Is your company growing rapidly?
If so, that’s great news for your business!
However, companies that experience hypergrowth in a short period of time can come across problems that they just weren’t prepared for. Due to the flexible nature of newly established start-ups, these problems are not difficult to resolve, but it is necessary that they are addressed quickly.
Before the growth gets ahead of you, it is important to lay down a strong foundation in order to sustain your hypergrowth without it getting out of control.
Below we outline three common problems that can arise for companies experiencing hypergrowth and solutions to combat them.
1.
Problem
The founder in charge takes all the responsibility and spreads themself too thin. Because of this, efficiency and thoroughness of the workload are decreased. Due to your company being fast-growing, the costs of mistakes increase exponentially.
Solution
Plan for mistakes to occur and for efficiency to be reduced during hypergrowth. Establish clear communication processes in the event of a mistake and share responsibility with front-line managers. Doing everything yourself is unsustainable so empower and teach others to make decisions. Marshall Goldsmith, an executive leadership coach explains:
“Shared leadership involves maximising all of the human resources in an organisation by empowering individuals and giving them an opportunity to take leadership positions in their areas of expertise.”
Maximise your resources and see whether shared leadership would work in your organisation.
2.
Problem
Due to increasing staff numbers and people getting lost in the shuffle of hypergrowth, your company culture begins to decay and become unaligned.
Solution
Define your culture ahead of time to include shared attitudes, values, goals and practices. Lack of culture can derail your mission and weaken customer experience. Make sure that your team understands the goals of your company and that they are valuable assets in achieving these goals. The culture of your organisation should inspire collaboration, reflection and individual growth.
Read more about our thoughts on the importance of company culture below:
As former senior vice president of retail at Apple Angela Ahrendts says:
“Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first.”
To further instill a great company culture, you must create and maintain universal company values and train employees on these. Consider creating performance reviews which evaluate the values in a tangible way. Focus on aligning the values and culture of the top team in order to sync with the rest of your company.
3.
Problem
Staff loses motivation and burnout occurs as a result of rapid growth, confusing job responsibilities and disrupting daily routines.
Solution
Rapid growth can disrupt workflows, job responsibilities and daily work that you and your staff do. This can introduce unneeded stress and cause productivity to drop, as well as lead to a sense of disconnect, cause burnout and prompt a high turnover of staff.
If your employees are not happy, your customers will not be happy. Consider investing in your staff with development programmes and 1-on-1 coaching to encourage personal development within your organisation. Your team wants to know they are trusted and respected, while those managing them are honest and empathetic to their needs.
1-on-1 coaching can help these notions get across. A recent study conducted by The Looking Glass Institute and Dewey & Kaye found that the most effective methods in leadership development are: “a change in scope or role (rotating through functions, being coached through a new position), mentorship, managing hardships or crisis and personal or life experiences.” Having an external leadership and development coach would allow a safe environment for your employees to open up and share their feelings that they might not feel comfortable sharing in an internal environment. Coaching can help correct feelings of disconnect by reestablishing trust and purpose in your staff.
The above are just a few of the problems that can arise from failing to prepare your organisation for rapid growth. Get ahead of teething troubles and stay committed to the development of your company and your people.
Our key tip is: If you maintain a strong company culture and focus on your people, the rest will follow.
If you would like to find out more about how we can help your company, why not request a FREE consultancy call? Submit your interest via our form here
By Olivia Wells, an online content writer for alterniq inspired growth.
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