As A Company Grows, HR Should Help Maintain Momentum
When the going gets tough for companies, there’s plenty of advice to help define HR strategies for improving morale, retaining staff and generally boosting company culture.
But what about when the company is growing? As America’s biggest companies post some of the strongest profit gains since the recession, that’s a situation many HR managers don’t prepare for – what to do when things are going well.
In short, how can HR use that momentum to its advantage – and avoid falling into the complacency and procrastination trap?
Organizations in the midst of growth must prepare for the future while simultaneously handling the immediate challenges. Failing to account for both means a business’s expansion can run the risk of stalling.
Companies traditionally create new strategies for scaling their products and services, focusing especially on their operational functions such as customer service, sales and supply chain management. Often ignored during high-volume growth are the effects that such rapid expansion has on the organization’s people.
Money may be king, but it’s a company’s staff that powers its growth. Plus, it is widely recognized that effective talent management contributes to profit.
Considering that earnings success tends to lead to increase in headcount, it is imperative for HR to ensure that the people-related implications of a rapid expansion are accounted for.
When their company is growing, HR executives and managers should plan for the future and consider implementing strategies that will ensure their department can best support company growth and answer some key questions:
Is your departmental strategy scalable and sustainable during company growth?
HR departments at high-growth companies can often be overwhelmed with paper pushing tasks and putting out organizational fires rather than planning a long-term strategy to support company growth.
HR leaders must make sure their departments’ initiatives are aligned with the company’s wider business strategy. That means creating a blueprint that determines the investment focus in HR services in order to directly contribute to the organization’s objectives.
Furthermore, the HR strategy must take into account how HR will scale in order to match business growth – there should be a plan in place that defines the departmental priorities at all stages of the growth cycle.
A major contributor to creating a successful strategy is for HR to communicate its strategic direction to employees, making it clear how they can be involved. Allowing employees to collaborate in the process and participate in certain organizational decisions will help develop a dynamic culture of innovation that supports and contributes to the company’s growth.
Does HR have what it needs to recruit and retain the workforce needed to support growth?
It is inevitable that certain aspects and structures will change and evolve in a growing company. Within that, it is vital that HR is equally prepared to change how it sources, recruits and onboards new hires that fit the new expertise, character and skills required.
Similarly, HR should plan ahead and be keyed into the future talent needs and skills gaps within the company as it grows, which includes forecasting new positions to be created. HR leaders should strengthen their company’s onboarding operations for high volumes of new employees, while maintaining robust succession plans to reduce negative impacts from employee turnover.
Indeed, HR should evaluate the competencies and skills most crucial for the future in order to develop rewards systems, change performance management programs and recruitment drives accordingly – thus supporting accountability and innovation within the business.
What are the best HR technologies that will help the company scale?
Calling on the appropriate technologies aid in gauging the extent to which HR initiatives are succeeding. HR leadership should sponsor acquisition and implementation of the relevant software and technology that strengthens analysis and project management capabilities.
After all, a company will likely outgrow some of its systems that worked for a smaller employee population. As such, HR departments must evaluate current technologies in use to ensure their scalability.
Ultimately, by laying the groundwork for the future, HR acts as a key catalyst to sustain company-wide momentum.
