they need to be flexible in taking on any work that is needed and also working longer hours if required.
Offer them perks.
It is fair to say that bagging the best new talent around when hiring now is a real battle. With this in mind, it is wise to offer some perks to potential employees when advertising a role. Golden hellos are used by many start-ups now, and you do not have to break the bank when setting the figure to offer. Other common perks are gym memberships and payments into private health care funds. Anything of this nature can help show them that you are the best company to work for and build up a truly amazing team over time.
Get your work culture right.
One of the attractive things for many people who work at start-ups is the greater emphasis on work culture in most. This is certainly something to think about for your own growing business. As the company expands, remember to hang on to your work culture and make it a fun place to be. This can be done not only in how you treat staff but also by organizing regular work nights out or allowing staff breakout time in their working day if not busy.
Your team is your business.
Put simply, the team you build is your business and will directly influence how successful you are. Finding and hiring the right people is crucial to being able to scale up as needed when your start-up begins to flourish. If you need a few tips on how to create the perfect team, then the above should help.
