Does building a team fill you with dread?
Every business can only grow and scale to the limits and capabilities of the business owner and more importantly the team of people who are recruited to run the business.
But many business owners become reticent to recruit even though they want to grow their business.
Here are some top tips on how to grow and scale successfully with a great team.
Start With Yourself !
The most powerful force in the world, which can hold us back from doing even simple things, or push us forward to do the almost impossible, is our own mindset.
Many of the business owners we speak to have some strong feelings, many negative, about having to manage people. All of these feelings lead to thoughts which lead to action, or lack of action around people. Think about this. How did you come to have these feelings. It is either through your own previous experience or through others telling you about their negative experiences.
Think about all the things you think and say about recruiting people and about growing a team in your business.
You just can’t find good people …..
All the best people are already taken ….
Managing people is just a hassle ….
The list goes on and on ….
Have you heard that saying, ‘I think therefore I am’ …. you are the sum total of your thoughts and previous experience and if you want a different result, you have to change your thoughts and actions.
Who do you need to be to get a different result? Instead of those unhelpful thoughts, what would be some really helpful thoughts? For instance, ‘I am in the process of building a world-class consistent and effective recruitment system that will bring world-class candidates to me’
Your Company Culture / Values
When you decide to dispense with one of your employees services, is it usually because of a lack of skill or a ‘bad attitude’?
If it’s lack of skill, that is something you can work on in your recruitment process. ALWAYS test your employees for the key skills required. If it is a poor attitude, poor standards etc. then the first question to ask is ‘What is our company culture, our values and the standards expected of that role?’
How clear is your company culture and your values. If I came into your business and walked up to each employee I saw, what would they say when I ask them?
If your values are clear and you remind your team with intent regularly in varied ways what your values are, what impact might that have on the people you have Remember, your values and culture are those which you and your team exhibit every single day. Are you aligned with what you want your values to be?
When recruiting, ensure that you discuss your culture and values as part of the recruitment process, clearly and with intent, and ensure your recruitment system attracts employees with the right values.
FInally do you discuss values and standards as part of your appraisals or CFR discussions? If you do and you aren’t clear from the very beginning about what they are, how does that impact on those discussions?
Systems, Processes and Delegation
This is a blog, or ten blogs, all on its own. Are there written systems and processes in place for the repeatable tasks your team is involved with, or have you just ‘told them what to do?’
If you want your business to grow and scale and to increase in value, then having an S.O.P. (standard operating procedures) manual is crucial.
It becomes much easier to get new employees up to speed when you have existing and easily teachable systems and procedures in place for the specific tasks which are crucial to their role.
One specific system is their position contract, which should cover their main 3-5 tasks, the areas in which they will be measured, the expected standards, the knowledge and skills required and the results expected. How clear are your employees on what success looks like right now?
There are many areas to review to ensure you attract, recruit, retain and grow a successful and ambitious team. Get in touch if you want to improve and accelerate your growth.
