It’s an unfortunate paradox in modern business that rapid growth brought about by success goes hand-in-hand with new challenges and different issues to overcome. Having to scale up quickly of course means finding additional staff – itself no mean undertaking – but there are other factors to consider during periods of rapid expansion.
As the business model flexes and operations require more and more people, it can become difficult to maintain the company culture – one of the key elements that’s created the very success your company’s enjoying – which you’ve spent time and energy building.
So how do you maintain the culture that makes your business unique and scale up successfully at the same time? There are some key elements to focus on:
Recruitment
This may seem obvious but it’s no less important nonetheless. In fact that holds true even more when a company is growing rapidly, as this is the time when it’s easiest to lose sight of intangibles like fit. Even if your need for staff is urgent, it’s vital to take the time to get it right and make sure new hires will buy into the corporate ethos, as well as bringing their skills with them. Placing square pegs in round holes could put not just your corporate culture, but the ongoing growth of the company at risk.
Communication
Internal communications plays a key role in building and reinforcing your agency’s culture, and continued two-way communication with both existing and new team members is essential in maintaining its coherence. Don’t let internal comms fall by the wayside when you’re under pressure, and ensure you’re in ongoing dialogue with your team if you want to know what’s going on in every department.
Stay on top of problems
Alongside effective communication comes the importance of dealing with any issues as soon as they arise. This is especially relevant where a problem has its origins at senior levels; maintaining corporate culture, and successful growth, needs employees at every level to work together. There can be no exemptions because a given individual is ‘too important’ or ‘too senior’ to work to the same standards. So make sure you know if there are any issues or conflicts arising from quick growth and get on top of them quickly.
Don’t lose sight of the traditions
That first drink being on the company on Friday night after a long week may have cost a lot less when you were a start-up, but these little traditions can become important to your team. Maintaining them can play a big role in the company culture, so don’t lose sight of where these traditions came from or how important they are.
Choose the right partners
With other issues like these taking up your time, the last thing you need is for the delivery of the work itself to be a problem. Choosing the right collaborative partners can remove that consideration, leaving you confident the work itself will be delivered and free to focus on more strategic matters.
Indeed the right partners can play an active and positive role in scaling up the company, and can even share in its culture. Smartshoring® is designed to make the most effective use of the best talent wherever it may be, help agencies remodel and accelerate their growth. Talk to us to find out what we can do for you as your company continues to scale up.
